Guilty Pleas in Indiana Ballot Petition Fraud Case

She who speaks first gets the plea deal:

Shelton is one of three people accused of forging signatures to get Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on Indiana's 2008 primary ballot. St. Joseph County’s former democratic party chair, Butch Morgan, is accused of telling them to do it.

As part of her plea agreement with prosecutors, Shelton agreed to testify against her former co-workers.

“If she testifies truthfully, we will recommend that she receives no jail time,” said Stan Levco, a special prosecutor from Evansville appointed to lead the case.

Shelton is one of four Democrat voter registration workers accused of fraud in the 2008 elections. Prosecutors allege the former Democrat party chair, Butch Morgan, ordered Bev Shelton, Pam Brunette, and Lucas Bukett to illegally copy signatures from a petition for governor onto petitions for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton ahead of the 2008 primary elections.

Two weeks after Shelton's plea deal, Pam Brunette entered a similar guilty plea, but did so without the benefit of a plea deal.

A second person accused of ballot petition fraud admitted Tuesday she certified ballot petitions that had fake signatures, but Bam [sic] Brunette said she never forged any signatures to get Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton on the 2008 presidential primary ballot.

Brunette pleaded guilty to forgery, falsely making a petition and official misconduct – all felonies. Special prosecutor Stan Levco didn’t give her a plea deal, as he did another defendant in the case when she pleaded nearly two weeks ago.

Perhaps she should of spoken sooner. That said, although she did not get a formal plea deal, prosecutors have dropped three other, separate felony charges against her.