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ABQ mayoral candidate Richard Romero (Photo by Gwyneth Doland)
Richard Romero — the former president pro tem of the New Mexico Senate and current candidate for mayor of Albuquerque — issued some strong words today. His targets: the convicted — and now sentenced — Manny Aragon and political corruption in New Mexico.
In 2001, Romero ousted Aragon from the position of president pro tem — basically, the Senate’s top leadership post — and then served in that position until 2004.
Aragon pleaded guilty late last year to taking kickback’s in a scheme that skimmed millions from construction contracts to build Albuquerque’s Metro courthouse.
He was sentenced today to prison for five years and seven months, and ordered to pay up to $1.2 million in fines and restitution. The final amount will depend on what his co-defendants can afford to pay.
In his letter to the judge before sentencing, Aragon cited the loss of his leadership position in the Senate as a factor in a downward spiral that led him to participate in the kickback scheme.
But Romero had no sympathy for him today, issuing a statement condemning a “political culture of casual corruption, of kickbacks and political payoffs” in which Aragon was a central character.
“The sentencing of Manny Aragon brings to a close a sad chapter in our state’s history,” Romero said. “However, I am concerned that this is not the end of the story — that it’s really just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Accountant Judith Wagner’s sobering account in the Sunday Journal should give us pause. She concluded that a lot more money has been siphoned out of public projects — although the only project in which charges were brought was for the Metropolitan Court,” he continued.
“The key player in the Metro Court kickback scandal was an architect whose firm received over $6.7 million from the City [of Albuquerque] over the last few years for projects that ended up coming in way over budget.”
Romero closed by saying “this political culture of casual corruption, of kickbacks and political payoffs, can no longer be tolerated.”
The architect that Romero mentioned is Mark Schiff, who along with Aragon and others was convicted in the kickback scheme.
