District Judge Mike Murphy
Grand jury will consider allegations that Mike Murphy paid a bribe in exchange for Bill Richardson naming him to the bench, and that he may have solicited bribes for Richardson from other judicial applicants
Third Judicial District Judge Mike Murphy has been notified that a grand jury meeting next week may charge him with paying a bribe in exchange for then-Gov. Bill Richardson appointing him to the bench in 2006.
The grand jury is scheduled to meet Tuesday in Las Cruces to consider charges against Murphy, a source with knowledge of the case confirmed. In addition to the allegation that he paid a bribe for his appointment, investigators have been looking into allegations that Murphy may have solicited bribes for Richardson from applicants for other judgeships.
The bribe or bribes were allegedly paid as political contributions, the source said.
No one besides Murphy, including Richardson, has received notification that they may be indicted, the source said. The investigation is ongoing.
Murphy said he could not comment on the situation.
“I can’t discuss that at all Heath, and one better be careful about that. Those are sequestered, sealed proceedings,” he said. “I’m not either confirming or denying that.”
Richardson’s executive assistant had not gotten back to NMPolitics.net with comment by the time this story was published.
The case is being handled by Ninth Judicial District Attorney Matthew Chandler from Clovis, the source said. The Third Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Las Cruces appointed Chandler as a special prosecutor because of a conflict – Murphy is currently assigned to hear criminal cases prosecuted by the Las Cruces district attorney.
Chandler said he could not comment on the situation. Third Judicial District Attorney Amy Orlando also said she could not comment.
A grand jury indictment is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime, brought by prosecutors with permission of a grand jury. It is not a conviction or statement of guilt.
Appointment came in 2006
Richardson appointed Murphy, a Democrat, on June 20, 2006. He was one of three candidates whose names a judicial nominating commission sent to Richardson for consideration. Before becoming a judge, Murphy spent more than 30 years as an attorney specializing in domestic relations law.
Murphy replaced Larry Ramirez, who resigned amid scandal on June 2, 2006.
As NMPolitics.net reported in 2006, many Democrats were backing Fernando Macias for the position over Murphy and Rusty Babington – attorneys who had more experience practicing law than Macias, a former state senator and county manager.
Because of the timing of Ramirez’s resignation, the governor had the opportunity to fill the position for the remaining seven months of Ramirez’s term, and Democrats got to replace Ramirez on the ballot with someone who would run in the November election. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes wrangling over who would get the governor’s appointment and the party’s nomination.
The day Richardson appointed Murphy to the bench, the state Democratic Party’s central committee also voted to put him on the November 2006 ballot. Sources told NMPolitics.net at the time that Richardson chose Murphy over Babington because Murphy had been more active in the Democratic Party.
Contributions to Richardson
Bill Richardson
According to FollowTheMoney.org, Murphy gave three small contributions to Richardson’s gubernatorial campaign – $250 in August 2005, $100 in April 2006, and $10 in November 2006. His wife, Mary Ancker, gave $50 to Richardson in August 2006.
However, it’s not clear whether the allegations of bribery stem from contributions to Richardson’s campaigns, or contributions to political action committees and Richardson’s now-defunct nonprofit Moving America Forward Foundation. Donations to the nonprofit are not public record.
Pay-to-play scandals plagued Richardson’s tenure as governor, which ended when current Gov. Susana Martinez – Doña Ana County’s former district attorney – took office in January.
Richardson was forced to withdraw his nomination to be President Barack Obama’s commerce secretary in January 2009 because of a federal investigation into allegations that a financial company received a lucrative state investment contract in exchange for campaign contributions to Richardson and two political action committees he started.
Ultimately, the investigation ended with no charges being filed, but the U.S. attorney said at the time that Richardson and others who were investigated should not consider themselves exonerated.
Richardson has always denied pay to play allegations, saying political contributions had no effect on decisions he made as governor.