Lt. Gov. Diane Denish has donated $5,000 from her campaign fund to an agency that works on neighborhood revitalization — an amount equal to what she has received from the men indicted in the housing authority scandal.
Steve Fitzer, Denish’s finance director, said the money has been donated to United South Broadway Corporation, a nonprofit that, according to its Web site, “works within older historic neighborhoods of Albuquerque to address affordable housing opportunities, commercial revitalization, crime prevention and youth development” in an effort to revitalize neighborhoods.
The money Denish received from the housing authority defendants included $500 from Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos, former director of the Region III Housing Authority; $500 from Robert Strumor, the former bond attorney for the authority; and $4,000 from Strumor’s law firm, Hughes and Strumor, Fitzer said.
Gallegos, Strumor and former Region III accountant Dennis Kennedy are facing felony charges in the case that include fraud and money laundering. Former Region III attorney David N. Hernandez is charged with tampering with evidence.
A prior version of this posting incorrectly identified Fitzer as Denish’s campaign manager.