A New York State Assembly candidate has been caught on camera removing his opponent's campaign flyer from a voter's mailbox. Joseph Mastroianni, a member of Donald Trump's Republican Party, was allegedly seen on footage from a homeowner's Ring doorbell camera taking a flyer for his rival and current Assembly member Democrat Angelo Santabarbara, from a mailbox in Scotia, New York.
The video appears to show Mastroianni replacing it with his campaign material, before tucking the rival leaflet into his pocket, according to a report in the New York Post.
“Bad, bad, bad,” Mastroianni can be heard saying in the video, with a woman giggling in the background. The footage from October 17 was first shown by News 6 in Albany. In the Ring video, Mastroianni appears to remove the mailer, fold it up and place it in his pocket while laughing.
The homeowner subscribes to the US Postal Service's ‘Informed Delivery' service, which provides images and videos of delivered mail. The homeowner received an email earlier that day showing a photo of Santabarbara's campaign flyer in their mailbox. The Ring camera footage later captured Mastroianni allegedly taking it.
In the US, removing mail from a mailbox without permission is a federal offence, carrying potential criminal penalties.
Frank Salamone, Chairman of the Schenectady County Democratic Committee, has since lodged complaints with multiple authorities, including the US Postal Service, the New York State Board of Elections, and several law enforcement agencies, reported The New York Post. Salamone provided these bodies with the video evidence and urged them to take action.
Salamone added that Mastroianni was aware of his actions, highlighting the footage where he laughs and says, “Bad, bad, bad.”
Salamone has called for Mastroianni to immediately withdraw from the Assembly race and resign from the Rotterdam Town Board. “Clearly, Mr. Mastroianni cannot continue this campaign in light of the fact that he committed, appears to have committed, at least one federal crime,” Salamone said.
Joseph Mastroianni was yet to react to the matter.
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