{"id":93440,"date":"2015-10-23T01:22:05","date_gmt":"2015-10-23T07:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=93440"},"modified":"2015-12-17T12:40:45","modified_gmt":"2015-12-17T19:40:45","slug":"dianna-duran-has-resigned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2015\/10\/dianna-duran-has-resigned\/","title":{"rendered":"Dianna Duran resigns, pleads guilty to two felonies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dianna Duran\u00a0has resigned from her position\u00a0as New Mexico’s secretary of state and entered into a plea agreement that has her admitting to two felonies related to\u00a0abusing the state’s campaign finance reporting system.<\/p>\n

\"Dianna<\/a>

Courtesy photo<\/p>

Dianna Duran<\/p><\/div>\n

Though Duran’s resignation is final,\u00a0her criminal case\u00a0may not be entirely settled. Duran, who is trying to avoid prison time,\u00a0has the option to withdraw her guilty plea<\/a> at a sentencing hearing in December if the judge attempts to incarcerate her.<\/p>\n

The AG’s Office didn’t seek to take Duran’s pension, saying\u00a0the law<\/a> doesn’t allow for her to be fined in an amount up to the value of her pension\u00a0in this case.<\/p>\n

Duran “indeed tendered her resignation late last night,” her\u00a0attorney, Erlinda Ocampo Johnson of Albuquerque, wrote in an email to\u00a0NMPolitics.net early this morning.<\/p>\n

Soon thereafter, Duran agreed in court to plead guilty to six of 65 charges she faced, including embezzlement and money laundering<\/a>. Two of the charges to which Duran admitted are felonies. The other four are misdemeanors.<\/p>\n