Matthew Podolsky, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Nicole Torres, a Bronx district leader and former employee of the New York City Board of Elections (NYC-BOE), has entered a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to commit extortion and mail fraud. Torres admitted to illegally demanding payments from Bronx residents in exchange for selecting them as poll workers and collaborating with others to falsify documents to claim that certain individuals had served as poll workers when they had not. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky stated, "For five years, Nicole Torres abused her position of public trust as an elected official and City employee by taking bribes and falsifying records in connection with the selection and placement of poll workers in the Bronx. Today’s plea highlights this Office’s commitment to rooting out corruption in local government, and to protecting the integrity of poll workers and our elections."
The charges come from allegations that, from at least 2019 through 2024, Torres held the position of district leader for New York’s 81st Assembly District in the Bronx while concurrently working for the NYC-BOE since at least 2016. During her employment, she misused her authority in two significant illegal operations.
Firstly, from 2019 until August 2024, Torres required Bronx residents to pay a fee, typically $150, either to her or to a local organization in exchange for their selection as poll workers. Torres and this local organization both gained financially from this arrangement, with Torres accruing at least $28,000 in illicit payments through various channels.
Secondly, from 2018 through August 2024, she conspired to alter official NYC-BOE records, known as the Forms Booklet, to falsely show that certain individuals worked as poll workers. This deception enabled her and her accomplices to collect salaries meant for these "No-Show Poll Workers," netting Torres at least $36,000.
Nicole Torres, 44, now faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count as prescribed by Congress, though actual sentencing is at the discretion of the judge. Her sentencing is set for July 8, 2025, by Judge Vyskocil.
Podolsky commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Department of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin M. Burkett and Rebecca T. Dell from the Office’s Public Corruption Unit.