Almost two years after a state grand jury charged former New Mexico Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron and three consultants hired by her office on multiple counts of fraud, money laundering and other charges, a federal grand jury has indicted two of Vigil-Giron's co-defendants on additional charges.
Political consultant Armando Gutierrez, currently of Corpus Christi, Texas, and lobbyist Joe Kupfer of Rio Rancho are accused of overbilling by about $2.5 million for services in a voter education project administered by Vigil-Giron. The project involved federal money from the Help America Vote Act.
Vigil-Giron was not indicted in the federal case.
The state case has been jammed up in state court for months and months. The Defendants were successful in taking the prosecution out of the hands of the Attorney General. Now they have to find a new judge, as the last one, Pat Murdoch, just resigned after being charged with raping a prostitute.
(That looks great for New Mexico, doesn't it? We have to delay prosecuting the former secretary of state because the judge is being tried for raping a prostitute.)
Read my full story HERE and take a look at the indictment below.
110728 Gutierrez-Kupfer Indictment
Showing posts with label corruption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label corruption. Show all posts
Friday, July 29, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Martinez Takes Aim at Omni
An executive order signed today by Gov. Susana Martinez seems to be aimed at a Santa Fe company involved in a recent bribery case.
The order apparently affect Omni Development, which still has contracts with the state despite the fact that its president Anthony Moya went to prison for embezzling from Kewa Pueblo (formerly known as Santo Domingo Pueblo.)
Omni was implicated, but not charged, in the recent bribery case involving former state Corrections official Laurie Chapman. The indictment, which a grand jury issued last month, says Omni paid bribes to Chapman.
The order applies to contractors who have been convicted of embezzlement, fraud, theft, bribery and other charges in the past three years.
Moya was convicted in early 2009, pleading guilty to one charge of embezzlement in a plea deal with federal prosecutors. In the plea agreement, he admitted to misusing some $312,000 in tribal money.
However, Moya's company has continued doing business with the state. As I reported last month, Omni has been awarded at least $8.6 million in state contracts in the past two fiscal years. Records available at the state Sunshine Portal indicate Omni has been paid nearly $965,000 in the current fiscal year.
Last month a federal grand jury charged Chapman, 50, with taking $237,080 in bribes from Omni in exchange for choosing the company for numerous construction projects worth about $4 million. The projects involve federal Department of Justice funds. Omni's payments to Chapman allegedly took place between 2007 and 2009.
Moya, though named as the "briber" wasn't charged. His lawyer last month wouldn't comment on whether Moya was cooperating with the government in the case against Chapman.
UPDATE: 3:09 p.m. My original figure on the amount Omni has been paid this year was way low. I've corrected it.
Here's the executive order itself.
Executive Order to Suspend or Disallow State Business with Firms that Violate Public Trust
The order apparently affect Omni Development, which still has contracts with the state despite the fact that its president Anthony Moya went to prison for embezzling from Kewa Pueblo (formerly known as Santo Domingo Pueblo.)
Omni was implicated, but not charged, in the recent bribery case involving former state Corrections official Laurie Chapman. The indictment, which a grand jury issued last month, says Omni paid bribes to Chapman.
The order applies to contractors who have been convicted of embezzlement, fraud, theft, bribery and other charges in the past three years.
Moya was convicted in early 2009, pleading guilty to one charge of embezzlement in a plea deal with federal prosecutors. In the plea agreement, he admitted to misusing some $312,000 in tribal money.
However, Moya's company has continued doing business with the state. As I reported last month, Omni has been awarded at least $8.6 million in state contracts in the past two fiscal years. Records available at the state Sunshine Portal indicate Omni has been paid nearly $965,000 in the current fiscal year.
Last month a federal grand jury charged Chapman, 50, with taking $237,080 in bribes from Omni in exchange for choosing the company for numerous construction projects worth about $4 million. The projects involve federal Department of Justice funds. Omni's payments to Chapman allegedly took place between 2007 and 2009.
Moya, though named as the "briber" wasn't charged. His lawyer last month wouldn't comment on whether Moya was cooperating with the government in the case against Chapman.
UPDATE: 3:09 p.m. My original figure on the amount Omni has been paid this year was way low. I've corrected it.
Here's the executive order itself.
Executive Order to Suspend or Disallow State Business with Firms that Violate Public Trust
Monday, May 16, 2011
Cruces Judicial Bribery -- How Far Does it Go?
The ghost of Cricket Coogler has to be watching the latest tale of corruption in Las Cruces with great interest.
A Dona Ana County grand jury late Friday indicted State District Judge Mike Murphy on charges of demanding or receiving a bribe by a public employee; bribery of a public officer or employee; bribery, intimidation, or retaliation against a witness; and criminal solicitation. He faces more than 10 years in prison.
The best way to catch up on this is to read Heath Haussamen's excellent coverage. Start HERE. Also below, unapologetically stolen from Heath's site, is the indictment itself and a report by investor Dan Blair. (Scroll down several pages to get to that.)
In a nutshell, Murphy allegedly told others that he paid $4,000 to get then Gov. Bill Richardson to appoint him, and told others this is the way judicial appointments were made.
It's important to note that Richardson has not been charged with any crime. In fact, there's no evidence in this indictment that Richardson himself ever saw any of this alleged bribe money.
But a major question raised by this indictment is, if indeed there was a pay-for-play scheme in Las Cruces, is whether the practice of buying judgeships going on in other parts of the state? Again, there's no evidence of this presented in the indictment report -- and an indictment is only a charge. Murphy has not been proven guilty.
Murphy Indictment Report
A Dona Ana County grand jury late Friday indicted State District Judge Mike Murphy on charges of demanding or receiving a bribe by a public employee; bribery of a public officer or employee; bribery, intimidation, or retaliation against a witness; and criminal solicitation. He faces more than 10 years in prison.
The best way to catch up on this is to read Heath Haussamen's excellent coverage. Start HERE. Also below, unapologetically stolen from Heath's site, is the indictment itself and a report by investor Dan Blair. (Scroll down several pages to get to that.)
In a nutshell, Murphy allegedly told others that he paid $4,000 to get then Gov. Bill Richardson to appoint him, and told others this is the way judicial appointments were made.
It's important to note that Richardson has not been charged with any crime. In fact, there's no evidence in this indictment that Richardson himself ever saw any of this alleged bribe money.
But a major question raised by this indictment is, if indeed there was a pay-for-play scheme in Las Cruces, is whether the practice of buying judgeships going on in other parts of the state? Again, there's no evidence of this presented in the indictment report -- and an indictment is only a charge. Murphy has not been proven guilty.
Murphy Indictment Report
Friday, April 29, 2011
Bribing a State Official as "Free Speech"
Even if New Mexico title-insurance rates were established as a result of bribes to a state official, the companies involved aren't liable under state anti-trust law and can't be sued by people affected by high rates.
"The Insurer Defendants did not violate the New Mexico Antitrust Act even if they conspired to bribe the superintendent of insurance," the The 10th District Court of Appeals in Denver said in an opinion this week in a case filed five years ago by former state Rep. Max Coll and others.
The defendants claimed certain title-insurance companies conspired with former state Insurance Superintendent Eric Serna to establish unreasonably high premiums. The suit claimed Serna set title-insurance rates high because of nearly $48,000 in contributions in 2003 and 2004 from title-insurance companies to Con Alma Health Foundation Inc., a nonprofit company Serna co-founded. Serna in 2006 called the allegation "ridiculous."
The appeals court justified their rejection of Coll's suit partly with the "Noerr-Pennington" doctrine, which holds that anti-trust laws don't apply to citizens and private companies who are trying to influence laws or government policies.
"The Noerr-Pennington doctrine is based upon the First Amendment," the opinion says. It protects the right to advocate for laws, or, in this case, high title-insurance rates "even if the conduct by which citizens attempted to influence governmental regulation was undertaken for the sole purpose of destroying competition, involved unethical business practices, or was specifically intended to hurt competitors," the court opinion states.
"There is no bribery exception to Noerr-Pennington."
Read more about this HERE
"The Insurer Defendants did not violate the New Mexico Antitrust Act even if they conspired to bribe the superintendent of insurance," the The 10th District Court of Appeals in Denver said in an opinion this week in a case filed five years ago by former state Rep. Max Coll and others.
The defendants claimed certain title-insurance companies conspired with former state Insurance Superintendent Eric Serna to establish unreasonably high premiums. The suit claimed Serna set title-insurance rates high because of nearly $48,000 in contributions in 2003 and 2004 from title-insurance companies to Con Alma Health Foundation Inc., a nonprofit company Serna co-founded. Serna in 2006 called the allegation "ridiculous."
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"The Noerr-Pennington doctrine is based upon the First Amendment," the opinion says. It protects the right to advocate for laws, or, in this case, high title-insurance rates "even if the conduct by which citizens attempted to influence governmental regulation was undertaken for the sole purpose of destroying competition, involved unethical business practices, or was specifically intended to hurt competitors," the court opinion states.
"There is no bribery exception to Noerr-Pennington."
Read more about this HERE
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Denish to Donate Malott Money to Charity -- But Not $$ from Mallot's Company
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
September 3, 2010
The day after Bruce Malott, the chairman of New Mexico’s educational pension fund, resigned over a questionable $350,000 loan, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Diane Denish’s campaign announced it was donating to a charity more than $4,000 in campaign contributions from Malott — whose company once kept the books for the Denish campaign.
“In light of today’s revelation, the campaign immediately donated donations from Mr. Malott to a New Mexico nonprofit that supports our early-childhood education professionals,” Denish spokesman Chris Cervini said in an e-mail Thursday. “It was the right thing to do.”
However, records kept by the Institute on Money in State Government show that in addition to Malott’s personal donations, his company, the accounting firm of Meyners & Co., gave Denish $8,750 since 2007.
Asked about the extra thousands from Meyners, Cervini said, “We saw it more of an issue with Mr. Malott than with his company.”
Cervini acknowledged that Malott’s firm served as treasurer of the Denish campaign until this spring.
“The campaign switched treasurers several months ago for a number of considerations, including our concerns about the use (of) state funds for Mr. Malott’s legal defense,” Cervini said in his e-mail. Malott’s firm was listed as campaign treasurer on Denish’s October campaign finance report. But the next report, filed in April, indicated another company was doing the books.
Malott’s resignation from the Educational Retirement Board was reported Thursday in a copyrighted story by the Albuquerque Journal. The report said he stepped down after an interview concerning the loan from Anthony Correra, a friend and financial backer of Gov. Bill Richardson. Correra’s son, Marc Correra, shared in millions of dollars in finder’s fees from investments by the ERB and the State Investment Council.
Malott, an Albuquerque accountant, told the Journal he borrowed the money in August 2006 to pay federal and state taxes owed because of a tax-shelter dispute with the Internal Revenue Service.
Marc Correra shared in nearly $22 million in fees as a third-party placement agent, according to records of the state investment agencies. His lawyer, Sam Bregman — who also has represented Malott’s company — has said there was no wrongdoing on Marc Correra’s part.
Among the lawsuits in which Malott is involved is one by former Education Retirement Board director Frank Foy, who claims Malott pressured him into approving investments with the Chicago-based Vanderbilt Financial and related companies.
Denish’s opponent, Susana Martinez, was quick to jump on the connection between Denish and Malott.
“… It is clear that the culture of corruption is deeply rooted in the Richardson/Denish Administration and we are finding more conflicts and wrongdoing every day,” Martinez campaign manager Ryan Cangiolosi said in a news release Thursday. “Denish stood by Gov. Richardson’s side and has strong ties with almost all the individuals making headlines for their crooked deals, which have held New Mexico back. New Mexicans have a right to know who else in the Richardson/Denish Administration and their boards had financial interests in these taxpayer-funded deals.”
State records show Malott’s company was paid more than $10 million by the state for auditing services between the fiscal years of 2001 and 2006, according to records obtained last year by The New Mexican.
Meyners currently has 21 auditing contracts with various state agencies, Antonio Corrales, chief of staff for the state Auditor’s Office, said Thursday. The contracts total more than $2.1 million, Corrales said.
Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for Richardson, said Thursday that “the governor was not aware of the loan and he has accepted Mr. Malott’s resignation.”
Malott was initially appointed to the pension fund’s governing board by former Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican, and he was reappointed by Richardson, a Democrat. Malott and his accounting firm had served as treasurer of Richardson campaign committees.
Malott submitted a terse resignation letter to the governor, saying he was stepping down immediately and he enjoyed being a board member for the past 11 years and appreciated the opportunity to have served during Richardson’s administration.
Anthony Correra served as a director of a nonprofit foundation that Richardson formed to do voter registration ahead of the 2004 presidential election. Malott’s company did the books for that foundation as well.
The elder Correra is a close friend of former state investment officer Gary Bland, who was appointed by Richardson but resigned last year amid a federal grand jury and Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into state investments.
Correra served on a committee that recommended Bland for the investment officer position after Richardson was elected in 2002. Anthony Correra and his investment management firm contributed $27,800 to Richardson’s 2002 campaign for governor.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
September 3, 2010
The day after Bruce Malott, the chairman of New Mexico’s educational pension fund, resigned over a questionable $350,000 loan, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Diane Denish’s campaign announced it was donating to a charity more than $4,000 in campaign contributions from Malott — whose company once kept the books for the Denish campaign.
“In light of today’s revelation, the campaign immediately donated donations from Mr. Malott to a New Mexico nonprofit that supports our early-childhood education professionals,” Denish spokesman Chris Cervini said in an e-mail Thursday. “It was the right thing to do.”
However, records kept by the Institute on Money in State Government show that in addition to Malott’s personal donations, his company, the accounting firm of Meyners & Co., gave Denish $8,750 since 2007.
Malott and his business also have contributed $4,500 to the campaign of Denish’s running mate, Brian Colón.
Asked about the extra thousands from Meyners, Cervini said, “We saw it more of an issue with Mr. Malott than with his company.”
Cervini acknowledged that Malott’s firm served as treasurer of the Denish campaign until this spring.
“The campaign switched treasurers several months ago for a number of considerations, including our concerns about the use (of) state funds for Mr. Malott’s legal defense,” Cervini said in his e-mail. Malott’s firm was listed as campaign treasurer on Denish’s October campaign finance report. But the next report, filed in April, indicated another company was doing the books.
The state paid at least $300,000 in legal bills for a private lawyer Malott hired to represent him in lawsuits over failed investments and a pending federal investigation into public investments. A state-appointed attorney also is defending Malott in the lawsuits. Several legislators have criticized the plan for state money to be used to pay private lawyers in the investment scandals.
Malott’s resignation from the Educational Retirement Board was reported Thursday in a copyrighted story by the Albuquerque Journal. The report said he stepped down after an interview concerning the loan from Anthony Correra, a friend and financial backer of Gov. Bill Richardson. Correra’s son, Marc Correra, shared in millions of dollars in finder’s fees from investments by the ERB and the State Investment Council.
Malott, an Albuquerque accountant, told the Journal he borrowed the money in August 2006 to pay federal and state taxes owed because of a tax-shelter dispute with the Internal Revenue Service.
Malott said that at the time of the loan he was unaware that Marc Correra had been receiving fees for helping money-management firms win investments from the pension fund and the SIC, which oversees state endowment funds.
Marc Correra shared in nearly $22 million in fees as a third-party placement agent, according to records of the state investment agencies. His lawyer, Sam Bregman — who also has represented Malott’s company — has said there was no wrongdoing on Marc Correra’s part.
Among the lawsuits in which Malott is involved is one by former Education Retirement Board director Frank Foy, who claims Malott pressured him into approving investments with the Chicago-based Vanderbilt Financial and related companies.
Denish’s opponent, Susana Martinez, was quick to jump on the connection between Denish and Malott.
“… It is clear that the culture of corruption is deeply rooted in the Richardson/Denish Administration and we are finding more conflicts and wrongdoing every day,” Martinez campaign manager Ryan Cangiolosi said in a news release Thursday. “Denish stood by Gov. Richardson’s side and has strong ties with almost all the individuals making headlines for their crooked deals, which have held New Mexico back. New Mexicans have a right to know who else in the Richardson/Denish Administration and their boards had financial interests in these taxpayer-funded deals.”
State records show Malott’s company was paid more than $10 million by the state for auditing services between the fiscal years of 2001 and 2006, according to records obtained last year by The New Mexican.
Meyners currently has 21 auditing contracts with various state agencies, Antonio Corrales, chief of staff for the state Auditor’s Office, said Thursday. The contracts total more than $2.1 million, Corrales said.
Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for Richardson, said Thursday that “the governor was not aware of the loan and he has accepted Mr. Malott’s resignation.”
Malott was initially appointed to the pension fund’s governing board by former Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican, and he was reappointed by Richardson, a Democrat. Malott and his accounting firm had served as treasurer of Richardson campaign committees.
Malott submitted a terse resignation letter to the governor, saying he was stepping down immediately and he enjoyed being a board member for the past 11 years and appreciated the opportunity to have served during Richardson’s administration.
Anthony Correra served as a director of a nonprofit foundation that Richardson formed to do voter registration ahead of the 2004 presidential election. Malott’s company did the books for that foundation as well.
The elder Correra is a close friend of former state investment officer Gary Bland, who was appointed by Richardson but resigned last year amid a federal grand jury and Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into state investments.
Correra served on a committee that recommended Bland for the investment officer position after Richardson was elected in 2002. Anthony Correra and his investment management firm contributed $27,800 to Richardson’s 2002 campaign for governor.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
New Mexico One of the Nation's LEAST CORRUPT States!
If you're waiting for a punchline, there isn't one.
Here's what they said about us:
The Beast looked at a decade's worth of FBI statistics for all 50 states plus Washington, D.C, in the areas of public corruption, racketeering and extortion, forgery and counterfeiting, fraud and embezzlement.
According to a feature in The Daily Beast, New Mexico ranks 45th in the list of most corrupt states.
We are behind such corrupt cesspools as Minnesota, North Dakota. Kansas and Vermont.
Here's what they said about us:
Recent Scandal: New Mexico has a long history of public corruption (see: New Mexico state treasurers), and one of the more interesting characters to arise from its history is Manny Aragon. Aragon was a senator for the state for 29 years, but his legacy was marred in 2008 when he pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy and mail fraud related to a plan to steal $4.4 million from the state during the construction of the Albuquerque metro courthouse. He was sentenced to more than five years in prison and ordered to pay a $750,000 fine and $649,000 in restitution.
The Beast looked at a decade's worth of FBI statistics for all 50 states plus Washington, D.C, in the areas of public corruption, racketeering and extortion, forgery and counterfeiting, fraud and embezzlement.
Here's how New Mexico ranked in those categories:
Public Corruption: 41
Racketeering & Extortion: 41
Fraud Rank: 47
Forgery & Counterfeiting: 40
Embezzlement: 10
At least we're in the top 10 for embezzlement.
Thanks to my friend Bob for tipping me to this. And congratulations to my former colleague Laura Husar whose photo of Manny in action was used to represent our state.
Public Corruption: 41
Racketeering & Extortion: 41
Fraud Rank: 47
Forgery & Counterfeiting: 40
Embezzlement: 10
At least we're in the top 10 for embezzlement.
Thanks to my friend Bob for tipping me to this. And congratulations to my former colleague Laura Husar whose photo of Manny in action was used to represent our state.
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