Robert Richard Lynn charged with forgery, interference of election
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WILKES-BARRE — A Forty Fort man was charged Wednesday with forging the name of his deceased mother on an application for an absentee ballot that was sent to the Luzerne County Board of Elections last month.
Robert Richard Lynn, 67, of Center Street, stands accused with using a typewriter to complete the absentee ballot application and signed the name of Marie P. Hannigan, according to court records.
Court records say Hannigan died May 9, 2015.
Lynn was arraigned by District Judge Thomas Malloy in Wilkes-Barre on charges of forgery and interference of an election. He was released on $10,000 unsecured bail.
The county election bureau discovered the alleged crime and reported it to authorities, officials say.
Lynn is a registered Republican, state election records show.
According to the criminal complaint filed by county detectives:
An absentee ballot application was “flagged” after it was delivered to the county Bureau of Elections on Sept. 4. A county official notified detectives on Oct. 8.
The application listed the name of Marie P. Hannigan, her date of birth, and an address on Center Street in Forty Fort. A reason listed for the absentee ballot stated, “visiting great grand kids Oct. 24-Nov. 10,” the complaint says.
A signature line listed Hannigan’s name.
A database used for voter information listed Hannigan died in 2015, and her voter information was changed to deceased on Aug. 21, 2015. Hannigan last voted on Nov. 4, 2014, and had her address listed as Crestview Drive in Dallas.
The complaint says detectives learned Hannigan resided on Crestview Drive and listed a home on Center Street in Forty Fort as another address.
Detectives went to the Center Street residence as Lynn was exiting the home.
Lynn became very nervous when asked questions telling detectives his mother as inside the house. He later admitted his mother was deceased, the complaint says.
When detectives advised Lynn there was an issue with his mother being deceased and an absentee ballot application with her signature was sent to the county Bureau of Elections, Lynn allegedly attempted to blame a relative.
Lynn later admitted, the complaint says, to using a typewriter to complete the absentee ballot application and signed his deceased mother’s name.
An email sent to Lynn via Messenger for comment was not immediately returned.
In a statement Wednesday, county Manager C. David Pedri said the alleged forged ballot application was caught by county elections staff and forwarded to District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis.
He thanked county Election Director Shelby Watchilla and her staff for “their vigilant work on catching this” and Salavantis for “her quick and thorough investigation.”
“There will always be people who try to cheat the system and will try to take advantage. Thankfully there will also always be people who are dedicated to stopping them,” Pedri said.
The arrest should be a “shining example and a warning for people who will try to illegally influence elections across the nation,” Pedri said.
“Actions such as those alleged here bring into question the integrity of our nation and cannot and will not be tolerated,” Pedri said. “As the nation is focused on northeastern Pennsylvania for this election, we are laser focused on having a fair election here in Luzerne County.”