Here are details of the Metro Court plea agreements

Here are summaries of the plea agreements in the case involving the Bernalillo County Metro Court:

Marc E. Schiff

The former president of the architect firm that designed the courthouse, Design Collaborative Southwest, has agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of conspiracy and one felony count of mail fraud.

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 5 years and a $250,000 fine. The mail fraud charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine. Both could also result in restitution.

Schiff stated in his plea agreement that the scheme began when his company’s lobbyist, former Albuquerque Mayor Ken Schultz, wanted a cash bonus for securing the architect contract. As additional contracts were awarded – there were many – Schultz wanted additional cash bonuses. At some point, Schiff stated, he learned that Schultz was giving some of the cash to former Senate President Manny Aragon and former Metro Court Administrator Toby Martinez.

“I continued to make cash payments to Schultz because I feared that DCSW would be removed from the contract or sued if payments stopped,” he stated in the agreement.

Schiff said Martinez instructed him to submit false invoices, and “the proceeds were then used to pay kickbacks to Aragon and Martinez.” He said he personally gave some of the money to Aragon – two payments of $10,000 each – and was also present when Schultz, at an Albuquerque restaurant, passed Aragon an envelope containing $30,000.

The estimated loss to the state as a result of Schiff’s criminal activity is between $400,000 and $1 million, the plea agreement states.

Ken Schultz

Schultz has agreed to plead guilty to the same charges and faces the same potential penalties. He admitted in his plea agreement to taking cash payments from Schiff, keeping some for himself and giving some to Martinez. He stated that he “was also aware” that Aragon was receiving payments, but does not admit to making such payments.

The estimated loss as a result of Schultz’s criminal activity is between $40,000 and $70,000. The plea agreement estimates his personal gain at $50,000, for which he may be asked to pay restitution.

Manuel Guara

Guara has also agreed to plead guilty to the same charges and faces the same potential penalties. He stated in his plea agreement that he was recruited by Raul Parra, the contractor hired to do the audio and video wiring for the courthouse and a defendant in the case, to be a subcontractor. When he was preparing invoices for the work, Parra, “told me how much to mark up the invoices,” he stated in the agreement, calling the amounts “substantial.”

Guara received the mark-up money in payments for the work, and it totaled about $3 million, he stated. He transferred all but about $100,000 to Parra, but kept that amount for himself.

The estimated loss as a result of Guara’s criminal activity is between $70,000 and $120,000.