The former police chief of a Louisiana city and a former city council member were sentenced this week to one year in prison over a vote-buying scheme during a federal election, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Jerry Trabona, 73, the former police chief of Amite City, and Kristian Hart, 50, a former Amite City Council member, were accused of offering payments to voters living in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, for voting in the 2016 open primary and election, the DOJ said in a Nov. 30 news release.
Earlier this year, the DOJ said that the pair pleaded guilty to “three counts of paying and offering to pay voters during both the 2016 and 2020 elections.” In the two elections, Hart was running for the Amite City Council, the agency said….