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It looks like former state Sen. Phil Griego might finally face the music.
The New Mexico Attorney General's Office has leveled criminal charges against Griego, who resigned from the Senate last March in the wake of an ethics probe. Special Agent Mark Pinto filed a 16-page criminal complaint in District Court in Santa Fe today, alleging that Griego tampered with public records and filed false financial disclosure reports as well as committing perjury and violating the ethical principels of public service.
SFR first reported on the real estate deal Griego brokered for Santa Fe hoteliers Ira and Sharif Seret in July 2014 and his role in making the state property eligible for sale in the first place. A later story posed questions about his financial disclosure in September 2014 that still didn't come clean about his activities outside of the legislative post. The complaint says the attorney general launched an investigation in April 2015.
Pinto's complaint—which lists nine charges in all—notes that Griego walked off the Senate floor before a vote to sell the building, an indication that he knew he had an ethical problem.
"Griego's abrupt departure from the vote is an early indicator to this agent that Griego knew he had a conflicting interest in the vote while he was functioning as a legislator, but hoped not voting on the measure would alleviate that conflict," the complaint says.
The former senator, who represented parts of Santa Fe as well as parts of Taos, Mora, Torrance, Valencia and San Miguel counties, is also charged with fraud for allegedly withholding commission shares owed to other brokers involved with the real estate transaction and for failing to disclose his interest to the state of New Mexico and for failing to alert anyone to factual inaccuracies and misstatements made at times during the sale, according to James Hallinan, a spokesman for the AG's office.
Griego did not return a voicemail message this afternoon but told SFR during our original reporting that he was unapologetic about his work on the deal, noting that citizen legislators "need to earn a living."
He gave a brief interview this afternoon to New Mexico Political Report, who quotes Griego as saying his lawyer has advised him not to speak, but added, "we’re going to fight this because everything they have in there is wrong.”
Hallinan says the matter will be submitted for a probable cause determination.
Griego could face additional legal challenges for allowing rocks to be illegally removed from state trust land he leases near his home in San Jose, NM.
Updated: This post has been updated to correct the name of the first court hearing.
Santa Fe Reporter