Justice of the peace pleads guilty to tampering in connection with faked petition signatures
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A Texas justice of the peace has pleaded guilty to a charge of tampering with government records after he was accused of faking voter signatures to get on the ballot.
Russ Casey of Tarrant County pleaded guilty on Monday and was sentenced to five years of probation, report NBCDFW, CBSDFW and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
In a written statement after the court hearing, Casey apologized and said he was resigning the position he has held since his 2007 election.
Prosecutors had said an investigation revealed that many of 318 signatures on the petition submitted by Casey had not been given by the actual citizens.
Justices of the peace in Texas hear traffic cases and misdemeanors punishable by fines, as well as civil cases up to $10,000 in controversy, truancy cases, and landlord-tenant disputes.
