The sentencing of Hoboken politico Frank Raia, who was convicted of vote-by-mail fraud back in June, has again been delayed and won’t be held any earlier than next month.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Raia, who was initially supposed to be sentenced in October, is now scheduled to go before U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martini on December 2nd at 10:30 a.m. after briefly having his hearing set for the following day, according to the latest filings in the case.
Dio Braxton, who was indicted with Raia on Halloween of last year, is also set to be sentenced at that time.
This is the fifth date being issued in his case, which was delayed partially because Martini was deciding whether or not to grant Raia new trial – which counsel had requested on the basis that cooperating witnesses in the trial could not be trusted.
Members of Raia’s inner circle, such as Matt Calicchio, Michael Holmes, and Freddy Frasier, were the government’s key witnesses at trial, all indicating that Raia had been operating a scheme that involved paying low-income residents $50 to fill out their vote-by-mail ballots in the 2013 municipal elections.
At the time, Raia was a council-at-large candidate and he was also pushing a ballot referendum that would’ve weakened the city’s rent control laws if approved (neither effort was successful).
Raia faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
