Gov. Bill Richardson is coming to Las Cruces Thursday to speak to Southern New Mexico Common Cause about ethics in government. If the first day of testimony in the trial of former state Treasurer Robert Vigil is any indication, the talk might be more personal than the governor intended.
Democrats Vigil and his predecessor Michael Montoya were charged last year with using the treasurer’s office to secure millions of dollars in kickbacks. Montoya and several others charged in the case have already pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Vigil.
Montoya took the stand Tuesday and, under oath, named Guy Riordan, a longtime political ally of Richardson, as someone who paid him at least $75,000 in kickbacks in exchange for state business.
Riordan of Albuquerque is the managing director of Wachovia Securities, a large brokerage firm that has done a lot of business with the state. It should be noted that, if the feds had the evidence to charge Riordan with a crime, they probably would have done it.
Riordan’s attorney told the Associated Press that Montoya is an “absolute liar.”
Riordan, a registered lobbyist, was a member of the state Game Commission and, according to the commission’s Web site, a member of the board that oversees the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. He’s also a friend of Richardson who has attended many sporting events with the governor and given more than $24,000 to his gubernatorial campaigns.
So Richardson wasted no time Tuesday in removing Riordan from the Game Commission. He said nothing about the finance authority board.
“The governor is profoundly concerned by these serious accusations,” spokesman Pahl Shipley said in a news release. “In light of these developments, the governor has removed Mr. Riordan from his position on the state Game Commission, and will donate all political contributions received from Mr. Riordan to New Mexico charities.”
That’s a big chunk of change. How about making sure some of it finds its way to Southern New Mexico? In fact, the very Common Cause group Richardson is speaking to Thursday probably needs some cash, and governmental ethics in New Mexico could clearly use a shot in the arm.
I wrote Monday that many state politicos will be anxiously watching the Vigil trial in the coming weeks because they are worried their own names could be mentioned in connection with the scandal. One source told me Riordan might be the first of several.
The FBI has said the investigation is ongoing and far-reaching.
The Albuquerque Web site Duke City Fix wrote months ago about Riordan’s tie to Montoya, and the names of some connected to Riordan. You can read the post by clicking here.
Riordan has been a player in the Democratic Party for many years, and a big donor. One notable donation I found on the Web site OpenSecrets.org was a $250 gift to the 1997 campaign of Eric Serna, who made an unsuccessful bid for a seat in congress. Serna, the state insurance superintendent, is currently on leave while the attorney general’s office investigates his decision to award a lucrative state contract to a bank that has since given lots of money to a non-profit he started.
The bank’s controlling shareholder is Santa Fe art dealer Gerald Peters, who wants to build a casino, along with the Jemez Pueblo, in Anthony. Peters is another friend of Richardson, having given more than $100,000 to his campaigns.
I wrote Tuesday that Richardson’s week was off to a great start, with a lot of favorable press and a vote by the Las Cruces City Council that brings his spaceport one step closer to reality. Maybe that has changed.
So what will be the tone of Richardson’s Thursday speech to Common Cause? The Vigil trial just might determine that.
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The Republican Party announced Monday that the state has found $800 it was supposed to give the party, but misplaced for more than two years. The snafu stems from the February realization that online tax filers were not allowed to donate portions of their refunds to the Republican Party due to a computer glitch.
The state said the glitch was the result of a programming error made by a contract worker from India. The Republican Party and state then looked back to 2003, and found that all donations made that year had been misplaced.
The Republican Party is quite skeptical of that explanation. But the state gave the party its money.
I’ll let you decide what to believe. Who knows where the truth lies, but let’s keep in mind that we’re talking about $800. That’s pennies compared to the more than $2 million U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., has already raised for her re-election campaign.
If the money is such a big deal, why didn’t the Republicans notice when they didn’t receive a check?
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