NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A former Bridgeport city councilman pleaded guilty in New Haven on Monday to a civil rights offense related to his run for Bridgeport City Council in 2017 and 2018, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
From June 2018 to July 2021, Michael DeFilippo was a member of the Bridgeport City Council representing the 133rd District in proximity to the Sacred Heart University campus. Documents and statements made in court note that DeFilippo owned several rental properties in that area that he leased to Sacred Heart University students.
While Bridgeport’s City Council elections are usually held in odd-numbered years, prosecutors note that repeated absentee ballot irregularities in the Democratic primary for the 133rd District in the September 2017 primary led to it being re-run in November 2017 and then re-run again in April 2018. The general election took place in June 2018.
On April 10, 2018, DeFilippo was selected as one of the two Democratic nominees for the 133rd District, and he was elected to the Bridgeport City Council on June 26, 2018.
According to prosecutors, in the 2017 and 2018 primaries and 2018 general election, DeFilippo stole and falsified Voter Registration Applications, or VRAs, and absentee balloting documents, forged signatures, and submitted fraudulent election documents to election officials naming several of his tenants who resided in the 133rd District.
“DeFilippo’s conduct caused Bridgeport and Connecticut election officials acting under color of law to deprive DeFilippo’s tenants of their right to vote (by counting stolen ballots), and to deprive all 133rd District voters of their right to have their votes fully counted (by diluting election results with fraudulent registrations and ballots),” prosecutors said.
On Monday, DeFilippo pleaded guilty to deprivation of rights under court of law; he faces a maximum prison term of one year and a fine of up to $100,000, prosecutors said. He is released on bond pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled yet.
Prosecutors said the case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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