While U.S. Attorney’s Office won appeal, Raia resentenced to time served for Hoboken VBM fraud


While the U.S. Attorney’s Office won an appeal hoping for stiffer penalties, for Hoboken politico Frank Raia, who was convicted of vote-by-mail fraud in connection to the 2013 municipal elections, he was only resentenced to time served late last month.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

“As was announced on July 15, 2021, the defendant is re-sentenced as directed by the Third Circuit’s Opinion of April 6, 2021 which vacated and remanded for further proceedings,” a July 27th judgment signed by U.S. District Judge William J. Martini says.

“The sentence is imposed pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984.”

The judgement does not provide any details on why Martini opted to resentence Raia to time served.

At his initial sentencing in December 2019, the judge said he received around 140 letters on Raia’s behalf, which Martini called “very extraordinary” at the time.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office of New Jersey successfully appealed Martini’s sentencing of Raia, as HCV first reported, which was a 90-day prison sentence and $50,000 fine.

Raia had served about two thirds of his prison sentence at the FCI Fairton medium security federal correctional facility before Martini granted him an early release due to COVID-19 concerns at the facility.

A federal grand jury had convicted Raia of VBM fraud during the 2013 municipal elections, where he sought an at-large council seat and supported a referendum that aimed to loosen the city’s rent control rules (both efforts were unsuccessful), back in June 2019.


  1. As the Arizona Audit continues to total massive irregularities and more election fraud evidence emerges in Georgia, Democrats can take pride in this victory for one of their own who won’t be further incarcerated. Ravi Bhalla can give Pupie further praise as “an asset to Hoboken” and Dawn Zimmer can breathe easier again. She tried to reward him with another term on the NHSA before his arrest. Reformers with reform council members stopped her.

      • The Arizona Audit isn’t complete. There’s key data and details ordered turned over being withheld. Gee, I wonder why they would blatantly disobey a court backed subpoena? If you only had a clue, you might even be able to almost make a coherent reality-based point. Fat chance, that.

        • it’s the republican senate’s audit. they’ve been at it for months. they hired cyber ninjas who have no election audit experience. but why would you care.

          cyber ninjas are the ones who have not provided data to the house o&r committee. maybe they missed the deadline because they were hired for political purpose to perform a task they have zero qualification to perform. or maybe because the cyber ninjas themselves rather than the election have become the subject of oversight concern. but go ahead and make up an conspiracy theory involving communists, antifa and gay marriage.


  2. Just let him go as far as hoboken is concerned and a lot of the politicians did much worse than he ever did many of the politicians are still doing underhanded miserable infraction

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