Mayor and 13 Others Charged With Fixing Election

This small group must not be as connected to the "powers that be" in Washington!

New York Times:
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 3, 2006

WISE, Va., March 2 (AP) — An investigation that began with accusations that cigarettes, alcohol and pork rinds were offered for votes in a small coal-mining town led to the indictment Thursday of the mayor and 13 other people on charges of election fraud and corruption.

A state grand jury indicted the 14 on charges of fixing the May 2004 election in Appalachia, a town of about 2,000 in Virginia's rugged southwest corner. A town councilman, a police captain and a police officer were also named in the 269-count indictment.

Most of those indicted face multiple counts, all of which are felonies. Most of the counts carry a maximum punishment of at least 10 years in prison.