Notary says Chicago campaigns forged name

CHICAGO, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- A notary public's signature was forged on more than 400 nominating petitions filed by two Chicago mayoral candidates, she says.

The petitions involve Rob Halpin, who is renting former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's house and has refused to cut his lease short, and the Rev. James Meeks, a state senator seen as the front-running black candidate.

A signature and notary seal for Maricela Rodriguez appear on nearly 300 of Halpin's petitions, including 266 circulated by a homeless sex offender, Arthur Hardy, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Hardy also circulated 316 petitions for Meeks. Rodriguez isn't listed as notarizing them, but she does appear as the notary for 97 petitions Meeks submitted.

Rodriguez says she notarized no petitions for Halpin or Meeks. The signature on her driver's license and her notary seal differ from those on the petitions.

Rodriguez' employer, Bob Wolfberg of PLS Financial Services, said he "has no idea" how her name and the seal ended up on the documents.

Halpin, an industrial developer, and Meeks could not be reached for comment.