What about the Region VII Housing Authority records?

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Why were they abandoned in the agency’s former office for almost two years? What information do they contain? When the Las Cruces-based Region VII Housing Authority shut down in August 2006, board members said the agency’s records would be sent to Region III in Albuquerque. So why did the government records remain essentially abandoned in a privately owned office building in Las Cruces until almost two years later, when they were finally picked up by Brian Colón, a private attorney working on the State Investment Council’s (SIC) lawsuit that’s attempting to recover money lost when Region III defaulted in 2006 on $5 million in bonds it owed the state? Good question. Continue Reading

Is Colón’s work on housing authority lawsuit a conflict?

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Whistleblower says Democratic Party chairman’s dual roles create ‘the perception of conflict of interest;’ Colón says there is no conflict The chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico traveled to Las Cruces on May 14, 2008 to pick up documents left behind when the Region VII Housing Authority shut down in August 2006. But Brian Colón wasn’t acting in his role as party chair. Colón is an attorney, and his law firm is suing two defendants on behalf of the State Investment Council (SIC) to try to recover money lost when the Albuquerque-based Region III Housing Authority defaulted in 2006 on $5 million in bonds it owed the state. With a subpoena in hand, Colón met with Edgar Lopez, who had been Region VII’s landlord, filled his car with boxes of government records and headed north on Interstate 25. Colón confirmed in an interview that his work on the case includes investigation, research and communicating with the SIC on behalf of his law firm, Robles, Rael & Anaya. Continue Reading

Bland shined light on housing authority problems

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Gary Bland may be taking — and may or may not deserve — a lot of heat for his role in the state’s investment scandal. But he also deserves credit for standing up against shenanigans in the state’s housing authority system. That’s the conclusion the Albuquerque Journal’s Thomas Cole drew in an article published Saturday in which he wrote that Bland “kept the public light shining on the (Region III Housing Authority) when others would have preferred it be turned off.” I’ve covered the housing authority scandal since the beginning — writing my first article on it about two weeks before Cole wrote his in early 2006 — and I’ve witnessed the same thing. Many will say the State Investment Council (SIC) and Bland haven’t gone far enough in taking on people tied to the housing authority scandal. Some will point out the fact that the chairman of the state Democratic Party works for the law firm the SIC hired to try to recover bond money lost when most of the system collapsed in 2006. Continue Reading

Denish donates cash to nonprofit organization

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Lt. Gov. Diane Denish has donated $5,000 from her campaign fund to an agency that works on neighborhood revitalization — an amount equal to what she has received from the men indicted in the housing authority scandal. Steve Fitzer, Denish’s finance director, said the money has been donated to United South Broadway Corporation, a nonprofit that, according to its Web site, “works within older historic neighborhoods of Albuquerque to address affordable housing opportunities, commercial revitalization, crime prevention and youth development” in an effort to revitalize neighborhoods. The money Denish received from the housing authority defendants included $500 from Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos, former director of the Region III Housing Authority; $500 from Robert Strumor, the former bond attorney for the authority; and $4,000 from Strumor’s law firm, Hughes and Strumor, Fitzer said. Gallegos, Strumor and former Region III accountant Dennis Kennedy are facing felony charges in the case that include fraud and money laundering. Former Region III attorney David N. Hernandez is charged with tampering with evidence.A prior version of this posting incorrectly identified Fitzer as Denish’s campaign manager. Continue Reading

A primer on New Mexico’s housing authority scandal

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Not sure what led to last week’s indictments in the investigation into the misuse of bond money in the state’s regional housing authority system? Wondering what the housing authorities even do? Here’s a primer: The state’s housing authority law creates quasi-governmental agencies charged with helping provide affordable housing for people who qualify under federal law for such assistance. Until recent reforms changed the system, the state was divided into seven regions, each with its own housing authority (the seven regions have since been consolidated into three, but we’ll get to that later). Each authority is governed by a board whose members are appointed by the governor. Continue Reading

Indicted attorney accused of tampering with records

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In the housing authority case, the allegations against the former head of the state bar are much different than the charges against the other defendants Three men indicted Friday in the housing authority case face felony charges including fraud and money laundering that could land them in prison for decades if they’re convicted. But the fourth defendant in the case, an Albuquerque attorney and former head of the State Bar of New Mexico, faces a much different allegation — that he destroyed, changed, fabricated or hid two invoices and a promissory note with the intention of preventing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of himself or someone else. David N. Hernandez, who was a contract attorney for the Region III Housing Authority, is charged with one count of tampering with evidence, according to the indictment. It’s a fourth-degree felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of 18 months. While tampering with records may not carry as long a prison sentence as the charges against the other defendants, it’s an important part of the housing authority case. Continue Reading

Denish to donate money from housing defendants

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Lt. Gov. Diane Denish says she’ll donate to charity any campaign contributions she’s received from the men indicted Friday in the housing authority case. At least two of the four have contributed to her campaigns over the years. “As has been my practice, I will donate to charity any contributions received from any individual who is indicted for a crime, including those individuals indicted today,” Denish said Friday in a statement released by her office. Denish, according to the money-in-state-politics Web site FollowTheMoney.org, has taken $4,000 over the last several years from Robert Strumor, the former bond attorney for the Albuquerque-based Region III Housing Authority. That agency is at the center of the case surrounding the misuse of bond money. Continue Reading

Republicans comment on housing indictments

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Friday’s indictments in the housing authority scandal revealed “another dark day for New Mexicans,” potential Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh said in a statement released by his campaign. Weh was one of two Republicans who were quick to put out statements in response to the indictments. “Entrenched politicians who abuse their positions and our tax dollars have once again given all of us a black eye. Corruption at the highest levels of government will be the biggest issue in the 2010 campaign,” Weh said. “It’s time to elect leaders who will work with the attorney general, the U.S. attorney and all law enforcement agencies to root out corruption at every level. Continue Reading

Housing authority indictments are a ‘glimmer of hope’

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Officials who have pushed for reform of the affordable housing system praise AG for bringing public corruption case forward “It’s about time,” were the words uttered by state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones earlier today when told that four men had been indicted in the drawn-out investigation into the misuse of bond money in the state’s affordable housing system. Arnold-Jones, an Albuquerque Republican, and Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, are among those who have previously expressed fear that political considerations could lead to the case being buried. Arnold-Jones said today’s indictments are a “glimmer of hope” that the law can win out over politics. “In order to make your laws mean something and in order for government or individuals to be accountable, they have to be held accountable by the authorities whose job it is to hold them accountable. This is the first step in that direction,” Arnold-Jones said. Continue Reading

Charges include fraud and money laundering

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At least some counts against Gallegos and others in the housing authority case relate to a loan made under the guise of purchasing land in Las Cruces Former Region III Housing Authority Director Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos is facing a number of felony charges including fraud, embezzlement and money laundering, with at least some of the charges related to a $300,000 loan Region III made to Gallegos in 2005. That’s according to the indictments against the four defendants in the case that were publicly released today. Gallegos, a former state legislator from Clovis, is charged in two separate indictments with a total of 12 felony counts including fraud, embezzlement, the fraudulent sale of securities and money laundering. He faces a maximum of 72.5 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Three other defendants are facing felony charges in the case. Continue Reading

Gallegos, others indicted in housing authority case

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This article has been updated.Former Region III Housing Authority Director Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos and others have been indicted by grand juries in the long-standing investigation into the misuse of bond money in the state’s affordable housing system. Phil Sisneros, spokesman for Attorney General Gary King, confirmed that indictments had been filed against Gallegos, Albuquerque bond attorney Robert Strumor and former Region III employees David Hernandez and Dennis Kennedy. He provided no other details, including the charges that have been filed, and said the AG’s office would release no further information. The investigation into the housing authority scandal has spanned three years. Two separate grand juries have met in the case in recent weeks. Continue Reading

Paper: At least one indicted in housing authority case

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At least one indictment has been returned by a grand jury investigating the housing authority scandal, the Albuquerque Journal is reporting, but that action remains under seal because one of two grand juries convened in the case is still hearing testimony. The first of two grand juries met Friday but didn’t finish its work, the Journal is reporting. That grand jury “apparently will continue to hear testimony in the coming weeks.” The second grand jury, which met Monday, “returned an indictment that was sealed to prevent publicity that could affect the work of the other grand jury,” the Journal article states. The article doesn’t name the person who has been indicted. The newspaper reported that the grand jury that has returned an indictment “has been investigating a $300,000 loan the (Region III Housing Authority) made to its then-executive director, Vincent ‘Smiley’ Gallegos. Continue Reading