A former New Mexico state senator who resigned abruptly last year is facing criminal charges related to his role in the sale of a state-owned building. The New Mexico Attorney General's Office has filed a nine-count criminal complaint against Phil Griego in connection with the real estate deal. According to the complaint, the former Democratic senator used his role as a legislator to receive personal compensation and then failed to disclose the filing as required by state law. The complaint filed in district court in Santa Fe Monday says Griego withheld the commission owed to each of his qualifying brokers and failed to disclose his interest in the deal. Griego says he did nothing wrong and was surprised by the criminal complaint. He says he'll fight the charges.
New Mexico is drawing down its general fund reserves and pinching pennies to pay for day-to-day government operations because of plunging revenues linked to oil and natural gas production. Other causes of shrinking state revenues include weaker-than-expected sales and income tax receipts and tax credits that have added up to at least half a billion dollars in the last few years. Lawmakers avoided tax increases by scouring agency accounts for one-time funding. Critics of the spending plan worry it could make matters worse next year if energy prices remain low.
Union organizers say hundreds of construction workers walked off the job at the Tesla Motors manufacturing plant east of Reno yesterday. They were protesting the increased hiring of workers from New Mexico for less pay. District 16 trades council spokesman Russell James says approximately 350 plumbers, carpenters, electricians and others walked away from the construction site. More than 100 picketed outside the main gate against what they say is an unfair labor practice that undermines promises to hire mostly Nevada workers in exchange for more than $1 billion in state tax breaks. James says the work is increasingly being done by crews for the non-union, New Mexico-based Brycon Corp of Rio Rancho. Tesla said in a statement it's in compliance with requirements that Nevadans make up more than half of the workers hired by individual contractors. It said three-fourths of the entire "gigafactory" workforce is from Nevada.
Sandia National Laboratories has returned to accepting New Mexico driver's licenses for visitors to gain entry to its facilities. A Sandia official says that a New Mexico driver's license alone is now acceptable to verify a person's identity to access the premises. New Mexico last week was given an extension until October to meet tougher federal identification requirements after the state Legislature approved new rules for immigrant driver's licenses. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez plans to sign legislation that requires first-time undocumented immigrants to submit to fingerprinting in order to get a driving authorization card. Immigrants who already have licenses can skip the requirement.
An Indiana man has pleaded guilty to a methamphetamine trafficking charge in New Mexico. Prosecutors say 28-year-old Rashad Travon Woods, of Indianapolis, entered into a plea agreement Monday. They say he'll be sentenced to 11 years in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Woods was arrested after federal drug agents seized more than five pounds of methamphetamine from him during an investigation at an Albuquerque train station last fall. Prosecutors say Woods remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
A former Navajo Nation lawmaker has pleaded guilty in a criminal case to misusing tribal funds. The plea entered earlier this month in tribal court means Young Jeff Tom Sr. will avoid an April trial. Tom says in court documents that he conspired with five former colleagues to commit bribery. He says the lawmakers agreed to provide tribal funds to each other's family members, even though he knew it was illegal. Tom faces jail time and probation. He also could be ordered to repay up to $13,750. The case is part of a larger investigation of a now-defunct discretionary fund used by Navajo Nation Council delegates.
New Mexico has a new law that overhauls its online clearinghouse for information on political contributions and lobbying expenditures. Governor Martinez signed the legislation Monday. It’s designed to standardize electronic reporting so that filings by candidates, lobbyists and political committees can be searched, cross-referenced or downloaded for analysis. Martinez said the public will find it easier to access campaign finance information. The law also will require lobbyists to file regular reports, as candidates already do. Funding has not yet been assigned to pay for the new system. The Office of the Secretary of State eventually would spend as much as $985,000 to set up the database, depending on bids from vendors and available funds. Registration fees from lobbyists would be reinvested in maintaining the clearinghouse.
The New Mexico Department of Health has released the names of licensed medical marijuana producers in the state. That’s a result of new rules taking effect this week after a lawsuit by open government advocates. The list released Monday shows that 16 of the state's 23 independent licensed nonprofit producers are based in Albuquerque and have names like Sandia Botanicals, Inc. and the Verdes Foundation. According to the lists, cities including Roswell, Clovis, Roy and Espanola have one licensed medical marijuana producer each. The confidentiality surrounding producers was challenged last year in a lawsuit filed by freelance journalist Peter St. Cyr and the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. They argued the Health Department was violating public records law by keeping producers' names secret. The changes apply only to producers and producer applicants. The names of the state’s more than 21,000 patients in the Medical Cannabis Program remain confidential.