BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin issued a statement on the sentencing of political operative and former Roseland Mayor Louis Ruffino for his involvement in a vote-buying scheme in Tangipahoa Parish.
“Though I am disappointed in the lenient sentence, I am grateful that this matter is finally resolved, and that Mr. Ruffino will now forever be recognized as a convicted felon who should not be involved in elections,” Ardoin stated. “I applaud the Department of State’s Elections Compliance Unit investigators for their diligent work to support federal investigators in the quest to bring all individuals in this illegal vote-buying conspiracy to justice.”
Last year, former Amite City Chief of Police Jerry Trabona and Amite City Councilman Kristian Hart were each sentenced to one year in prison for conspiring to pay, or offering to pay, voters for voting in a federal election. Ruffino was sentenced to one year of probation for his involvement in the scheme.
For more information about the Secretary of State’s Elections Division, visit www.GeauxVote.com or call 225.922.0900. To report suspected cases of election fraud or violations of the election code, contact the Election Fraud Hotline at 1.800.722.5305.