Judge not lest ye be juged democrats...

Well, after all the democrats yelling about election fraud after Bush won in 2004 this is very refreshing, very refreshing indeed.
Five East St. Louisans were found guilty on all counts they faced in federal court Wednesday for participating in a vote-buying scheme to get Democrats elected during the Nov. 2 election.

When added to the guilty pleas of three committeemen and an election worker in March that resulted from the same FBI investigation, it's the largest bust of vote fraud in the city's recent past, and, perhaps, ever.

While much of the bluster during the monthlong trial concerned shaky witness testimony, it was the secret recordings that ultimately doomed the five, according to the lone juror who agreed to talk afterward.

"The recordings were the evidence that really struck me the most," said Lamont Reed Jr., 23, of East St. Louis.
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Reed, a student at Southwestern Illinois College, said other jurors shared that opinion, though "certain people took time to convince."

The jury deliberated for more than five hours and asked to hear recordings and see transcripts of the recordings before reaching a decision.

Defense attorneys vowed to continue the fight through motions, and possibly appeals.

"All I can say is it's not over," said Paul Sims, who represents Democratic precinct committeewoman Sheila Thomas.

The most prominent of those convicted Wednesday is East St. Louis Democratic Party leader Charles Powell Jr., 61. He was found guilty of participating in a conspiracy to commit voter fraud. He was caught on tape Oct. 13 telling the Democratic committeemen to calculate their budget requests from the county Democratic Party based on $5 per vote.

He declined to comment after the verdict.

Convicted of joining that conspiracy and also aiding and abetting voter fraud were:

Thomas, 31, who also served as the party secretary for the city's Democratic Party.

Kelvin Ellis, 55, former head of Regulatory Affairs for East St. Louis.

Yvette Johnson, 46, an election worker for Ellis.

Jesse Lewis, 56, a precinct committeeman.

Witnesses testified that all five paid voters or directed others to do so, with the price ranging from $5 to $10, although Powell was not charged with abetting voter fraud.

Prosecutors said the conspiracy's purpose was to maximize the turnout for prominent Democrats, including then-Belleville Mayor Mark Kern, who was elected St. Clair County Board chairman in the election; state Sen. Barack Obama of Chicago, who won a U.S. Senate seat; and U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who was defeated by President George W. Bush.

Kern could not be reached for comment but has denied any wrongdoing.

During the trial, prosecutor Mike Carr questioned witnesses about $79,000 transferred from the county Democratic Party to most of the city's 44 Democratic precinct committeemen just before the election. Those convicted on Wednesday received a total of $7,900 on Oct. 30.

The longstanding St. Clair County Democratic chairman, Robert Sprague, personally handed the checks to the committeemen, testimony stated. He could not be reached for comment.

While jurors were still deliberating, attorney Bruce Cook said he believed changes were in order in the way the party's campaign money was handled in East St. Louis, no matter what the jury's decision. Cook represents Powell and has been active in the Democratic Party in the past.

"I am going to recommend that a blue-ribbon panel of Democrats work to enhance our base, which is mainly the working poor," he said. "And that they do it within the confines of not tempting organizers to do something illegal."

Those measures, such as hosting more dinners and picnics, or hiring additional campaign workers, would end up costing the party more money, he said.

U.S. Attorney Ron Tenpas was asked if the verdict would deter vote fraud in future St. Clair County elections.

"We hope it will have a substantial effect," he said. "We'd like to think that any time you successfully bring a prosecution that it will deter crime."

Responding to allegations by the defense that the charges from a Republican U.S. attorney were prompted by politics, Tenpas said: "The fact that the jury unanimously brought back verdicts of guilty on all counts shows what prompted this - the actions of the defendants."

The trial had been liberally attended by those supporting the five accused and their political rivals.

Will McGaughy, a Democratic precinct committeeman who had been politically allied with Powell's opponents, said he believed the case would do some good.

"Whether (the defendants) did it intentionally or not, this will open up the eyes of others and make them think twice," he said.

Witnesses said repeatedly at the trial that vote buying has been going on for decades in the city and it's not hard to find examples. In 1931, when the standard price for a vote was $2, five voters were convicted of taking money in exchange for voting.

But a quick look at past investigations showed none has led to nine or more convictions.

A sentencing date for the five who were convicted on Wednesday was not immediately set. All are free without bond except for Ellis, who is detained while awaiting trial on tax evasion counts and charges that he attempted to have a witness in the vote fraud investigation killed.

Each charge carries a maximum of five years in prison. U.S. District Judge G. Patrick Murphy will probably have a wide range of possibility for punishment, including probation.

But before that, Murphy must consider motions by the defense for a directed verdict of not guilty, which would trump the jury's finding. Murphy indicated he wanted several days to consider that.

Attorney John O'Gara, who represents Ellis, said he and others may file for a new trial based on the testimony from the government's witnesses.
Defense attorneys directed much of their efforts throughout the trial at discrediting those witnesses: FBI agent John Jimenez; former East St. Louis Deputy Police Chief Rudy McIntosh, a Democratic precinct committeeman who worked in secret with the FBI; and Dannita Youngblood, a City Hall employee who worked for Ellis.

Reed, the juror, agreed that they appeared to have credibility issues, but said he found them to be believable nonetheless.

Jimenez, the FBI agent who helped build the case, said authorities had caught Kern on tape agreeing to buy votes, but recanted the next day.

"Jimenez shocked me," said Reed, speaking to reporters outside the courthouse. "As an FBI agent, he should be sure of his answers. One day he says yeah, we got him. The next day he says something completely different."