BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — City Councilwoman Maria Pereira, the woman largely responsible for election financing fraud charges being filed against State Sen. Dennis Bradley (D-Bridgeport) and his former campaign treasurer, Jessica Martinez, spoke candidly Wednesday saying "I am clearly not a Dennis Bradley supporter."
Bradley and Martinez entered not guilty pleas Tuesday in New Haven to conspiracy and wire fraud charges. They stand accused of conspiring in 2018 to defraud Connecticut’s public campaign financing program of nearly 180 thousand dollars.
"I don’t want to say I’m pleased about it because you don’t want that to happen to anybody on a personal level, but I think Bridgeport deserves so much more," Pereira said.
That Bridgeport City Councilwoman said she filed a state elections complaint against then State Senate candidate Dennis Bradley after what she saw happening at a party at Bridgeport's Dolphin's Cove in March of 2018.
"Here Dennis Bradley was with well over 100 people making an announcement he was running for state senator," said Pereira.
But Bradley insisted to investigators the event was a client appreciation party, tied to his law firm, and not a campaign event.
"I’m sure that this indictment would not have been brought unless the federal government had a fair amount of evidence suggesting that it was," said Professor William Dunlap of the Quinnipiac University School of Law.
"I went to his election Facebook page and there it was listed right on there as a campaign event, so I screenshotted it and I started doing research," Pereira said.
She filed a complaint in June of 2018 with the State Elections Enforcement Commission. The indictment states at least eight individuals made contributions to Bradley's campaign at the Dolphin's Cove event.
"These federal crimes can be very serious, but the cover-up of the federal crime is often worse," said Dunlap.
Bradley's former campaign treasurer is alleged to have lied to the FBI and grand jury about how the campaign received over $84,000 in public funding for the 2018 primary.
"I hope the allegations are not true," Gov. Ned Lamont said. "Let's let the investigation play out a little bit. I know that he's stripped of his chairmanship and committee positions, which I think is appropriate."
Bradley represents the 23rd senatorial district, the same district as former state senator Ernie Newton, who spent 5 years in prison as a result of misusing campaign funds.
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.