A former Democratic crook from Philadelphia who went to prison over the 1970s-era Abscam scandal was sent back to prison Tuesday at age 79 in a ballot stuffing case.
Former U.S. Rep. Michael J. “Ozzie” Myers was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. Myers admitted he had worked with election officials to pad the vote tallies of his political consulting clients. Some were running for city judgeships.
“Myers would solicit payments from his clients in the form of cash or checks as ‘consulting fees,’ and then use portions of these funds to pay election officials to tamper with election results,” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero said in a statement after the hearing.
“Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. If even one vote has been illegally cast or if the integrity of just one election official is compromised, it diminishes faith in process,” she said.
Myers pleaded guilty in June to violations of election law, conspiracy, bribery, and obstruction for his work on behalf of Democratic candidates from 2014 and 2018.
