Property Tax/Rent Rebate Application Deadline Extended

Earlier this month federal prosecutors announced a Bethlehem man was convicted of election fraud by a federal jury for voting twice in the 2020 presidential election

United States Attorney David Metcalf announced  Matthew Laiss, 32, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was convicted  at trial on March 3 of election fraud offenses in connection with the 2020 presidential election.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Laiss  was charged by indictment in September of last year with one count of voting more than once in a federal election and one count of voter fraud and was convicted on both charges.

According to court filings, from at least October 2012 until about August 2020, Laiss resided in, and was lawfully registered to vote in, Ottsville, Pennsylvania, a municipality located in Bucks County. In or around August 2020, Laiss moved his primary residence from Ottsville,  to Frostproof, Florida. The same month, he applied for and obtained a Florida driver’s license and registered to vote in Florida.

In or about October 2020, the Bucks County Board of Elections mailed a ballot for the November 2020 general election to the Laiss’  former address in Ottsville, Pennsylvania, where his parents continued to reside.

As proven at trial, on or about October 31, 2020, Laiss filled out and returned the Pennsylvania mail-in ballot, casting a vote for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States of America, prosecutors say.

Then, according to investigators, on or about November 3, 2020, Laiss went to a polling location in or around Frostproof, Florida, and voted in the 2020 general election, casting a vote for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States of America.

According to a Penn Capital-Star report, the double voting was uncovered with the help of a multistate voter roll maintenance program called ERIC, which was the target of conservative attacks in the years after the 2020 election.

Numerous conservative-run states left ERIC between the 2020 and 2024 election, including Florida, where Laiss was double-registered, the report says

Pennsylvania remains an ERIC member state, even though legislation has been authored by Republicans at the state level to withdraw from the program, according to state records.

This “…conviction reinforces a simple principle: our elections must be fair, secure, and lawful, ” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Casting a ballot in more than one jurisdiction undermines public trust and dilutes the votes of others. Our office will continue to protect the integrity of federal elections and hold accountable those who violate the law.”

Laiss is scheduled to be sentenced June 10, 2026, and faces a maximum possible sentence of five years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $10,000 to $250,000 fine, for each of the charges on which he was convicted.

This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of State, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Dubnoff.

Editor’s Note: Mr Laiss in myriad of media reports publicly declared his support and votes for President Trump in the 2020 Elections

PennDOT announced that construction activities will occur at night Thursday on northbound I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia.

Motorists are advised of the following travel restriction:

• Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13, from 7:00 PM to 5:00 AM the following morning, a lane closure will be in place on northbound I-95 between the Castor Avenue and Betsy Ross Bridge interchanges for sheet pile installation.

All scheduled activities are weather permitting. Motorists are advised to allow extra time for traveling on northbound I-95 because backups and delays will occur.

The sheet piles will help support the embankment during northbound reconstruction of I-95 between Wheatsheaf Lane and Margaret Street as part of PennDOT’s $355.3 million I-95/BR3 project.

Two Bensalem Police officers were recognized for their extraordinary service and life-saving actions at Monday night’s Council meeting.

Officer Mark Wildsmith was honored as the 2025 Bensalem Township Police Department officer of the Year.

Over the past year, Wildsmith demonstrated exceptional dedication to the community. His accomplishments include successfully handling a life-threatening critical incident, saving a man’s life by performing the Heimlich maneuver, assisting a suicidal veteran as part of the Bucks County Veterans Response Team, and arresting a suspect during a traffic stop who was in possession of a Glock handgun equipped with a “switch,” making it fully automatic, said officials.

Wildsmith also helped develop the department’s Jiu-Jitsu defensive tactics training program. He previously served as a Philadelphia Police Officer and is a proud United States Army veteran.

The second officer honored was Kristopher Harley who was recognized for his heroic actions during a call to a local hotel. When alerted that a child had drowned in the pool, Harley, officials said, immediately located the unresponsive child and began CPR. Through his quick and decisive actions, the child regained consciousness and began breathing on his own.

The child has since made a full recovery, officials said.

It was especially meaningful to have the two survivors in attendance at the meeting to personally thank the officers who saved their lives, officials noted.