Villamaino resigns amid voter fraud scandal

EAST LONGMEADOW, Mass. (WWLP) - Enrico "Jack" Villamaino has resigned as the Select Board Chair for East Longmeadow.  
It's a sudden, but maybe not unexpected twist in the developing voter fraud scandal out of East Longmeadow.

Town Clerk Tom Florence told 22News he received an email from Villamaino, announcing his resignation from the Board of Selectmen effective at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Florence said Villamaino has not indicated whether he's dropping out of the state representative race, but either way, it's too late to take his name off the ballot.

There is no recall clause in East Longmeadow's town government, so the board of selectmen couldn't have forced him to resign. That's why the news came as a relief to some.

East Longmeadow Selectman Jim Driscoll told 22News, "I can't say it was a surprise, it was a little bit more of a relief. A little bit of closure to allow the town to start the healing process, wait for the conclusion of the investigation and to move forward."

"Obviously you can infer a lot from his resignation, but until someone is front of a judge, I'm not going to cast judgment on anyone because if I was in the same position, I'd want the same consideration from the people around me," Selectman Paul Federici told 22News.

Selectman Driscoll explained he was planning on stepping down from the board in September, but in light of recent developments, he'll stay on until the town regains some stability.