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Peekskill resident and Common Council member Robert Scott, age 44, was arrested after allegedly filing fraudulent petitions during the Democratic primary election for Westchester County Board of Legislators District 1 in June 2023, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday, April 17.
According to the DA's Office, on April 10, 2023, Scott filed designating petitions containing eight forged signatures with the Westchester County Board of Elections. These eight people later told the DA's Office that they never signed the petition, officials said.
Officials added that these alleged forged signatures appeared on three of the 37 sheets Scott signed as a witness.
Scott had been trying to get on the ballot as a candidate in the primary election for the Board of Legislators District 1, which includes Peekskill and parts of Cortlandt and Yorktown. The election was held on June 27, 2023.
An investigation into the fraudulent petitions was launched in July 2023 after officials received complaints from those who said their signatures had been forged.
Scott was arrested on Tuesday, April 16, and charged with first-degree offering a false instrument for filing. He was then issued a desk appearance ticket for an arraignment in White Plains City Court on Tuesday, April 30.
Westchester District Attorney Miriam Rocah condemned Scott's alleged actions.
"Free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy. Undermining the petition process in an attempt to get on the ballot in an election violates the public’s trust," she said.
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