Bruce Franks Jr. charged with forgery in Maricopa Democrats mailers case
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Bruce Franks Jr. faces nine counts of forgery and one count of theft. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
The Pinal County Attorney's Office filed 10 felony charges against activist and political operative Bruce Franks Jr. last week after an investigation into unsent mailers the Maricopa County Democratic Party (MCDP) paid for before the 2022 election.
The big picture: Franks faces nine counts of forgery and one count of theft.
- The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office recommended the forgery counts after a nearly year-long investigation.
- Franks' attorney, Steve Benedetto, declined to comment on the charges.
Catch up quick: The MCDP paid $24,480 to Tempe-based consulting firm Agave Strategy for about 100,000 mailers in October 2022. Agave subcontracted through Franks' company, Blaque Printing Enterprise.
- Agave Strategy CEO Dawn Penich told Axios last year that Franks gave her documents purporting to show the mailers were sent through a sub-vendor.
- After learning the mailers never went out, party officials questioned the authenticity of the documents, which were later determined to be forgeries, according to reports from the sheriff's office.
- The party asked for a refund, which it received the following January.
Zoom in: Penich told Axios last year that Ne'Lexia Galloway, who was then-MCDP executive director and Franks' fiancée, requested that Agave use Blaque Printing Enterprise for the mailers.
- MCDP enacted a conflict-of-interest policy in September 2022 requiring employees to disclose financial conflicts to the MCDP executive board and recuse themselves while the board makes decisions on the transactions or arrangements.
- Penich said Franks and Galloway, who have since married, asked her to keep the arrangement between Agave Strategy and Blaque Printing quiet due to disputes with other Democrats.
- Galloway and MCDP chair Nancy Schriber resigned after Axios reported on the mailer dispute.
Between the lines: The theft charge resulted from a separate incident in which Agave Strategy alleged it paid Franks about $2,400 for 10,000 school board candidate mailers that were never sent, according to a sheriff's office report obtained by Axios.
- Mark Kokanovich, an attorney for Agave, told Axios that Franks didn't refund any money to the company for the mailers.
What they're saying: "For the past little over a year we've been busy rebuilding the party from the damage that was done," MCDP executive director Jon Ryder told Axios. "We have confidence that … the judicial system will see justice done."
Context: The Pinal County Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case because Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell removed her office from the investigation due to a conflict of interest.
- Several people involved in the case worked on the 2022 campaign of Mitchell's Democratic opponent, Julie Gunnigle.
What's next: Franks' initial appearance in Maricopa County Superior Court is scheduled for Oct. 21.
- Forgery is a class 4 felony that carries a penalty of 1 to 3.75 years in prison, and theft is a class 5 felony with a penalty of up to 2.5 years.
No charges were filed against anyone else in the case.