Former corrections official charged with bribery

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A former N.M. Corrections Department official has been indicted by a federal grand jury for taking well over $200,000 in bribes in exchange for steering construction contracts to a roofing company.

Laurie Chapman, 50 and the former facilities manager for the Corrections Department, is facing 30 counts alleging that, between February 2007 and August 2009, she solicited and accepted $237,080 in bribes from Omni Development Corporation in exchange for the company getting $4 million in construction and maintenance jobs at Corrections Department facilities.

“Corruption of this nature strikes at the heart of good government and erodes public confidence,” U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said in a news release. “… This kind of betrayal of the public’s trust cannot and will not be tolerated.”

Chapman faces 30 counts of theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. Each count includes a possible prison sentence of 10 years, supervised release of three years, and a fine of $250,000. Read the full indictment here.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of property that can be traced to the money Chapman allegedly took.

The indictment follows a 10-month investigation by the FBI and U.S. attorney.

From the U.S. attorney’s news release:

“The indictment alleges that, in her capacity as NMCD Facilities Manager, Chapman selected vendors to perform maintenance and repairs on buildings operated by NMCD. In March 2007, Chapman allegedly implemented a ‘price agreement’ procedure that permitted her to select a roofing company to perform work for NMCD without going through a competitive bidding process.”

The company made the payments to Chapman, the news release states, in numerous ways – cash, online transfers, checks and credit card payments.

Some of the payments went directly to Chapman, the release states, while others went to a construction company she formed that “did not do any work in exchange for the payments.”

The indictment identifies 30 illegal payments – ranging from $1,000 to $39,000 – allegedly made by Omni to Chapman and her company.

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