State representative Christina Ayala stands at the doorway of Ayala’s Restaurant, which is owned by her father Alberto “Tito” Ayala on Beechwood Avenue in Bridgeport, Conn., on Wednesday October 16, 2013. Christina Ayala refused to comment on possible criminal charges after an investigation by the State Elections Enforcement Commission. Photo: Christian Abraham
Democrat Christina Ayala is under investigation for election crimes in Connecticut.
The CT Post reported:
The State Elections Enforcement Commission has referred Bridgeport state Rep. Christina Ayala for criminal prosecution in connection with a phony address she used to apply for public financing during her 2012 campaign for the General Assembly.
The commission on Wednesday recommended five potential criminal charges, including felonies of fabricating evidence and fraud. The commission’s findings follow a Hearst Connecticut Newspapers investigation in December that revealed Ayala was living outside her district.
The charges were serious enough to compel Speaker of the House J. Brendan Sharkey to immediately remove the first-term lawmaker from her membership on three legislative committees.
But if the decision and its immediate and potential consequences upset Ayala, she didn’t show it Wednesday afternoon.
Not reachable by phone all day, she was found around 4:30 p.m. sitting at her father Tito’s bar on Beechwood Avenue knocking back shots in celebration of her sister Anis’ birthday.