Woman sentenced for election falsification

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The wife of a man who petitioned for the office of Bloomingburg mayor was sentenced Monday to six months in the state’s diversion program on an election falsification conviction.

Manuela L. Glass, of Bloomingburg, was indicted and plead guilty to election falsification in the 2015 election year.

Glass returned a nominating petition in a statement for candidacy form for her husband, Nicholas Glass, to the Fayette County Board of Elections for the office of Mayor of Bloomingburg, according to Fayette County Prosecutor Jess Weade, but did not witness all of the signatures for the petition, as is required by Ohio law. Prohibited acts regarding petition circulation is mandated in Ohio Revised Code Section 3599.14(A)(7) and (B).

Her husband, Nicholas Glass, who was the potential mayoral candidate, withdrew the petition before the board of elections met to certify his candidacy for the Nov. 15, 1015 election, according to Jamie Brooks, the deputy director for the Fayette County Board of Elections in Washington C.H.

“On an earlier date on a bill of information, a guilty plea was accepted,” said Fayette County Common Pleas Court Judge Steven Beathard. Judge Beathard ordered a pre-sentencing investigation report from the probation department to see if Glass would be eligible for the state’s diversion program.

“Regarding Ms. Glass’s eligibility for the diversion program… the court’s been provided with that report and has circulated that among council,” said Judge Beathard.

“Your Honor, I’ve read the report. I see nothing in that report that would cause the court to want to change any position as far as diversion’s concerned. Mrs. Glass has no record other than traffic, her explanation … simply was that she did not understand that she was to witness all the signatures of the petition that she filed. She’s acknowledged the error or the mistake she made in that,” said John Roszmann, the attorney for the defendant.

“I took three kids with me and that was my mistake,” said Glass. “I should not have took three little kids with me and I did not hear her say that I had to witness all of them and I didn’t read it. And that’s a shame on my part because I’ve always told my oldest son, you have to read everything you sign, but I didn’t do it and I’m sorry. I learned that, don’t take kids with you into something like that and to make sure you pay attention.”

“The state has read the same report as Mr. Roszmann, and wouldn’t have made a recommendation of diversion if it didn’t believe that this defendant was eligible and would qualify. As a result, there’s nothing in the report that changes the opinion of the state … and ask this court place Mrs. Glass on diversion and we look forward to hopefully a successful completion of the same,” said Weade.

Judge Beathard placed Glass in a six-month diversion program and ordered her to report to the probation department.

“At the conclusion of that six months … we’ll be looking at erasing or sealing the record of this complaint being filed,” said Judge Beathard. Glass was also ordered to pay supervising fees.

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By Ashley Bunton

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Reach Ashley Bunton at the Record-Herald (740) 313-0355 or on Twitter @ashbunton.

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