This story has been updated.

One of the seven defendants facing election fraud charges in connection with Bridgeport mayoral elections is in discussions with the Chief State’s Attorney’s office about a plea deal.

All seven defendants made brief court appearances Tuesday before Judge Tracy Lee Dayton, and all had their cases continued to August 13. Dayton said on that date she expects to take a guilty plea from Josephine Edmonds, the first to do so.

The judge did not discuss the terms of that deal or whether Edmonds will get jail time or have to testify against other defendants.

Edmonds is facing four felony charges. including witness tampering and illegal possession of absentee ballots stemming from the 2019 election. Her attorney Public Defender James J. Pastore would not comment on the agreement.

Moments later, Dayton revealed that the attorney for a second defendant, Jazmarie Melendez, also is scheduled to meet with the Chief State’s Attorney’s office next week “to discuss the case,” Dayton said.

Deputy Chief State Attorney Lisa D’Angelo confirmed that the meeting will take place but did not say what any terms of a potential deal with Melendez would entail. 

D’Angelo made her first appearance in the case, replacing Kevin Lawlor, who recently retired. Lawlor has been in charge of the office’s multiyear investigation that led to all of the arrests. 

Melendez is one of three sitting city council members facing election fraud charges for either mispresenting who is eligible to vote absentee, fraudulent voting, taking possession of voters’ absentee ballots or being present while voters filled out those ballots. Melendez is facing six felony counts from the 2023 mayoral election.

The five other defendants are city council members Maria Pereira and Alfredo Castillo, Margaret Joyce, Nilsa Heredia and Wanda Geter-Pataky. All had their cases continued until August 13.

Dayton said at that time she expects plea negotiations to occur with the other five defendants to see if a resolution to the cases can be reached, otherwise a trial date will be set. Attorneys for all of the defendants met with Dayton in her chambers for nearly a half hour.

While that meeting was occurring, several of the defendants, including Castillo and Geter-Pataky, sat together on a court bench, complaining about all the trips to court.

Geter-Pataky, the vice chair of the city’s Democratic Town Committee, is facing 92 separate criminal charges, including conspiracy to take possession of multiple voters’ absentee ballots. 

Heredia is facing similar charges as Edmonds from the 2019 election but has not entered plea discussions with the state yet.

Her attorney Ken Krayeske had applied for accelerated rehabilitation — a form of probation — for Heredia but was denied by Dayton, who signaled the case was not going to be business as usual.

Dayton said that allegations of election fraud and voter manipulation were serious matters comparable to cases stemming from the embezzlement of public funds.

“I have granted [accelerated rehabilitation] in very, very serious situations,” Dayton said. “I certainly understand my ability and discretion to do so. I find this case to be more serious. I think taking someone’s vote is more serious than taking someone’s money.”

Meanwhile, Joyce, who lists no permanent address, was recently fined $1,000 by the State Elections Enforcement Commission for what they described as an “egregious” violation of state law for her actions in the 2024 Bridgeport elections. 

According to State Elections Enforcement Commission staff, Joyce told state investigators that she was compensated during those 2024 elections for the sole purpose of soliciting absentee votes — which is a violation of state law. They said she also admitted to taking possession of at least one voter’s absentee ballot ahead of those contests, which is a felony in Connecticut.

Joyce is currently facing nine criminal charges from the state’s investigation of the 2023 elections.

SEEC’s decision in the Joyce case is likely to seep into the criminal case, as Krayeske has questioned why low-level party members like Heredia are facing jail time while party leaders and Mayor Joseph Ganim remained untouched.

“What is there in this process that would discourage candidates for the office of the mayor for the city of Bridgeport from putting indigent people in this position, over and over and over again?” SEEC Chairman Stephen Penny said.

Correction

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Jazmarie Melendez was “negotiating a plea” with the state’s attorney’s office. Her attorney is scheduled to meet with the prosecutor, but the judge did not mention a plea deal in court on Tuesday.