Former state senator will remain free on bond despite re-arrest on ballot charges
Former state Sen. Dennis Bradley will not return to jail, despite violating the conditions of his federal release. But if he gets in trouble again, the government can seize his family's Bridgeport law office.
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Dennis Bradley will remain free on bond – and can even travel to the Dominican Republic this weekend – despite being re-arrested as he awaits sentencing for campaign finance charges.
But the former state senator could lose his family’s Bridgeport law office if he gets in trouble again, a federal judge ruled on Friday.
NEW BALLOT CHARGES
Bradley walked out of federal court a free man, despite violating the conditions of his release. This week, state prosecutors charged Bradley with two counts of absentee ballot tampering – six months after a federal jury convicted him of wire fraud.
A woman accused Bradley of pressuring her to change her vote to his brother, Mark Bradley, a candidate for probate judge. The entire exchange was captured on surveillance video, prosecutors allege.
“He said, ‘I need you to change your vote from Line A to Line B,'" the voter, Alesia Dennis, told News 12 on Wednesday. “I picked it up off the table and I handed it to him. He persisted on opening it up and then he coerced me to change it. You can hear it in the video and everything."
LAW OFFICE ON THE LINE
Despite calling the new ballot charges “quite serious,” U.S. District Judge Robert Spector approved an agreement between federal prosecutors and Bradley’s legal team to keep him out of custody.
Instead, Bradley’s father will place the family law office on Fairfield Ave. up for collateral. If Bradley is charged with another crime or skips a court hearing, the government can seize the property.
Bradley, who has traveled to the Dominican Republican and returned before, insisted he is not a flight risk.
“No, of course not,” he told reporters outside New Haven federal court. “You guys know I’m not.”
Spector was more concerned about Bradley interfering in the upcoming elections. The judge is considering banning Bradley from any campaign-related activities, if the law allows.
“It’s my bigger concern that this happened in a time – July, August – that he was released on my conditions,” Spector said.
UP TO 4 YEARS IN PRISON?
Bradley may not avoid prison forever. Federal prosecutors revealed they will seek at least a two-and-a-half-year sentence, and possibly up to four years, when he is sentenced in December.
As for the new ballot charges, Bradley will be arraigned in Bridgeport Superior Court on Oct. 21. He would not answer questions about the case.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been instructed to have that fight in court and we’re looking forward to it,” he said.
But Bradley’s attorney told the judge that he plans to apply for Accelerated Rehabilitation, a diversionary program that would eventually wipe the charges off his record.
“I believe it will be resolved quickly,” attorney Michael Sussman told the judge.
