Peekskill councilman charged with filing false documents over fake signatures on petitions

Peekskill Common Councilman Rob Scott, whose rejected nominating petitions when running for the county board of legislators included the signatures of three dead men, was charged Monday with filing a false document.

Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah announced Scott’s arrest Wednesday, about a year after Scott filed petitions to challenge County Legislator Colin Smith, D-Peekskill, in a Democratic primary for Westchester County Board of Legislators.

Scott signed 37 petition sheets, certifying that he had witnessed 537 signatures.

Smith challenged the petitions, which were thrown out by the Westchester Board of Elections for having insufficient signatures.

“Free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy,” said Rocah. “Undermining the petition process in an attempt to get on the ballot in an election violates the public’s trust.”

More: Who forged the signatures of 3 dead men on Peekskill Councilman Rob Scott's petitions?

Scott, 44, the owner of PK Blendz Juice Bar on Main Street in Peekskill, was charged with offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, a felony. The charge requires proof that Scott knew that what he filed was untrue.

Conviction on the Class E felony has a maximum penalty of four years in prison. Scott will be arraigned in White Plains City Court on April 30.

A message left Tuesday at Scott’s juice bar was not returned.

Scott is the second Democratic official in Westchester to be charged with crimes associated with petitioning in the 2023 election season. In September of 2023, Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Walsh charged former Mount Kisco Democratic Committee Chairman William Serratore with second-degree forgery and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument as well as first-degree offering a false instrument for filing.

Walsh took that case after Rocah recused herself.

In October, Serratore pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a forged instrument, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to three years probation, said Rockland DA spokesman Scott Waters.

Democrats angered by petition

The investigation of Scott's petitions was launched after Debbie and Jim Mickelson, two Peekskill Democrats, filed a complaint with Rocah’s office after they learned that their names were signed to Scott’s petitions. The Mickelsons said they hadn’t signed the document.

Then Tax Watch reviewed the petitions, finding more questionable signatures, including those of David Hallerman and his wife, Kathy Martone, whose signatures appeared to be scrawled on the documents. Both said they didn’t sign. They too shared their story with the district attorney.

Their allegedly forged signatures appeared on sheet 20 submitted by Scott, where 5 of the 8 questioned signatures were listed, according to the complaint. That page, which listed 15 signatures of residents of Magnolia and Longview avenues, also listed the signature of Aman Bakshi , who died in 2017.

Obituary notices for two of the supposed signatories noted their deaths in 2012 and 2017, according to documents filed with the Westchester Board of Elections, along with the 2022 death certificate of a third person whose name was supposedly signed in 2023.

“It seemed very clear that whoever put our names down was cheating,” said Hallerman. “We didn’t sign the petition. When this happens in the political arena, it hurts our democracy.”

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In a July 2023 interview at his Peekskill juice bar, Scott denied he forged the signatures, saying that he was extra careful in collecting signatures, and checking the names with a county database of registered voters. He was aware that Smith had successfully challenged the petitions of former Peekskill Mayor Andre Rainey when both sought to qualify for the Democratic primary in the 95th state Assembly district.

Scott said at the time he was stunned to learn that people had emerged to state they had not signed the petitions that he had witnessed.

“This is like stuff you see on TV, you know?” Scott said. “It’s like stuff you see in the movies.”

Scott’s four-year term on the Peekskill Common Council runs through 2025. Smith called on Scott to resign.

“Although I am disheartened at the news of Councilman Scott’s arrest, I applaud the district attorney’s office for taking a strong stance on public integrity,” said Smith. “Our elected officials must be held to a higher standard. Let this arrest serve as a warning to those who would attempt to subvert the rule of law for their own selfish gain that such self-serving behavior will not be tolerated. Councilman Scott should immediately resign.”

Peekskill Mayor Vivian McKenzie said it's too early to take that stand, just a day after Scott's arrest and before the councilman deals with the criminal charges.

"I believe that the judicial process should play out as intended and I will withhold any judgement until I have more information," she said.

But Peekskill activist Conor Greene said Scott had to go.

"In lots of cases 'let the criminal process play out' is appropriate," he said. "But not when it's undisputed that names of dead people and people who didn't sign were on a petition he attested to and submitted to BOE. Nothing personal against Rob, but this is a breach of public trust and he can't remain in a position of power."

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David McKay Wilson writes about tax issues and government accountability. Follow him on Twitter @davidmckay415 or email him at dwilson3@lohud.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Peekskill Councilman Rob Scott faces charges over petition signatures