Nassau elections staffer charged in petition fraud

A Nassau County Board of Elections worker has been charged with forging a petition for a county Legislature candidate in 2009. The District Attorney’s office has accused 27-year-old Imtiaz Insanally, of Valley Stream, with writing false addresses on a nominating petition.

According to District Attorney Kathleen Rice, Insanally wrote false addresses for eight petition signers on an independent nominating petition for Republican Christian Browne to appear on the Tax Revolt Party line. Browne unsuccessfully challenged Democrat Joseph Scannell for the 5th Legislative District seat in 2009.

Insanally is a part-time clerk for the Board of Elections. He works in the election machine department and has been employed there since October 2006.

He is also a volunteer with Assemblyman Brian Curran and set to join the paid staff when funding comes through. Curran said that Insanally denies the charges. “Mr. Insanally looks forward to presenting his side of the facts in this matter, which he believes will completely exonerate him,” Curran said. “Personally, Mr. Insanally has been a hard worker on behalf of my campaign for Assembly and I have full faith that when a full investigation of this matter is completed, Mr. Insanally will be found not to have done anything wrong.”

Insanally was arrested on Feb. 8 and charged with a felony count of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, and a misdemeanor count of misconduct in relation to petitions.

According to Rice, Insanally wrote the false addresses on Aug. 18 and 19, 2009, to get the required number of signatures to get Browne on the ballot. Investigators say none of the addresses provided exist.

“Whether you’re talking about a highly sophisticated case of systemic corruption or something as simple as this case,” Rice said, “they are both violations of the public’s trust and of our democratic process, and my office will continue to have no tolerance for that.”