Aragon pleads guilty in metro court case

Former state Senate President Manny Aragon, one of New Mexico’s most storied politicians, pleaded guilty today to three felony counts of conspiracy and mail fraud in the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse scandal.

The deal he struck with prosecutors means he could face up to 67 months in federal prison, the Albuquerque Journal is reporting. Aragon could have faced 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 if he had gone to trial and been convicted.

Aragon refused to comment to reporters after leaving the courtroom in Albuquerque where he entered his plea earlier this morning, The Associated Press is reporting.

Aragon was accused of pocketing more than $600,000 in the scheme in which prosecutors say he and several others stole $4.2 million in taxpayer money by inflating and falsifying invoices during construction of the courthouse.

Aragon, a Democrat, was Senate president from 1988 to 2001 and majority leader for three years until he left the Senate in 2004 to become president of New Mexico Highlands University. He was ousted from that job last year following controversy when the school paid him $200,000 to buy out his contract.

Three other defendants — engineer Raul Parra, former court administrator Toby Martinez and his wife, Sandra Mata Martinez — have pleaded guilty to felony charges in recent days for their roles in the illegal scheme. And three others — architect Marc Schiff, former Albuquerque Mayor and lobbyist Ken Schultz and contractor Manuel Guara — entered into plea bargains months ago, before any indictments became public.

That leaves only former construction manager Michael Murphy scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 28.

Aragon’s admission to felony charges comes less than three weeks before the Nov. 4 election. What impact it might have, if any, isn’t immediately clear, but it certainly can’t help Democrats. The office of the state’s top Democrat, Gov. Bill Richardson, said the governor had no comment on Aragon’s guilty plea. The state Democratic and Republican parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Update, 2:50 p.m.

State Republican Party spokeswoman Shira Rawlinson said Republicans “have known that Manny Aragon has been a part of corrupt, back-room politics for decades. It’s an unfortunate episode for New Mexico, but Aragon admitting his guilt only proves what we’ve known for a long time.”

Darren White, the Republican 1st Congressional District candidate, released a statement quoting an Associated Press article that pointed out that, when White was former Gov. Gary Johnson’s secretary of public safety, he “did what few in state government have dared to do: publicly criticize Aragon’s involvement in debates and legislative decision about privately operated prisons in New Mexico.”

“As Darren correctly pointed out, Manny Aragon was a ‘bought-and-paid-for’ consultant for the industry he was in charge of regulating,” White spokesman Stephen Schatz said in the news release. “Darren White has long fought against shady deals, corruption and ethics violations throughout his career — from Santa Fe to Albuquerque. When he is elected to Congress, Darren will continue do the same thing and fight for the citizens of New Mexico.”

Update, 10:40 p.m.

Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos released this statement:

“The governor is satisfied that the judicial process has run its course,” he said. “We have many dedicated public officials serving honorably on behalf of New Mexicans, and it’s time to move forward and work to restore the public trust.”

Update, 11 p.m.

Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, who headed that office when it began its investigation into Aragon, said he wanted to commend the office for “obtaining a fair plea to a matter involving a serious breach of the public trust. White collar cases take a long time to investigate and properly prosecute — I’m proud my former office took their time and did it right.”

Those words carry a lot of weight considering that Iglesias alleges that he was fired because he refused pressure in October 2006 from top Republicans to speed the indictment of Aragon in time to sway voters in the November 2006 election.

As for this election, Iglesias said he doubts the Aragon plea will affect it “given the enormous problems facing the state and country.”