Amos Goodman, a former chairman of the East Hampton Town Republican Committee, last week pleaded guilty in Suffolk County First District Court to one misdemeanor and three violations after being charged in 2018 with 20 felonies when, during his time as chairman, he was accused of forging signatures on candidate petitions for an East Hampton Town special election.
The 37-year-old Springs resident, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Suffolk County Legislature in 2015, was arraigned in December 2018 on 10 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree and 10 counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree.
His May 4 guilty plea to three violations accepts charges of disorderly conduct or "intent to cause public inconvenience," according to New York State penal law.
His other guilty plea, as defined by New York State, accepts a "misdemeanor in connection with primary elections," specifically pertaining to a section defining "fraudulently or wrongfully . . . tending to affect the result of any primary election." Mr. Goodman's defense argued he was guilty only of "wrongfully" doing so.
The Suffolk County district attorney's office alleged in 2018 that Mr. Goodman had committed at least 43 forgeries on nominating petitions — including the signature of a dead person — that were filed in support of Manny Vilar, then a town board candidate on the Republican line.
Last week in court, the D.A. agreed to have all of Mr. Goodman's felony charges dismissed. It is unlikely he will serve jail time.
Mr. Goodman declined to comment on Tuesday. "Mr. Goodman is relieved to have resolved this matter and to be moving forward with his life," one of his attorneys, Lindsay Lewis, said yesterday morning.
Eight similar charges against Pat Mansir, the former vice chairwoman of the East Hampton Independence Party and a former East Hampton Town councilwoman, are making their way through the court system. Two other East Enders who were employed by the Suffolk County Board of Elections were also accused of petition fraud at the same time Ms. Mansir and Mr. Goodman were charged. Ms. Mansir, who will appear in court on May 27, could not be reached for comment by press time this week.
Two days after Mr. Goodman's resignation from the East Hampton Town Republican Committee, the committee chose Mr. Vilar as his successor. Mr. Vilar said on Monday that the committee "is dedicated to a fair and open election process . . . as defined by federal, state, and local laws. We do not condone any actions taken by any individuals that are not consistent with the above."
"Through their alleged actions, the defendants corrupted the democratic process and violated the public's trust," District Attorney Timothy Sini said in 2018. "This kind of conduct is unacceptable; if you abuse your position of public trust and attempt to disrupt the integrity of the election process, you will be brought to justice."
This story has been updated to correct the name of Mr. Goodman's attorney, Lindsay Lewis.