Lawrence city councilor pleads guilty to voter fraud charges

A sitting Lawrence city councilor pleaded guilty to voter fraud charges in court Wednesday stemming from the city’s 2023 municipal election, prosecutors announced.

Fidelina Santiago, 41, pleaded guilty to four counts of voting unlawfully, four counts of interfering with a voter, and four counts of obstructing voting, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said. Prosecutors said they chose not to move forward with four additional counts of conspiracy to vote or attempt to vote illegally.

Santiago was initially indicted in 2023 after winning a seat on the Lawrence City Council. At the time, another woman, Jennifer Lopez, was also indicted as her co-defendant in Essex Superior Court.

Lopez was scheduled to appear for a change of plea hearing Wednesday but didn’t show, according to court records. As of Thursday evening, her plea of not guilty was unchanged. 

Officials began investigating the incident after the Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin’s office alerted prosecutors to allegations of fraudulent voting in 2023, Boston.com previously reported. NBC10 Boston published video footage that appeared to show a woman removing mail-in ballots from a mailbox outside a Lawrence home.

Santiago, who works in the health care industry, has no criminal history, her lawyer wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed in March.

In the same court document, Santiago’s lawyer asked for a sentence of three years of probation, that she must resign from any elected position immediately, and can’t seek reelection. The memorandum also suggested 100 hours of community service.

Santiago will be sentenced in October, prosecutors said. 

Santiago and her lawyer did not return a request for comment Thursday evening.

Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.