The N.H. Supreme Court has accepted Richard Rosen’s appeal of his conviction for voter fraud. The CEO of American Ag Energy and founder of North Country Growers in Berlin, Rosen, 85, was found guilty of knowingly voting twice in the Nov. 8, 2016, general election.
Following a trial in Grafton Superior Court in May, a jury ruled Rosen voted in person in Belmont, Mass., where he lives after voting by absentee ballot in Holderness, where he owns property and a business.
Rosen received a seven-day jail sentence in the House of Correction and was fined $4,000 on Aug. 15. The sentence was stayed while Rosen filed an appeal which the court accepted earlier this month.
Rosen’s appeal centers on rulings by the trial court on the admission of evidence and testimony.
The defense argued the court erred in excluding testimony from a man the defense claims had voted in Rosen’s name multiple times in Belmont. Given the fact that Massachusetts did not require a photo identification, the defense said there was a lack of evidence that Rosen actually voted in Belmont. The defense said the court erred in refusing its motion to set aside the verdict because of a lack of sufficient evidence.
The defense argued the state of New Hampshire lacked jurisdiction to try the case because the alleged criminal conduct occurred in Massachusetts. It also challenged the court’s decision to allow testimony about Rosen’s prior voting history in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, saying that resulted in the admission of evidence prejudicial to Rosen.
Rosen’s company signed an option on 170 acres of land off the East Milan Road back in 2017 with plans to build a commercial greenhouse to grow salad greens hydroponically. The option would be extended nine times before North Country Growers purchased the property at the end of 2020. The first 10-acre building housing an eight-acre greenhouse and two acres of workspace began selling produce in late spring. Plans include adding an additional 50 to 60 acres of greenhouse space on the site.
