Case of ex-mayor accused of voter fraud postponed

A court appearance for former Elmwood Park Mayor Francesco Caramagna scheduled for this morning was postponed for one week, leaving the race for mayor of the Southwestern Bergen County municipality in flux.

Caramagna resigned as mayor in April after being charged with tampering with vote-by-mail ballots.

Since the charges came after the filing deadline, Caramagna ran unopposed in the Democratic mayoral primary.

He remains a candidate for mayor in the November general election.

Caramagna has applied to the Pre-trial Intervention program. Should the judge and prosecutor agree, it is still not immediately clear whether he will be permitted to seek political office while on probation.

Democrats have said that Caramagna, who remains as municipal chairman, has hinted that he would like to run again.

The deadline for Caramagna to withdrew and be replaced on the ballot is September 12, although that statutory deadline has consistently been viewed as fungible by New Jersey judges.

The adjournment of Caramagna’s court appearance leaves Republican Robert Colletti without knowing who he will face in the upcoming election.