‘Ringleader’ in metro court case is sentenced

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Former Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Administrator Toby Martinez was sentenced today to 67 months in prison. Martinez was also ordered to pay more than $2.5 million in restitution for being what KOB-TV described as the “ringleader” of a group that stole $4.2 million in taxpayer money by inflating and falsifying invoices during construction of the courthouse. Martinez had previously pleaded guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy. According to the Albuquerque Journal, Martinez told the court today that, in his former job, he often heard defendants blame others rather than take responsibility for their actions. He said “personal responsibility” was “always lacking.” “I am here to take responsibility for my actions,” the Journal quoted Martinez as saying. Continue Reading

Guv signs investment-firm disclosure bill

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Gov. Bill Richardson signed today a bill that will require additional disclosure from investment firms seeking to do business with the state. House Bill 876, sponsored by Miguel P. Garcia, D-Albuquerque, will require companies seeking contracts with the state that deal with alternative investments — those other than stocks and bonds — to disclose the employment of any third-party marketers they employ to help secure such contracts, including public relations firms and lobbyists. The relevant agencies — the State Investment Council, Educational Retirement Board and Public Employees Retirement Association — will be required to pass on those disclosures in reports they make publicly several times a year, and also annually to the appropriate legislative oversight committee. In light of the pay-to-play allegations dogging the Richardson administration — which, in the federal grand jury investigation and the separate lawsuit brought by Frank Foy, have to do with state investments — the bill seems especially relevant. The disclosure of any additional information about who is helping those firms would seem to make it easier for the public to understand the money involved. Continue Reading

Spaceport could launch ‘spate’ of commercial growth

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The construction of Spaceport America could lead to a “spate” of new commercial real estate development in the area, a trade publication for that industry says. Citing the inking earlier this year of a long-term lease with anchor tenant Virgin Galactic and the hiring of a contractor to oversee construction of the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport, the article in Commercial Property News puts a positive spin on the potential for southern New Mexico. The possibilities for growth include “an assortment of research parks and mixed-use industrial projects,” Las Cruces realtor (and state transportation commissioner) John Hummer told the publication. That includes New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Research Park and facilities near the airports in Las Cruces and Truth or Consequences. From the article: “(Hummer) added that the cluster won’t mushroom overnight, but like most new industries will evolve over a few years — and the new space industry is often compared with the early years of aeronautics as a commercial endeavor. Continue Reading

Another metro court defendant sentenced

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Sandra Martinez was sentenced today to five years on probation for her role in the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse Scandal, the Albuquerque Journal is reporting. And her husband Toby Martinez, the former court administrator, is set to be sentenced this afternoon. Sandra Martinez was also ordered to pay $106,000 in restitution, the Journal reported. She pleaded guilty to knowing but failing to report what her husband was doing. Toby Martinez was part of a group that stole $4.2 million in taxpayer money by inflating and falsifying invoices during construction of the courthouse, and he has pleaded guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy. Continue Reading

Richardson names new chief counsel

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Gov. Bill Richardson today announced the appointment of Justin Miller as his chief counsel. “Justin Miller has been a tremendous asset to our office over the past four years, and I am confident he will be an excellent chief counsel,” Richardson said in a news release. Miller has been the deputy legal counsel in the governor’s office since 2007, and replaces Vince Ward, who left to work in private practice. Miller, who has been with the governor’s legal staff since 2005, has a law degree from the University of New Mexico. In the release, Richardson’s office said Miller has led the way among his staff on “ethics reform measures, culminating in the enactment of historic campaign contribution limits in New Mexico.” Continue Reading

Santa Fe lawyer is new state elections director

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The state has a new director of elections. The hiring of A.J. Salazar was announced today by Secretary of State Mary Herrera in a news release. He will begin in job on April 20 and will be paid $95,000 a year. “I look forward to having A.J. Salazar join our team here at the Secretary of State’s Office,” Herrera said in the release. “He has a reputation of being meticulous, thorough and attentive. Continue Reading

Guv OKs online database of state contracts

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Gov. Bill Richardson signed a bill today that will require the state to create an online, searchable database of all state government contracts over $20,000. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who pushed for the approval of House Bill 546, sponsored by Al Park, D-Albuquerque, hailed the database as a way to increase transparency in state government. “New Mexicans deserve to know who is doing business with their government. This law will enable all citizens to track state government contracts, follow the flow of public money and understand how it is being used,” Denish said in a new release. “Ethics reform in government starts with transparency, and I’m proud to have worked hard on this effort which guarantees more sunshine on the business of government.” While most bills approved in the session that just ended take effect in June or July, lawmakers decided for some reason that this bill shouldn’t take effect until Jan. Continue Reading

GRIPgate probe widens with SEC involvement

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The federal investigation into GRIPgate, the controversy surrounding the $1.6 billion transportation project, has been expanded as staffers from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have been brought into the probe, the Albuquerque Journal is reporting. SEC involvement, according to the Journal, “would indicate investigators have widened their scope to include possible securities fraud as well as the widely reported pay-to-play allegations.” Basically, what CDR Financial Products did for the state and how much it was paid is now of interest to investigators. That’s in addition to the pay-to-play allegations — that the administration of Gov. Bill Richardson traded a lucrative state bond contract for $110,000 in contributions to Richardson’s political committees and his 2006 gubernatorial campaign. The SEC team includes Denver enforcement division attorney Allison Lee, who, the Journal article states, “was part of the SEC enforcement team that successfully brought civil charges against former Richardson insider and state Game Commission Chairman Guy Riordan. From the Journal: “Riordan was barred from the securities industry and ordered to repay the state $2.2 million for paying bribes to former state Treasurer Michael Montoya to get state investment business. Continue Reading

New PAC aims to repeal death-penalty repeal

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Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White has formed a political action committee aimed at repealing the death-penalty repeal recently signed into law by Gov. Bill Richardson, and the PAC’s first TV ad is running statewide beginning Monday. Here’s the ad: The aim of Repeal the Repeal PAC, White wrote in a note on the group’s Web site, is “reinstating the death penalty in New Mexico for the most heinous crimes.” To accomplish that, it plans to: • “aggressively combat the misinformation campaign waged by the radical opponents of the death penalty and educate the public on the issue and the circumstances surrounding its repeal.” • “begin a petition drive in order to give voters the opportunity to ‘repeal the repeal’ of the death penalty at the ballot box, pursuant to the New Mexico Constitution.” • “urge voters to support candidates for the legislature and state office who will vote to reinstate the death penalty in New Mexico.” Continue Reading

Police seize Sunland Park city records

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Sunland Park has had so much scandal and controversy over the years that this might not surprise anyone, but New Mexico State Police seized documents from the city’s government on Friday as part of a criminal probe, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News. Officers were at the city offices on Friday. A complaint, according to State Police Spokesman Peter Olson, was “made by the city council.” According to the Sun-News, quoting a source in city government, payroll, finance and purchasing documents were taken, as were records from the clerk’s office. The city’s mayor, Martin Resendiz, could not be reached by the Sun-News for comment. No other details were available. Continue Reading

Most voters in poll wanted open-meetings bill signed

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The vast majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said Gov. Bill Richardson should sign a bill that would open conference committees and many other legislative meetings to the public. He did just that earlier today. Of 203 voters in the poll, 184, or 91 percent, said the governor should sign the bill, while 19, or 9 percent, said he should not. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Guv signs open conference committee bill

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This article has been updated.Despite what he calls its “flaws,” Gov. Bill Richardson signed today a bill that will open conference committees and other legislative meetings to the public. “I have always maintained that this is a decision that should be made by the Legislature, without involvement by the executive branch,” Richardson said in a news release. “Nevertheless, the Legislature chose this path and I have signed the bill out of respect for its desire to further open the committee process to the public.” Richardson has said for years that he supported opening conference committees — meetings formed by legislative leaders to reconcile differences between versions of bills passed by the House and Senate. He pledged late in the session to sign House Bill 393, sponsored by Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, if the Legislature passed it, but after the bill was approved, he backpedaled on the pledge, saying “loopholes” in the bill concerned him. The loophole is that the bill allows the Legislature, by a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers, to override the law and re-close the meetings. Continue Reading

Guv signs e-mail records request bill

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The governor signed into law today a bill that requires government agencies in New Mexico to accept requests for public records via e-mail and fax. House Bill 598, sponsored by Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, will take effect in mid-June. Cervantes’ bill came in response to New Mexico State University’s assertion in 2007 that records requests I filed weren’t valid because they were sent via e-mail. The attorney general considered the issue and said that, though his office and the vast majority of state agencies treat e-mail requests as valid, state law doesn’t explicitly require that they be treated as valid. Currently, the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act requires response to “oral” and “written” requests for public records, but there’s no clear definition of what constitutes writing. Continue Reading

Momentum for reform was ‘too great’ to resist

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Though there’s more to do, lawmakers who pushed ethics and transparency measures this year say the successes were significant Campaign contribution limits. Webcasting. Open conference committees. Additional campaign reporting. By any measure, the legislative session that just ended was the most successful in recent memory for ethics-reform advocates who have been pushing for years to fundamentally change the way state government does business. Continue Reading

Guv pressured anew to sign open-meetings bill

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Gov. Bill Richardson might not have been feeling much public pressure yesterday to sign a bill that would open conference committees and other legislative meetings to the public, but he’s certainly feeling it today. Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said on Wednesday that, other than media pressure, his office had seen “very little public interest” in House Bill 393, sponsored by Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces. Since news reports about that circulated, the number of calls and e-mails to Richardson’s office has increased, Gallegos confirmed today. One of those e-mails was from Violet and Ronald Cauthon of Las Cruces. “You are under the impression that only media figures want open government,” they wrote in their letter, which they provided to me. Continue Reading