Jail Time for Former Aides to Ald. Berny Stone

A news report from Lorraine Swanson, Lake Effect News

Two former political workers for Ald. Berny Stone (50^th) were sentenced to jail terms after both were found guilty on multiple misdemeanor counts of attempted mutilation of voting materials and attempted absentee ballot violations stemming from the 2007 aldermanic election in the 50^th Ward.

Anish Eapen, Stone’s handpicked Streets and Sanitation Ward Superintendent, was given the maximum jail sentence of 364 days in the Cook County jail for his part in a scheme to engineer absentee ballots favoring Stone that targeted the ward’s mostly immigrant and elderly voters.

Armando Ramos, a paid campaign worker in Stone’s 2007 aldermanic campaign, was sentenced to 270 days in the Cook County Jail. Both men were immediately taken into custody after their sentencing hearing on Wednesday morning.

In 2007, Stone faced three challengers in the general election, but was forced into a contentious runoff against Naisy Dolar. Stone narrowly won the runoff by 700 votes. Dolar has since moved out of state with her husband and family.

Eapen and Ramos were indicted on multiple felony counts of vote fraud after a joint investigation by then-Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in January 2008.

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