WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After a four-day trial, a jury in Concord, New Hampshire today convicted James Tobin, the former New England Regional Director of the Republican National Committee, of charges stemming from a scheme to disrupt phone service to five Democratic Party offices and a firefighters' ride-to-the-polls program on Election Day 2002, the Department of Justice announced today.
Tobin, 45, of Bangor, Maine, was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit telephone harassment in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 and 47 U.S.C. § 223 (a)(1)(D), and one count of aiding and abetting of telephone harassment in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 223 (a)(1)(D) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. Another count of the superseding indictment had been dismissed prior to submission of the case to the jury, and Tobin was acquitted on a charge of conspiracy to injure the free exercise of the right to vote. Tobin faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy count and two years in prison on the aiding and abetting of telephone harassment count. Sentencing is scheduled for March 21, 2006. At trial, the government presented the testimony of Charles McGee, former Executive Director of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, and Allen Raymond of GOP Marketplace, who testified that Tobin had put them in touch with each other to conduct the scheme. Both McGee and Raymond, who previously pleaded guilty and had been sentenced for related charges, testified that the phone jamming would not have gone forward without Tobin’s involvement.
“This conviction sends an important message about ensuring the integrity of our election system,” said Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division. “The Department of Justice will prosecute any attempt to use illegal schemes on Election Day.” The investigation and trial were jointly handled by the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and the Public Integrity Section. The trial team included Andrew Levchuk and Lily Chinn of CCIPS and Nicholas Marsh of the Public Integrity Section. The team was supported by Aubrey Rupinta and Stephen Brannon of CCIPS.
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