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Pupie plea: “Let’s make a deal!”

Last Thursday, Frank “Pupie” Raia took to the witness stand to rebut the testimony of former friends and allies alleging he masterminded a massive voter bribery scheme in Hoboken during the 2013 election.

It may not have turned out as well as hoped.

According to well-placed Hoboken sources, the defense team led by attorney Alan Zegas is seeking to make a deal on behalf of his client with the Department of Justice prosecutors.

There’s only one problem; the Feds aren’t interested.

Frank Raia defense counsel Alan Zegas.
c/o Superlawyers.com

Zegas navigated the infamous BridgeGate case for his client David Wildstein who escaped serving jail time in 2017 by flipping on others in the Christie Administration. He’s facing a higher bar with this case.

Federal prosecutors led by Asst. US Attorneys Rahul Agarwal and Sean Farrell presented a strong case of witness testimony against Raia building to a crescendo with a third friend and former ally, Freddie Frazier, closing out the government’s case Wednesday afternoon.

After admitting he changed his initial denials to the FBI confessing to his role in a wide-ranging voter fraud bribery scheme, Frazier was asked why he did it by Asst. US Attorney Sean Farrell.

“That’s what I was told by Mr. Raia,” he said adding that he conveyed to voters they would be backing the “One Hoboken” slate where Raia appeared as a council candidate because “he wanted it real bad.” The rent control ballot however which Frazier opposed, was communicated as “optional.”

Frazier would admit to delivering the controlled Vote by Mail ballots to the county board of elections and mailing others. He testified that he drove another participating member of the bribery scheme, Liz Camis, to a mailbox on more than one occasion so she could mail her collected ballots in Raia’s car.

He then “gave the list of voters… to Mr. Raia” of who to pay with checks of $50 “usually a day after the election.”

That’s 520 Jefferson and this exclusive photo shows a lineup of people outside waiting to go inside and sign
declarations after the fact with checks allegedly paying $50 for each vote on November 6, 2013, a night after the
Hoboken mayoral election.

Stay tuned here for important updates at the federal trial today.
Talking Ed Note: A word of thanks to readers new and old, especially those who have supported this website over years. Kind thanks for all the encouragement in recent days covering election abuses back to 2009. While not able to get back to everyone who reached out, the mail has been read and is well-received.

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