Former Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Administrator Toby Martinez was sentenced today to 67 months in prison.<\/p>\n
Martinez was also ordered to pay more than $2.5 million in restitution for being what KOB-TV<\/a> described as the \u201cringleader\u201d of a group that stole $4.2 million in taxpayer money by inflating and falsifying invoices during construction of the courthouse.<\/p>\n Martinez had previously pleaded guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy.<\/p>\n According to the Albuquerque Journal<\/a>, 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 \u201cpersonal responsibility\u201d was \u201calways lacking.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am here to take responsibility for my actions,\u201d the Journal quoted Martinez as saying.<\/p>\n Earlier in the day, Martinez\u2019s wife Sandra was sentenced to five years on probation<\/a> and ordered to pay $106,000 in restitution for knowing but failing to report what her husband was doing.<\/p>\n