HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Connecticut State Senator Dennis Bradley Jr. has been arrested on election fraud charges. He has been a member of the Connecticut State Senate since 2018.
Sen. Bradley Jr., 37, who represents Bridgeport and Stratford, and Bridgeport Board of Education member Jessica Martinez surrendered on federal charges Tuesday to the U.S. Marshals Service in New Haven.
The grand jury has indicted Sen. Bradley Jr. and Martinez on six counts, including one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud.
Sen. Bradley Jr. has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Martinez was Sen. Bradley Jr.’s former campaign treasurer.
These charges center around Sen. Bradley Jr.’s 2018 run for state senate where the defendants defrauded Connecticut’s program for publicly funding political campaigns of more than $175,000, says the CT District Attorney.
Senate President Looney has removed Sen. Bradley Jr. as Senate Chair of the Public Safety and Security Committee. He has also removed the senator from his remaining committee assignments.
Senator Cathy Osten of the 19th Senate District has been named acting Chair of the Public Safety and Security Committee.
Jessica Martinez has plead not guilty to all eight counts, including:
- One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud
- Five counts of wire fraud
- One count of false statement
- One count of false declaration to grand jury
Both defendants are scheduled for jury selection in the U.S. District Court on August 2.
We reached out to Sen. Bradley for comment but he has not returned our messages.
This is not the first time a public official from Bridgeport has been arrested.
Former Police Chief AJ Perez was convicted last year of rigging an exam to make sure he became chief. He is serving one year in prison. Former Personnel Director David Dunn is serving four months behind bars for helping Perez.
Former Bridgeport State Senator Ernie Newtown spent five years in prison for taking a bribe.
And Mayor Joe Ganim served seven years in federal prison on corruption charges. He was convicted in 2003, got out in 2010, and won his old job back as mayor in 2015.