New York State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa has thrown out the results of a May 19 trustee election in the Hempstead Union Free School District and called for a new vote within 60 days. The decision follows a 51-page petition detailing alleged fraud by District Clerk April Keys. Investigators say the scheme aimed to benefit incumbent trustee Victor Prett.
Rosa acted after evidence emerged of systematic interference with absentee ballots. Surveillance footage showed Prett, who also performs as a local DJ under the name DJ Vic-Lover, spending about 90 minutes in Keys’ office the night before the election and leaving with a stack of up to 125 envelopes.
Days later, Superintendent Gary Rush discovered a cafeteria trash can containing a bag of ripped ballots and shredded applications. A custodian later retrieved the bag from an outdoor dumpster, where it had been moved on Keys’ alleged instructions. Nine ballot applications appeared to be written in the same hand and were processed in a three-minute window.
Prett won the seat by 81 votes despite finishing third in machine voting. The Nassau County District Attorney has opened a criminal investigation. A temporary clerk has been appointed to oversee the new election.
