Election fraud case against Nick D'Angelo delayed again by his defense team

Rick Pfeiffer -, Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Updated ·3 min read

May 10—LOCKPORT — The oft-delayed election fraud case of former Niagara Falls attorney and political operative Nicholas D'Angelo was delayed again on Friday after a member of his defense team told a State Supreme Court justice that he had been too busy trying a case in federal court to file necessary motions in D'Angelo's case.

D'Angelo had been expected to agree to a plea deal in the case, with Niagara County prosecutors in January, but that proceeding was "adjourned at the defense's request" and was set to be rescheduled for a date in February. However, the plea proceeding was never reset and Friday's court date had been set for a "conference" with Justice Debra Givens.

A new hearing date has been set for June 21.

D'Angelo, 30, is currently serving 10 years of sex offender probation, after being released on Nov. 3 from the Niagara County jail, where he was incarcerated for six months after pleading guilty to four counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of third-degree criminal sexual act and two counts of third-degree rape in a plea deal with special prosecutors from the Erie County District Attorney's Office.

The election fraud case is related to his sex offense case. D'Angelo has pleaded not guilty to an indictment that charges him with multiple felony and misdemeanor counts following a New York State Police Special Investigations Unit (SIU) probe that determined "that D'Angelo forged records and used a victim's identity to make a false campaign contribution."

The Gazette has learned that the identity theft victim is the husband of the sex crimes case special prosecutor, Erie County Assistant District Attorney Lynette Reda. The alleged fraud was uncovered by campaign officials working on the 2021 election of City Court Judge Janelle Faso, who said they discovered what appeared to be a mailed election contribution from Sam Reda.

Both the sex offense case and the election fraud case have been overseen by Givens.

Assistant Niagara County District Attorney Robert Zucco has repeatedly told Givens, and D'Angelo's defense attorneys, that he is ready for trial, but that "a plea offer is available" to their client.

Zucco has said his offer was for D'Angelo to plead guilty to a single count of attempted first-degree tampering with public records, an E class felony.

D'Angelo's defense attorney, Jessica Kulpit, has previously rejected that offer, saying her client was not willing to take a "felony plea."

In addition to D'Angelo's jail term and sex offender probation sentence, Givens has also designated him as a Level 3 sex offender, with a special designation as a "violent sexual offender." The risk level 3 designation means an offender is at a high risk to re-offend and a threat to public safety.

D'Angelo had a previous sex offense conviction from 2009 when he was a student at Niagara Falls High School. However, he was given youthful offender status in that case and the record of those proceedings is sealed.

He served a term of probation for that conviction.

Givens previously told D'Angelo that if he violated the terms of his sex offender probation, she would re-sentence him to up to 44 years in prison.

D'Angelo was charged in November 2020 in a 12-count indictment that accused him of multiple rapes and sex crimes, one of which involved an underage girl. He pleaded guilty to a superseding 8-count indictment.