Here’s ‘the most egregious example of pork barrel legislation:’ a private party at taxpayers’ expense

Las Vegas sure has had its share of scandal lately.

The sleepy town in the northern part of the state recently dealt with Manny Aragon’s departure from Highlands University. The area is also the home of former state treasurer Robert Vigil, who is awaiting his second federal corruption trial.

Vigil’s brother and sister-in-law are the subjects of the current scandal.

The former West Las Vegas school district’s bilingual education director, Roberta Vigil, threw quite a bash last year, thanks to a $71,250 legislative appropriation passed with the help of her husband, Rep. Richard Vigil, D-Ribera.

He’s the former state treasurer’s brother.

Basically, Roberta Vigil spent $9,734 of taxpayer money for a private, invitation-only party, held at night, which featured the Al Hurricane band. It was a party the school district dubbed as a workshop and as professional development, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

Yeah, this is one of those stories that will make you slap your forehead, or sigh.

As if the town wasn’t already small enough, Richard Vigil’s other brother is a school board member in Las Vegas.

So they had a big party. It lasted past midnight on April 28 of last year. Some 200 people attended the event, which was dubbed by event planners as a celebration of Hispanic culture and heritage in Northern New Mexico.

Complete with professional development for bilingual education staffers in the school district, of course. All 200 of them.

While planning the party, Roberta Vigil sought price quotes for “dinner with midnight snack,” according to the Journal, but purchase forms from the school district called it “sustenance for workshop.”

The cost included almost $5,000 for catering by a business run by the son of another school board member in Las Vegas, in addition to the cost of booking the band and six hotel rooms for its members and a rental fee for the hall where the event was held.

School district attorney Jesús Lopez called this “the most egregious example of pork barrel legislation (he’d) ever seen,” according to the Journal. He said the district never requested the money.

Now the state Department of Education and state auditor are looking into the situation.

In addition, Roberta Vigil used some of the money to purchase 13 televisions, a refrigerator, three executive massage chairs and office furniture, the Journal article states.

One of the televisions, a 42-inch plasma screen, has vanished.