LOCAL MAN INDICTED ON ELECTION FRAUD CHARGES

St. Louis, MO: Joel L. Neal was indicted on election fraud charges involving his use of an absentee ballot belonging to his deceased mother, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today.

According to the indictment, Neal's mother was listed on the roll of eligible voters to vote in elections in the City of St. Louis. Unbeknownst to the Board of Election Commissioners, Mrs. Neal died on October 29, 2007. In January 2008, according to the indictment, Joel Neal applied for an Absentee Ballot from the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners on behalf of his deceased mother, falsely claiming that she was incapacitated. Based on this false information, they mailed her an Absentee Ballot. The indictment alleges that between January 17 and February 5, 2008, Joel Neal marked the ballot and cast a vote in the name of his deceased mother.

Neal, 54, 4900 block of Labadie, St. Louis, MO, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of submitting false information on an absentee ballot, and one felony count of election fraud. If convicted, each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.

Hanaway commend the work on the case by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.