WARREN — A Warren man has pleaded guilty to election falsification after prosecutors said he submitted dozens of fake signatures in an effort to halt a city project.

Joseph Lee Pizzulo, 43, of Adelaide Avenue, entered his plea Wednesday before Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean O’Brien. The charge, a fifth-degree felony, carries a potential sentence of six to 12 months in prison.

Pizzulo was among 26 individuals who gathered signatures in the summer of 2020 for a petition to block construction of a city-operated impound lot at 521 Main Ave. SW.

Prosecutors said the petition package he submitted included about 45 signatures that were either falsified or forged.

Pizzulo will undergo a background investigation by the probation department before sentencing.