On Thursday, April 27th, three Rensselaer County officials were arrested and charged with conspiring to violate voting rights during the 2021 election. County Director of Operations Richard Crist, County Central Services Director James Gordon, and Leslie Wallace allegedly conspired to obtain absentee ballots, using fraud and intimidation, to cast illegal votes in the primary and general elections. In addition, James Gordon was also charged with witness tampering, and Leslie Wallace was charged with making false statements.
If convicted, each faces up to 10 years in prison, with Gordon facing up to 20 years for alleged witness tampering, and Wallace facing up to 5 years for allegedly making false statements. All three were arraigned the same day, and ordered released with conditions, pending trial.