The top signature is a copy of Paulina’s BOE voter registration card. The bottom signature is copied from her 2023 absentee ballot. The two signatures are vastly different. When asked in court to identify the absentee ballot signature, Mike Schiliro testified, “That is my daughter Paulina’s signature.”
Top signature is on Andie Simon’s BOE registration form. The bottom signature is on her 2023 Absentee Ballot.
By Dan Murphy
The race for Town Supervisor in North Caslte on November 7, was so close that they are still recounting the ballots. Currently, Democrat Joe Rende holds a 5 vote lead, and after two recounts it appears that his lead will hold over Republican Barbara DiGiacinto, who is also a Town Councilwoman.
When the vote totals are this close, just a 5 vote lead out of 3,137 votes cast, the absentee ballots that are mailed in are thoroughly examined. And in the case of this election, 4 absentee ballots were examined in court, and eventually were not couned or included.
Here’s where it gets a bit complicated. Schiliro, a democrat, endorsed DiGiacinto, the republican for Supervisor. So any absentee ballots coming in from friends and relavites of Schiliro would have been cast for DiGiacinto.
In the end, the absentee ballots in question were not counted, and Rende has been delcared the winner.
But North Castle resident Robert Greene will not let this rest. “The worst thing they can do is try to steal my vote. I’m outraged. They committed a crime against the people. I play by the rules and campaigned for Rende. But the fact that Schiliro gets his daughter to put in a vote that cancels out my vote is terrible.”
Greene sent us this Letter Opinion based on his analysis of the vote count and court hearing. He includes comparative signatures on ballots and of board of elections voter cards that do not appear to be the same.
“In my opinion, North Castle Supervisor Mike Schiliro, North Castle Town Clerk Alison Simon, and Town Council member Barbara DiGiacinto (a candidate for Supervisor endorsed by Schiliro) were involved in an effort to inflate the vote count in favor of DiGiacinto by encouraging and enabling illegal votes to be cast in the 11/7/2023 North Castle town board election.
“The effort among supporters of DiGiacinto to overturn opposition candidate Joe Rende’s legitimate win would have worked if it were not for a challenge to several absentee ballots commenced in Westchester County Supreme Court on November 14, 2023. Investigation into alleged ballot fraud is continuing. Here is a summary of 6 flawed votes that have been discovered so far:
“Vote 1: An absentee ballot was submitted in the name of Supervisor Schiliro’s adult daughter, Paulina Schiliro, 28 years old, who left her full-time residence in North Castle in 2017. Paulina worked and lived in Colorado for four years and then moved to New Haven, CT, where she now lives in an apartment with her fiancé and plans to be married in June. Mike Schiliro picked up an absentee ballot form for her which was signed and submitted to be counted as a legitimate vote. However, as copies below clearly show, her signature on the ballot differs vastly from her signature on file at the BOE, calling into question not only her eligibility to vote in North Castle – but also whether she personally signed her absentee ballot. The top signature is a copy of Paulina’s BOE voter registration card. The bottom signature is copied from her 2023 absentee ballot. The two signatures are vastly different. When asked in court to identify the absentee ballot signature, Mike Schiliro testified, “That is my daughter Paulina’s signature.” (See Testimony page 62, line 11).
Mike Schiliro offered questionable sworn court testimony concerning the circumstances surrounding the signing of Paulina’s ballot and the legitimacy of her North Castle residency. (See Schiliro testimony beginning on page 53), including that Mike Schiliro both picked up and dropped off Paulina’s absentee ballot. Paulina Schiliro was subpoenaed to testify in Westchester County Supreme Court as to the validity of her ballot. However, under a settlement agreement by attorneys for Schiliro, Paulina was not required to testify under oath because Schiliro agreed to withdraw the ballot before it could be counted.
Votes 2 and 3: Absentee ballots were submitted in the names of 2 adult children of Town Clerk Alison Simon: Andie Simon, 27 years old, and Joseph Simon, 30 years old. Both Simon children live predominantly in NYC apartments and work full-time there, which would make it illegal for either of them to vote in North Castle. Furthermore, there are obvious signature discrepancies on the absentee ballots allegedly completed in-person by Joseph and Andie. Signatures of Joe and Andie Simon found on their BOE registration cards were compared with signatures on their 2023 absentee ballots. As shown below, the handwriting styles are vastly different – calling into question the identity of who signed the 2023 ballot.
When Joe was asked about his ballot in court, he testified, “No one touched it but me.” (See Testimony page 106, line 3) When Alison Simon was asked about the handwriting on the date of Andie’s ballot, she testified, “That’s mine.” (Testimony Page 84, line 18). When asked if she also dated Joe’s ballot she testified, “I don’t think so.” (Testimony Page 89, line 7). Judge Koba was skeptical, not just because of evasive and conflicting testimony, but also because the error in the position of the written date (circled above), nearly identical handwriting style, and ink pen type appeared to be the same on both Andie’s and Joe’s ballots. A handwriting expert was retained to analyze the validity of Andie and Joe Simon’s ballots. But before further investigation could begin, attorneys for Simon negotiated a settlement under which both questionable Simon ballots were withdrawn. As a result, the two ballots were not opened and therefore not counted.
Vote 4: An absentee ballot was submitted in the name of Giana Poppo, a 24-year-old likely Schiliro family acquaintance. Poppo Lives and works in Los Angeles, California which would make it illegal for her to vote in North Castle. Poppo was subpoenaed to appear in court, but she was able to avoid the process service. The judge disqualified her ballot. Poppo’s ballot is one of 4 that were withdrawn, not opened, and therefore not counted which begs the question, “Why would one agree to withdraw a legitimate ballot?” Since all 4 withdrawn ballots were submitted by DiGiacinto supporters, it therefore seems certain that the votes, if opened, would be for DiGiacinto. Had these questionable ballots not been set aside by agreement of the parties – the attempt to flip the election result would have succeeded.
Vote 5: An absentee ballot was submitted in the name of Kevin Decker, a 35-year-old first cousin and close friend of Barbara DiGiacinto. Decker, 35 years old, is the offensive coordinator at ODU in Virginia. Decker lives in Virginia and therefore voted illegally in North Castle. Decker’s vote was counted because it was opened before the investigation of absentee ballots began – but Kevin’s signature and the legality of his residency will undoubtedly be challenged. The top signature (below) is from Kevin’s 2010 registration card on file at the BOE. The bottom is from his 1/24/2023 absentee ballot. As with the Schiliro and Simon ballots – the signature styles are vastly different – calling into question the identify of who signed the ballot.
Vote 6: Larry Ruisi was a candidate for North Castle Town Council, a running mate of Barbara DiGiacinto, and endorsed by Mike Schiliro. He is also a member of the North Castle Planning Board. Larry’s 40-year-old son, Jonathan Ruisi, has lived in White Plains for over 10 years. Nevertheless, Johnathan illegally cast his vote in North Castle, in person, which was counted in this election. There is little doubt that an attempt to steal North Castle’s election for the office of Supervisor was made using multiple ineligible or fraudulent absentee ballots. Those involved have trampled on one of our most basic constitutional rights – the right to a fair and free election – and they very nearly got away with it. We find it disheartening that disregard for election integrity could happen in our small town, particularly involving senior elected officials who have the power and responsibility to protect the public interest. But in this case, the evidence of wrongdoing is overwhelming and impossible to ignore. Bad acts have consequences.
We are asking Mike Schiliro and Alison Simon to resign immediately. By their own court testimony and review of public records, we believe both have violated their oath of office and lost public trust by acting in disregard of our election laws. North Castle taxpayers should no longer be expected to honor their elected positions or pay their salaries.
Mike Schiliro: Setting aside the questionable signature on your daughter’s absentee ballot, by your own sworn court testimony you admit to collaborating with Paulina to submit an absentee ballot even though you knew she was not qualified to vote as a North Castle resident because she moved out of your house in 2017. Making things worse, when confronted with clear evidence that absentee ballots bearing the name of your daughter and of Allison’s son and daughter were irreparably flawed, you doubled down. Rather than accepting the suggestion to have the ballots simply tossed out, you insisted on a court hearing in an attempt to have all 4 obviously illegal votes counted – all the while knowing that those 4 votes, if counted, would fraudulently change the election results in favor of your endorsed candidate, Barbara DiGiacinto. You should resign from your position as Supervisor.
Allison Simon: Your office is the Town’s liaison to the Westchester County Board of Elections. One of your main responsibilities as Town Clerk is to oversee the integrity and validity of our elections. Based on your own court-sworn admissions, taken together with your children’s conflicting testimony and available public information, there is sufficient evidence that you have abetted the submission of invalid and perhaps fraudulent absentee ballots. It is appropriate for you to resign.
Barbara DiGiacinto: We know of no evidence that you manipulated ballot signatures or encouraged ineligible votes to be cast. However, we also doubt that there has ever been a conspiracy to inflate a vote count wherein the beneficiary of the conspiracy was unaware of what was going on. So – If you had any knowledge of the events detailed above, and took no action to stop it, you are also guilty of subverting North Castle election laws and should also resign.
Larry Ruisi: We are wondering why your son would drive from his residence in White Plains to vote in North Castle unless he was prompted to do so. If you were not involved – great. What you decide to do next will be governed by your own conscience,” writes Greene.
