Cipriano: 'I believe it was a clerical error'

Rita Cipriano lived in an upstairs suite at 24 Queen Street East for about two weeks prior to the 2006 November municipal election, she testified in court this morning.

She lived there for one week afterward, too, she said.

Cipriano was the first witness called by the Crown as Ward 4 City Councillor Lorena Tridico's trial on election irregularities resumed today.

Crown Attorney Glen Wasyliniuk showed Cipriano a yellow sheet of paper and asked her to read the address on it.

"34 Queen Street East," she read aloud.

"Is that were you were living?"

"No," she replied.

"Did you write that?"

"No," Cipriano said.

"So you didn't fill that out," Wasyliniuk asked her.

"No, it was a young lady at the campaign office [of then-candidate Lorena Tridico]," she said. "I don't remember her name, but she was usually there when I wasn't."

Wasyliniuk asked Cipriano whether she signed a blank form and she agreed she had, saying she hadn't noticed the number 34 on it before.

"I told her it was 24 but I guess she wrote 34," said Cipriano. "I believe it was a clerical error."

Justice of the Peace Patricia Tennant explained to Cipriano today that nothing she says in the courtroom during this trial can be used against her in her own trial, for which a date has yet to be set.

Last week, visiting Justice of the Peace Susan Hilton declared a mistrial in Cipriano's trial on alleged voting irregularities.

Today, Cipriano testified that she lived in the upstairs suite at 24 Queen Street when her fiance Frank Tridico - who's also Lorena Tridico's brother - was home from his teaching job at Wayne State University.

She said she decided to move into the suite a week or so before Frank came home so she could help Lorena with the election campaign.

"I worked near there so it was convenient for me," Cipriano said. "I could stay late at the campaign office [Tridico's office downstairs at 24 Queen Street] and do whatever needed doing and just go upstairs when I was done."

"Did you change your mailing address?" Wasyliniuk asked her.

"No, I did not," she said.

"Did you change the address on your driver's licence?" Wasyliniuk asked.

"Not at that time," was Cipriano's reply.

Wasyliniuk also asked Cipriano if she had ever discussed the idea of changing her voting address with Lorena Tridico.

"Yes, I knew about the forms because they were in the office so we talked about it back in October," she said. "I assumed that, since my stuff was there and since I had been there off and on for the past year, I considered it to be my qualifying address."

Wasyliniuk asked her to look at the other signature on the yellow form and read it.

"It says Lorena Tridico," she said. "I guess it's hers but I don't know. I never saw her sign it."

Court then went into a voir dire - a trial within a trial - to determine the admissibility of evidence the Crown wants to admit.

The trial continues this afternoon.