by: Keith S. Shikowitz, Editor in Chief/Investigative Reporter
The video above shows Effie Phillips -Staley disrupting Congressman Lawler at his town hall event on March 1, 2026.
The feud between Democrats running in the primary to unseat Congressman Mike Lawler has become more intense as accusations of forging signatures on petitions have been levied at Effie Phillips – Staley.
Phillips was the first of the primary candidates to tell Peter Chatzky to get out of the race when old posts of his which put fantasies of his into words that were not appropriate. It seems that the other democratic candidates are silent on this issue. This is in spite of her admission that last night (April 21) Democratic congressional candidate Effie Phillips-Staley filed a sworn Verified Answer in Rockland County Supreme Court that concedes fraud was rampant on her designating petitions. In a last-ditch attempt to stay on the ballot, her filing asks the court to disregard the fraudulent signatures and count what’s left.
This admission is contrary to the video she posted on her Facebook page on the morning of April 22.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1GgDgJ4AHb
She also claimed: Classy! Not only is Mike Lawler falsely crying FRAUD against the dedicated people who collected thousands of signatures to get me on the Democratic and WFP ballot, he duct-taped this to my door which peeled off the paint. Ladies and gentlemen, your Congressman hard at work for the people!
Another piece of evidence confirming the lack of authenticity of signatures came from Frank Capuano a Cornell University student, in an affidavit dated April 17, “I did not sign the designated petition bearing my signature and address,” said noting he was at the Ithaca campus and could not have signed the petition.
“The signature attributed to me is dated March 25, 2026. At that time, I was away at Cornell University for school and was not present to sign it.” He added for good measure that he’s not a registered Democrat and therefore “ineligible to sign” a petition for a candidate running in the party’s primary.
The 29 other voters filed identical statements that they did not sign Phillips-Staley’s petitions.
Joann Stach another person whose name appeared on a Phillips Staley petition, said she was shocked to learn her name was on a primary petition filed by Effie Phillips-Staley, one of five Democrats running in the June primary for the right to challenge Lawler in the general election.
“I’m very unnerved by the fact someone can just put my name down. I didn’t even know her name,” said Stach, adding when asked if she signed Phillips-Staley’s petition, “No sir, I did not.”
Stach went on to say the signature on the petition looks nothing like hers.
Today, (4/22) in a Rockland County courtroom the Lawler campaign told Judge David Fried that petitions filed by the Phillips-Staley campaign are “permeated with fraud” in the form of hundreds of invalid signatures.
“When we talk about protecting democracy, when we talk about election integrity, knowingly filing false and fraudulent signatures, to me, is disqualifying,” Lawler told CBS News New York’s Tony Aiello.
Virtually all political petitions have some number of invalid signatures, but Lawler is arguing that Phillips-Staley filed so many bad ones, it amounts to pervasive fraud.
Staley in a post on her Facebook page dismissed the effort to knock her off the ballot, writing on social media, “This is how desperate he is.”
Her campaign argues it filed more than enough valid signatures to qualify.
“Mike Lawler is arguing that we committed some sort of wholesale fraud and it’s just patently false. It never happened. Burden is on him to prove it,” spokesperson John Tomlin said.
Should the judge decide that signatures were fraudulent or forged, the one thing that has not been seen in any other report on this is that there could be criminal charges pressed against those committing the fraud.
Forging a signature on a primary petition is a crime:
Forging a signature on a primary petition is indeed a crime. It is considered a fraudulent act that can lead to criminal charges. The act of forging a signature on a petition is not only illegal but can also result in significant legal consequences, including imprisonment and civil liability. The intent to deceive or defraud is a key element in the crime of forgery and even minor alterations can be charged as forgery if the intent is to defraud or deceive