Frank LaPointe pleads guilty to forging petition signatures

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - Former State Representative Francis LaPointe pleaded guilty in Chicopee District Court Wednesday to forging hundreds of signatures in an election petition.

LaPointe was in charge of collecting those signatures in order to get a question on last year's November ballot to increase the City of Chicopee’s mayoral term from 2 to 4 years.

LaPointe, who was also former Chief-of-Staff to Mayor Michael Bissonnette, apologized to the Mayor and the people of the city after entering his plea.

"I don’t offer any excuses, and I accept full responsibility for my conduct, no one else knew what I was doing, and no one asked me to do it," LaPointe said.

“I very much hope that my admission today helps to close what has been an unhappy episode for the City of Chicopee. And my respect for the City, and I think it’s a good City. I’ve let it down, I truly hope this will put this situation behind all of us," he added.

LaPointe was sentenced to a year of probation, ordered to pay a $1000 fine, and ordered to never participate in any political campaigning ever again.

Mayor Bissonnette thanked the Attorney General's office for their nearly year long investigation and called Lapointe's actions "very stupid and disappointing."