Frisco man says he's innocent of felony charges related to election fraud
DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) — A longtime Dallas political consultant told CBS News Texas he's innocent of felony charges related to election fraud.
Whether it's printing campaign posters, his mobile sign trucks, or even getting praise from Dallas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, Alvin Green has been a political force.
For decades, the 59-year-old Frisco resident has helped a number of local candidates—many of them in Dallas County—get elected, but he's accused of falsifying signatures to get some of them on ballots.
Following his arrest last week, Monique Morgan-Edwards has found herself defending the character of her friend of more than 50 years. Green faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
"Politics are very important to him, because he wants to make sure to the best of his ability that the right person is in place," Morgan-Edwards said. "Whatever happened, I know it had to have been an honest mistake."
The investigation involves five Democratic judicial candidates who ran in the 2022 primary elections.
Court documents say signatures needed to get the candidates on the ballot were copied "from one applicant's petition to the others."
Four of the candidates were disqualified before the election, but it led to a criminal investigation and Green's arrest.
In a statement, Green said, "I'm totally innocent of all charges. And I'm more than confident my legal team will prove this in court."
"People tend to photocopy signature pages because they don't want to put in the work, do the hard work...they want to cheat the process," Angela Luckey said.
Luckey has previously run for elected office in Dallas County and says the allegations are disturbing to those who work hard just to get on ballots.
The former Grand Prairie mayoral candidate said when she was running, she would go door-to-door to get signatures. "It's unfortunate that in Dallas County we still have individuals who don't want to follow the process."
In a statement to CBS News Texas on the arrest, Fort Bend County's District Attorney Brian Middleton said the following:
"We must protect the integrity of our elections. Election fraud is extremely rare; election technology and procedures are sophisticated and designed to prevent interference. However, when there is probable cause to believe that a crime has occurred, we will pursue prosecution."
As it stands, this case is being prosecuted by Fort Bend County's district attorney because Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot recused his office from investigating.