The Suffolk County District Attorney is set to dismiss all eight charges against Pat Mansir, a past vice chairwoman of the East Hampton Independence Party and a former East Hampton Town councilwoman.
Following a highly contentious election season, she was charged in December 2018 with four counts of possession of a forged instrument and four counts of offering a false instrument for filing, all felonies. The Suffolk County District Attorney had alleged that Ms. Mansir submitted Independence Party nominating petitions containing eight forged signatures, including one from a deceased person.
Carl Irace, Ms. Mansir’s attorney, confirmed this week that Justice Karen Kerr of Suffolk District Court will drop the charges on Tuesday. Mr. Irace accepted the prosecution’s offer of dismissal on behalf of Ms. Mansir on March 15, but with pandemic-related delays still plaguing the courts, it took quite some time to get next week’s court date on the calendar.
In November 2018, the East Hampton Town Republican Committee challenged the Independence Party’s petitions after the latter party endorsed a Democrat for a town board seat. Similar charges — 20 of them — were leveled at the same time against Amos Goodman, then the chairman of the Town Republican Committee, who took a plea deal in May 2021. He ultimately pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor in connection with primary elections and three charges of disorderly conduct with “intent to cause public inconvenience.”
“This is the result that we needed — to clear Pat’s name, let her get back to her life, and not have this hanging over her head,” Mr. Irace said. “This case never should have been brought in the first place. Justice prevails, though the wheels of justice grind slowly. It was a tough, anxious time for my client, and she is relieved.”