Rochester mayor indicted in campaign finance probe

Warren blames bookkeeping woes for the problems

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren was indicted Friday on charges she broke campaign finance rules and committed fraud during her reelection campaign three years ago, adding another layer of crisis in a city that has been reeling over its handlng of a police killing

Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley also announced charges against Warren’s campaign treasurer, Albert Jones Jr., and the treasurer of her political action committee, Rosalind BrooksHarris.

The indictment dramatically increases political peril for Warren, who was already facing calls to resign for the city ’s handling of the suffocation of Daniel Prude. The Democrat is midway through her second term as the first female and second Black mayor of Rochester, a city of more than 200,000 by Lake Ontario.

Elections officials began fielding complaints about Warren’s campaign finances in 2017, when Warren

defeated two challengers in a Democratic primary prior to her reelection. In March, the state Board of Elections presented Doorley with a 35-page report “that found considerable evidence” that Warrren, Jones and Brooks-harris may have violated the law, the prosecutor said at a news conference.

“Our investigation began in earnest at this point, but was slowed due to the corona 19 pandemic,” she said.

A grand jury was empaneled in September and wrapped up its work on Friday.

The indictment alleges Warren and the others took steps to evade contribution limits between Nov. 6, 2013 and Nov. 7,

2017.

“The indictment alleges that it was not a mistake,” Doorley told reporters.

Warren had previously denied any attempt to evade campaign finance rules, blamed errors on sloppy bookkeeping and referred to the investigation as a “political witch hunt.”

“She wants you to know Monday morning that she’s coming to work and she’s going to represent the constituents with the same vigor and dedication that she does every single day on the job,” her attorney, Joseph Damelio, told reporters in Rochester. “She’s going to walk into the building with her head held high and she’s going to go to work.“

Adrian Kraus / Associated Press Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren was indicted Friday on charges she broke campaign finance rules and committed fraud during her reelection campaign three years ago.