An artist's rendition of Spaceport America (Courtesy photo)
Steve Landeene, the outgoing head of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, told the Albuquerque Journal on Friday that he had the “best intentions” in agreeing to buy a ranch adjacent to Spaceport America, saying he was trying to give state officials more time to consider buying the land.
Landeene had previously tried to convince the Spaceport Authority to buy the 30,000-acre ranch. After the authority refused, Landeene entered into his own, personal deal to buy it. The family that owns it was asking $2.5 million.
In a new interview with the Journal, Landeene said the purchase agreement is to be completed in mid-July, and he said he would have “backed out of the deal or transferred it the state at no profit to himself if the state had decided to move ahead” before then.
Steve Landeene
From the article, which was published this morning:
“Asked how he contemplated managing a possible scenario in which he would be both the seller of the land and the head of the agency interested in buying it, Landeene said he would have recused himself, as executive director, from negotiations.
“…Landeene said that, if he does buy the ranch, he hasn’t decided whether to forsake any profit if the Spaceport Authority subsequently decides it needs the property.”
Conflict-of-interest allegation is ‘laughable’
The Journal was the first to report on Friday that Landeene had been suspended from his job pending an investigation into the private land deal. That’s a fact state officials and Landeene failed to mention last month when they announced that Landeene was resigning from his job to spend more time with family.
I authored a commentary on Friday stating that the land deal creates an appearance of impropriety and is a conflict of interest.
“No matter what Landeene’s intent was for the land,” I wrote, “the fact that he was responsible for moving the spaceport from concept to reality – and that he succeeded in doing so – meant he had no business privately buying adjacent land that he could potentially use to make a great deal of money if the spaceport project succeeds.”
Landeene rejected that idea in an interview with The Associated Press.
“Everything has always been done with the best intent for the state and the spaceport in mind,” the news service quoted him as saying. “It’s laughable that a conflict or those concerns could even be raised.”
‘Everybody knew exactly what I was doing’
Landeene resigned from his $156,000-per-year job on April 16, which, according to the AP, was a day after a personnel hearing was called to investigate whether he had a conflict. His resignation is effective May 15.
The AP quoted Spaceport Authority Chairman Rick Homans as saying board members didn’t OK Landeene’s private land deal, which is why Economic Development Secretary Fred Mondragon suspended him.
But Landeene was quoted by the AP as saying officials knew he was negotiating with the ranch owner. He said he consulted with the lawyer for the spaceport and was told there was no conflict “so long as there was no profit motive.”
“Everybody knew exactly what I was doing,” Landeene said.
Landeene told both the Journal and AP the land could have been used as a future expansion for the spaceport or as a dude ranch or other commercial venture.
“The board had no interest in purchasing it, so my buying a piece of property, what’s the harm in that?” the Journal quoted Landeene as asking.