[PJ] A former Democratic Party leader in Texas funded an "organized voter fraud ring" in Fort Worth with money he received from campaigns, state officials claim.Earlier this month, four women were arrested and indicted on nearly thirty felony counts of voter fraud: Leticia Sanchez; her daughter, Leticia Sanchez Tepichin; Rosa Solis; and Laura Parra.
The state’s notice of intent in Leticia Sanchez’s criminal case states that "Sanchez engaged in organized criminal activity in collaboration with her three co-defendants" and Stuart Clegg, the former executive director for the Tarrant County Democratic Party.
After learning about the state investigation into her "vote harvesting group," the elder Sanchez had her daughter send text messages to the others involved in the scheme, advising them not to cooperate with investigators, according to the notice.
One message, translated from Spanish, stated: "Hello, there is a group of malicious people investigating our work. We have been told by our boss, Mr. Stuart, that we should not give any information. Just give them the phone number of the lawyer who is in charge of this matter. If anyone has contacted you, asked any type of questions, please tell us immediately so we can let the lawyer know. Notify immediately."
"I would tell anybody it’s a good idea, before you talk to investigators, to make sure you talk to an attorney," Clegg told the Star-Telegram. "Isn’t that just general sense?"
State officials say Sanchez collaborated with others to use residents’ mail-in ballots to vote for certain down-ballot candidates during the 2016 Democratic primary.