Rhode Island House hopeful accuses incumbent of fraud

By Sterling C. Beard - 08/22/12 02:14 PM ET

Rhode Island congressional candidate Anthony Gemma (D), has accused the campaign of incumbent Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) of massive voter fraud, radio station WPRO 630 reports.

Yesterday afternoon at a press conference, Gemma, who is challenging Cicilline in the Democratic primary for Rhode Island’s 1st congressional district, accused the incumbent of voter fraud dating back a decade.

Gemma claimed he had met with State Police Superintendent Col. Steven O’Donnell on Tuesday to discuss the matter. And he said the Rhode Island State Police and the FBI were looking into the accusations. Gemma also called for the Federal Election Commission to intervene in Rhode Island and for mail ballots to be frozen until their authenticity could be proven, arguing that the 2012 election would be compromised otherwise.

The Rhode Island State Police were not at the press conference and haven’t confirmed that there is an investigation.

Gemma said that he had information linking Cicilline to, among other practices, voting-machine rigging, buying votes and voter impersonation. The challenger characterized these practices as a “direct attack on democracy.”

Gemma quoted numerous sources, including what he described as “sworn witness statements,” but he refused to identify the individuals making those statements, saying he wanted to protect their safety.

He did reveal that much of the information he was bringing forth had initially been discovered by private investigation firm TRP Associates.

Cicilline’s campaign dismissed the allegations, calling them “nothing more than another bizarre and outrageous political stunt” in a statement. Cicilline, who has the backing of the Rhode Island Democratic establishment, is the favorite in the race.

Gemma has vowed to continue the investigation, even if he fails to win the Sept. 11 primary.