Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi accused primary opponent Johnathan Rinaldi of committing fraud and forgery in an illegal effort to steal his seat.
Photo courtesy of NYS Assembly
Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi is accusing Jonathan Rinaldi, his challenger in June’s Democratic primary, of electoral chicanery after learning that someone changed his party affiliation in the midst of his re-election campaign.
Hevesi filed a criminal complaint with the Queens District Attorney’s office against Rinaldi on Tuesday, April 6, for what appears to be acts of fraud and forgery in an illegal effort to steal an election and Hevesi’s Assembly seat for himself, charges that Rinaldi vehemently denies.
“My opponent has a well-documented history of dishonesty in his various unsuccessful campaigns for public office,” Hevesi said in a statement. “He is a lifelong Republican, who has consistently run as a Republican, and lost as a Republican. But this year, Mr. Rinaldi changed his party designation to Democrat to challenge me in the primary, which is inherently against his well-documented anti-Democratic views. As a result of that move, he is literally the only person in New York who had the motive, not to mention the means and opportunity, to commit this criminal act.”
Hevesi swore out the criminal complaint a week after learning that paperwork had been filed by mail to change his registration from the Democratic Party to the Working Families Party, making him ineligible to run for the Democratic primary in June. Hevesi knew the paperwork had not been filed by him.
“As alleged, Mr. Rinaldi is now suspected of attempting to defraud voters in the 28th Assembly District by committing forgery and falsely filing paperwork to register as a Working Families Party voter,” Hevesi said. “This change would have made me ineligible to run on the Democratic line had the Working Families Party not discovered the fraud, allowing me to take steps to correct it.”
Rinaldi says he has been falsely accused.
Rinaldi vehemently denies Hevesi’s claims and blames vulnerabilities in the election system that allow voter registration to be changed by mail.Courtesy of Rinaldi
“I had absolutely no involvement in any change to Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi’s voter registration, and neither did anyone acting on my behalf,” Rinaldi told QNS in an email. “What this situation highlights is a serious vulnerability in our election system. If a voter registration could be changed by mail, without identification, and even apparent errors, that should concern every New Yorker. Instead of speculation, the focus should be on ensuring the integrity and security of the system so this cannot happen to anyone else.”
A spokesperson from the Queens District Attorney’s office said, “We do not disclose the existence or non-existence of an investigation.”
Hevesi attacked Rinaldi’s reputation for dirty tricks in previous campaigns.
“Mr. Rinaldi has built his political reputation on lies, deceptions, and unquestionably unethical behavior. Knowing he could never win based on any merit, throughout his past campaigns, he has repeatedly lied to the voters, gotten caught, and been defeated at the ballot box,” Hevesi said. “But now he has apparently crossed the line from George Santos-style fabulism into criminal fraud and forgery, and it is time for him to be held accountable.”
Rinaldi ran against Hevesi two years ago as a Republican and explained why he switched to the Democratic party to challenge him in the primary.
“For me, this was never about part labels, it’s about whether you stand with the political establishment or with the people you’re supposed to represent,” Rinaldi said. “The establishment wants to frame everything in terms of party because that’s how they maintain control, but voters aren’t living their best lives based on party lines. They’re focused on real issues like cost of living, safety, and whether anyone is actually listening to them.”
He added that too often, those concerns come second to party interests and insiders.
“I made this decision because I want to be in a position where I can represent the people in this district honestly and directly, without being boxed in by a system that prioritizes the establishment over the public,” Rinaldi said. “I’m not here to represent a party machine, I’m here to represent the voters.”
Hevesi is a lifelong resident of the district he has represented since 2005 which includes constituents in Forest Hills, Rego Park, Ridgewood, Richmond Hill, Middle Village, Glendale and Kew Gardens.
“I am, and always have been a Democrat, and would never change parties,” Hevesi said. “I have already taken steps to restore my actual enrollment, and I look forward to running for re-election as a Democrat with the support of the Working Families Party and appearing on both the Democratic and Working Families Party lines. Mr. Rinaldi, on the other hand, has a lifelong record of blatant dishonesty, and is now facing an investigation for being a criminal perpetrator of fraud.”
Hevesi thanked the Working Families Party for their diligence in discovering the fraud, Chairman Gregory Meeks and the Queens County Democratic Party for their swift actions to help resolve it, and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and her office for their professionalism before taking a final shot at Rinaldi.
“If convicted, as I believe he will be, he must pay the price for his actions, and I plan to ask the courts to permanently ban him from running for office and abusing our political system further,” Hevesi concluded. “I look forward to the results of the investigation.”