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Former NM SoS Indicted on Misuse of Over Million Dollars in HAVA Funds
By Pokey Anderson (about the author) Page 1 of 1 page(s)
For OpEdNews: Pokey Anderson - Writer
Vigil-Giron and other
defendants each face 50 counts in indictments issued today by grand
jury
Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics
http://haussamen.blogspot.com/2009/08/prosecutors-allege-plot-to-steal.html
The others indicted are lobbyists Joseph Kupfer and Elizabeth Kupfer
and Armando Gutierrez, who headed the company Vigil-Giron hired to help the
state implement a federal voter education program.
Joseph Kupfer was a lobbyist for the secretary of state. Elizabeth
Kupfer, his wife, was the administrative services director for the Attorney
General's Office at the time in question.
The 50 counts against each include:
• Four counts of fraud over $20,000 or, in the alternative,
embezzlement over $20,000.
• 11 counts of money laundering over
$100,000.
• Five counts of money laundering over $20,000.
• Eight counts
of tax fraud.
• 13 counts of tax evasion.
• Four counts of making or
permitting false public vouchers.
• One count of soliciting or receiving an
illegal kickback.
• One count of offering or paying an illegal kickback.
•
Two counts of tampering with evidence.
• One count of conspiracy.
You can read the indictment against Vigil-Giron by clicking
here. The others aren't yet online, but are similar.
Vigil-Giron has not returned a call seeking comment. Attorneys for
Vigil-Giron and Gutierrez had little to say to the New Mexico Independent.
Elizabeth Kupfer did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The
details
The AG's investigation came after a federal audit found severe
mismanagement of federal Help America Vote Act funds
by Vigil-Giron's administration during the 2006 election cycle.
Vigil-Giron, who left office at the end of 2006 because of term limits, says the
audit is flawed and has repeatedly insisted that no wrongdoing occurred on her
watch.
Vigil-Giron used federal funds to pay Gutierrez's firm $6.3 million for
advertising and voter education work leading up to the 2006
election. The federal audit found that the company can't account for how more
than $2 million of that money was spent.
The indictments allege a wide-ranging scheme that's in some ways
similar to the metro court scandal. For example, according to the indictments, a
$2 million voucher from the state treasury was deposited in the account of
Gutierrez between Sept. 29 and Oct. 5, 2004. That voucher was based on a false
invoice, the indictment states.
Then, between Oct. 1 and Oct. 7, 2004, a $140,000 check from Gutierrez
was deposited in the account of the Kupfers. Similar transactions occurred
several times between 2004 and 2006, according to the indictment.
Interestingly, while Vigil-Giron is charged with soliciting or
receiving an illegal kickback and offering or paying an illegal kickback just
like the others, the indictments don't state that she profited financially from
the scheme. The only bank transactions listed involve Gutierrez and the
Kupfers.
Posted by Heath Haussamen. E-mail him at heath@haussamen.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vigil-Giron 21-page INDICTMENT posted
Note that most of the counts, if proven, are felonies and involve a
minimum of one to six years jail time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vigil-Giron accused of embezzlement, money
laundering scheme
8/19/09 10:09 PM
The New Mexico
Independent
http://newmexicoindependent.com/34461/vigil-giron-indictment-alleges-embezzlement-and-money-laundering-scheme
The scheme involved Vigil-Giron, a nationally respected Hispanic media
consultant and a husband-and-wife team who now lobby for the city of
Albuquerque, according to the indictment.
The emphasis on the Aug. 26, 2004, letter comes nearly 15 months after
a 2008 federal audit raised flags about that the same correspondence in strong
terms.
The letter in question was between Vigil-Giron and a media consultant
she had hired — Armando Gutierrez — to help produce TV and radio ads for her
office, according to a Federal Election Assisstance Commision report
that stated that Gutierrez was unable to account for more than $2 million of the
nearly $6.3 million in federal funds he had been paid by Vigil-Giron's
office.
Among other things the Aug. 26, 2004, letter changed the method of
payment for Gutierrez, who with Vigil-Giron and two others, was indicted
Wednesday. The letter stipulated that Gutierrez would go from being paid at
three hourly rates to a single, 17-percent administrative fee of the value of
work his firm performed, according to the letter.
Ultimately Gutierrez earned a $1-million administrative fee, slightly
more than 20 percent of the $4.8 million his firm, A. Gutierrez &
Associates, Inc., was paid to produce tens of thousands of TV and radio
advertisements that ran in English, Spanish and Navajo and starred Vigil-Giron
in the months leading up to the 2004 general and 2006 primary and general
elections.
The federal audit found another odd thing about the Aug. 26, 2004,
letter: The state Attorney General's office had not reviewed it, although it was
legally bound to review state agency contracts.
“The former Secretary of State told us that she relied on the
statements made by the Contractor that it would be better to agree to the 17
percent fee arrangement because it would result in a lower overall cost to the
state,” the audit says.
The suspicious provenance of the letter on Wednesday led to a charge of
tampering with evidence, one of 50 criminal counts the former secretary of state
is now facing.
Vigil-Giron did not return a phone call from the Independent. And her
attorney declined to comment on the indictments late Wednesday afternoon, saying
he had not read the indictment yet.
In addition to Vigil-Giron and Gutierrez, Elizabeth and Joe Kupfer, who
are husband and wife, also were indicted Wednesday by a state grand jury.
Elizabeth Kupfer worked for Attorney General Patricia Madrid at the
time of the alleged scheme as the agency's administrative services
director.
Her husband, Joseph, worked as the lobbyist for the Secretary of
State's Office.
Both are listed now as lobbyists for the city of Albuquerque,
according to the Secretary of State's website.
Gutierrez, meanwhile, is a well-connected consultant who has
worked on three Democratic presidential campaigns over the past two decades, as
well as for some heavy political hitters, ranging from Gov. Bill Richardson to
the Democratic National Committee, according to his firm's Web site last year.
The site has since been taken offline.
An attorney for Gutierrez on Wednesday afternoon called the indictment
returned against his client “unfounded and unjust.”
“We are disappointed that an indictment has been returned against
Armando Gutierrez,” said attorney Miles Hanisee.
Elizabeth Kupfer, meanwhile, did not return a phone call from the
Independent.
Attorney General Gary King, meanwhile, said his office can back up the
charges.
“My government accountability team has been working on this for
about two years,” King said. “We feel that it has been well researched. We feel
like we can support the evidence in court.”
The charges against Vigil-Giron, Gutierrez and both Kupfers ranged from
several counts of embezzlement and money laundering to fraud over $20,000 and
attempts to evade or defeat tax, according to the indictment.
Also among the charges was soliciting or receiving an illegal kickback
and offering or paying an illegal kickback.
The indictment doesn't go into detail about the alleged kickback,
neither listing a dollar amount nor who paid it or received it.
The indictments also don't lay out in detail how Vigil-Giron profited
financially from the scheme, although it charged her with embezzling in excess
of $20,000 on more than one occasion.
The only bank transactions listed in the indictments involve Gutierrez
and the Kupfers.
The indictment lays out a scheme whereby several large deposits were
made into a Wells Fargo bank account controlled by Gutierrez over several years
— $2 million in 2004; $2 million in 2005; and $1.7 million and $186,500 in 2006.
On three separate occasions — on Oct. 19, 2004, Aug. 26, 2005 and between June 2
and June 5, 2006 — Gutierrez transferred a total of $3.5 million into a second
Wells Fargo account, according to the indictment.
The indictment doesn't explain the significance of the transfers, or go
into detail of where the transferred money went.
As for the Kupfers, more than $746,000 drawn on Gutierrez's first Wells
Fargo account was deposited into two accounts controlled by the couple at 1st
Community Bank, the indictment says.
The deposits, made over a two-year period, ranged in size from $30,000
to $140,000, according to the indictment.
Defense attorneys for Vigil-Giron, Gutierrez have
little to say
By Trip Jennings
8/19/09 5:41 PM
The New
Mexico Independent
http://newmexicoindependent.com/34452/defense-attorneys-have-little-to-say-saying-they-havent-seen-indictments
“We are disappointed that an indictment has been returned against
Armando Gutierrez,” said Miles Hanisee, who is representing Gutierrez. “We feel
it is unfounded and unjust.”
The attorney for Vigil-Giron, Robert Gorence, said he wouldn't comment
because he hadn't reviewed the documents.
“I have heard about it,” Gorence said of the indictments. “I might have
something to say tomorrow.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rebecca Vigil-Giron targeted in probe of voter
education funds
8/19/09 12:21 PM
The New Mexico
Independent
http://newmexicoindependent.com/34404/vigil-giron-targeted-in-probe-of-voter-education-funds
Former New Mexico Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron confirmed
today that she is a target of an investigation into the spending of millions of
dollars in federal funds on voter education by her office — an investigation
that is now in the hands of a state grand jury.
Vigil-Giron said in a brief interview that she has received a “target
letter” from the grand jury — a letter indicating that she's one of the people
the attorney general's office is targeting for potential indictments in the
case.
Vigil-Giron, a Democrat, provided a lengthy statement about receiving
the target letter in which she defended her actions as secretary of state and
claimed that Attorney General Gary King, also a Democrat, and others are out to
destroy her reputation.
“I pray every day that my Lord and my God will forgive those
individuals who so willingly, callously and wrongfully accuse me of
unsubstantiated wrongdoing for the purpose of furthering their own personal and
political ambitions,” Vigil-Giron said in her statement. “This witch-hunt must
cease and desist. It has been going on since I left office almost three years
ago and no wrong doing on my part has been uncovered.”
King, who Vigil-Giron
said is “concentrating this attack on me" keeps claiming that he is not running
for Governor and only running for re-election as Attorney General. Why is he
intent on destroying the good service that I performed for the State of New
Mexico?”
King's office does not comment on pending investigations or grand jury
proceedings, which are secret. AG spokesman Phil Sisneros reiterated that on
Tuesday.
Audit says more than $2 million can't be accounted for
The AG's
investigation comes after a federal audit found severe mismanagement of federal
Help America Vote Act funds by Vigil-Giron's administration during the 2006
election cycle. Vigil-Giron, who left office at the end of 2006 because of term
limits, says the audit is flawed and has repeatedly insisted that no wrongdoing
occurred on her watch.
Vigil-Giron used federal funds to pay the Albuquerque firm Gutierrez
& Associates $6.3 million for advertising and voter education work leading
up to the 2006 election. The federal audit found that the company can't account
for how more than $2 million of that money was spent. Last year, an annual,
state audit included many of the findings in the federal audit and some new
findings.
Vigil-Giron insisted in today's statement that she “can account for
every last nickel that was spent” and said all contracts over $200,000 were
reviewed by officials in the attorney general's office. She said she “relied on
the Attorney General to always counsel me in the right direction legally.”
Patricia Madrid, not King, was AG at the time in question, but
Vigil-Giron named at least one official who still work in the AG's office as an
employee who helped her.
The Albuquerque Journal reported today that the grand jury is also
investigating Armando Gutierrez, the head of the firm Vigil-Giron hired.
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
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