Guest blogged by Ellen Theisen, VotersUnite.Org
Rebecca Vigil-Giron, who oversaw New Mexico elections for ten years, was indicted last Wednesday on 50 counts including fraud or embezzlement, money laundering, tax fraud, tax evasion, illegal kickbacks, tampering with evidence, and conspiracy.
Like last year’s indictment of 13-year Monterey County, CA, Registrar of Voters, Tony Anchundo on 43 criminal counts, and last March’s indictment of six Clay County, KY election officials [corrected from “KS”] for changing votes at voting machines and showing others how to do it, Vigil-Giron’s indictment reminds us that democracy thrives on checks, balances, and transparency — and is threatened by conditions that force us to trust in election officials.
Ion Sancho, Leon County Supervisor of Elections in Florida, and Freddie Oakley, Yolo County Registrar-Clerk in California understand that threats to elections come from the insiders. They warn us — in their speeches and writings — not to trust election officials. Vigil-Giron’s indictment warns us in a more sensational way…
In “Prosecutors allege the theft of millions of dollars,” Heath Haussamen writes that Vigil-Giron was indicted by a grand jury along with three others:
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.
…
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.
Haussamen summarizes the indictment:
“¢ 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.
Meanwhile Vigil-Giron continues working at the state Department of Workforce Solutions as a constituent liaison for the department’s labor and industrial division, because, according to Deputy Secretary Ken Ortiz, the indictment was for actions that are unrelated to her work with the department.
Read the indictment here.
So we’ve got some evidence here that Vigil-Giron let this shady consultant “re-negotiate” his contract without following all of the rules and regs. Pretty stupid Becky, but what are the rest of these 49 counts against her all about? There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that Vigil-Giron got any money out of this massive criminal operation she was ‘in on’. Really, not a check, not a witness – nothing according to the indictment and the press…
[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.-NM Independent]
Interesting…Vigil-Giron is the only one accused of embezzling an “unspecified” amount without any bank transactions/paper-trail listed to prove the accusation. She is also the only one high-profile enough that anyone would care if she got indicted. I mean, anyone outside of ‘the lege’ in Santa Fe that is.
Hmmm….
It could be that she is guilty as sin, but you’ve got admit this whole thing looks a bit “opportunistic” on the part of NM Attorney Gary King, who one his primary on the “promise” that he would root out corruption in his own party. Let’s face it – if you were the NM attorney general, as corrupt as that state is, would you want the R’s accusing you of “going easy” of a former state official like Vigil-Giron? Probably not, but the evidence against her is very, VERY weak. Just calling it like I see it…
50 counts is a lot of counts for the evidence to be very, very weak. let’s wait and see if that is true or not. How can 2 million dollars be unaccounted for? Wasn’t that part of her job?
Excellent piece, Ellen.
So the federal government, in enacting HAVA, not only created a huge slush fund designed to line the pockets of the vendors of easily hacked electronic DREs but added much more for “voter education.”
How much $$$ would be needed to teach people how to mark old fashion paper ballots?
Well I can see that the difference between Arizona and New Mexico is they in New Mexico have a prosecutor and we in Arizona don’t. We have found serious problems but nothing is dome except cover-ups. The facts are so bad that we made a Documentary film called: FATALLY FLAWED, an inspiring story about citizens fighting to regain the integrity of elections, citizens who share the ultimate goal of election transparency.
The film allows viewers to watch events as they unfold through the eyes of seasoned lawyer and activist Bill Risner. As the story develops, it becomes evident that what initially appeared to be a public mandate to expand the city’s roads was a likely case of election fraud. Every step along the way, citizens seeking answers are met with resistance from election facilitators, local politicians and even the state’s own attorney general. Persistent, unanswered questions generated by the lawsuit and new evidence of wrongdoing on the part of elections division personnel led to an equally suspicious investigation by the Arizona attorney general. This investigation culminated in a recount conducted under conditions that made meaningful public oversight impossible.
VISIT THE OFFICIAL MOVIE WEBSITE:
http://www.fatallyflawedthemovie.com/index.html
John,
You have been doing wonderful work in Arizona. I’m so eager to see the film. Every state should have activists so dedicated to election integrity. Some do, but sadly some don’t. Thanks for all you do.
Thanks for keeping us updated. For the sake of accuracy, the March indictment should read Clark County, KY (as in Kentucky, not KS as in Kansas). Also, thanks to John for the tip on Fatally Flawed.
This definitely won’t be in the news!
Brad.
You should take a look at this related election integrity discussion on DU. It’s very illuminating but…On the other hand, your favorite DUer, is still trying to spread disinformation regarding pre and post-election polls.
But he is not succeeding. In fact, he is getting his ass kicked.
http://www.democraticundergroun...03×513744
Problem with the link in #8
Hope this link works. If it doesn’t, go to the DU Elections Forum, Click on the post:
NY: Computer Tallies Can’t be Trusted
http://www.democraticundergroun...#038;forum=203
I guarantee you will enjoy it…
Keep an eye on what gets dug up about the relationship between Vigil-Giron, Jim Noel (the husband of Bill Richardson’s deputy campaign manager, Amanda Cooper – who also happens to be freshman NM Senator Tom Udall’s (D) stepdaughter) who was the head of the NM Election Reform task force, and ES&S. Not gonna say more, we’ll see if the investigation turns up what I think is there.
There is no validity to Chris Hooten’s suggestion (comment #2) that the number of counts (50) in the Vigil-Giron indictment means the evidence is weak.
The link to Brad Friedman’s coverage of the 43 count indictment of former Monterey County, CA Registrar of Voters Tony Achundo reveals that Achundo pleaded no-contest and was serving time in jail at the time Brad’s article was written.
The allegations in a 50 count indictment, if true, simply suggest broad-scale criminal misconduct.
Uh, that’s what I meant. If there is 50 counts of “smoke,” there probably is a fire somewhere. Let’s wait and see. I would be astonished and disappointed if at least some of the charges didn’t stick.
Can anyone still remember the 2004 Presidential Election BUSHIT theft? NM was 1 of 4 swing states that was stolen with obvious disparity that also included NV, FL (2nd time offender for team bushit) and OH. To some degree my memory card has been willingly erased just like the actual results. For anyone who bothered to investigate and comprehend how the US election system has been gamed and compromised at the time knows it was rigged.
Brad and people like Bev Harris provided excellent coverage and worked hard to bring the truth about this broken system that’s the flag waving sham of so called freedom and democracy.
To go on limb, I would say what re-election team bushit pulled off in NM was a combination of disqualified American Indian votes tied in with dead people that voted to produce a vote count that exceeded the number of actual voters. Then a recount could not occur because Green presidential candidate Cobb could not raise the high dollar deposit required before an insane deadline. Then again (this is memory only), the Democrat governor ordered the ballots to be destroyed.
I do not like to guess in my posts ever so let someone be it from NM, the other 49 states, or surrounding countries set the record straight and I will gladly admit that this factual information stands to be corrected.
What I can tell you for a fact is that the ONLY state electoral vote results that were questioned by the corporate military industrial complex sellout robots in the 109th Congress was Ohio. All member received John Conyer’s jr. 106 pg report on the evidence of vote rigging and gaming that occured in Ohio although only Senator Boxer from CA stood to question the results.
Future New World Order puppet President then Senator Barack Obama stood up and then sat down to accept the tainted electoral results without question. No doubt this action helped secure his future position.
Lastly, on the subject of head of the House Judiciary, I would like to say what a disappointment John Conyer’s jr. has been. He held a hearing where former CA Charles Manson prosecuter spoke on why former President George W. Bush should be proesecuted for murder based on altered documents and lies to take this country into war. Hard concrete factual evidence that was only the tip of the iceberg about the clear self-serving treasonous criminality of President Bush and his administration that mislead our nation into wars. Wars the Obama administration continues to engage.
The battlecry excuse? http://www.ae911truth.org Learn how the only way 3 World Trade Towers (2 110 story and 1 47 story not hit by a plane could fall at near free fall speed, the positive identification of military high tech thermate cutter charges, and molten metal. Regular fire or jet fuel burns at 1300-1400 degrees F and steel can only become a liquid at temperatures exceeding 3000-4000 degrees F.
So what do we got here? A corrupted system run by the elite super rich and the Pentagon that took out the World Trade Towers with bombs to gain unpresidented support of the American people for bombing, subsequent invasion, and occupation of the Middle East region.
In the process, these greedy lying murderers who run the Federal government awarded themselves broad powers whole taking away right of the US citizen in the process. Congress gave Bush the right to go to war at his own discretion although the US was never at any danger. The majority of the military industrial congressional complex did not even show up to debate the issue. They just voted YES.
The new privilege of the US military to torture anyone “they” label as “suspected terrorists” and detain these individuals indefinitely WITHOUT A PENDING COURT TRIAL.
Illegal surveilance on the American people to a level greater than the U.S. financial system already evokes with their plan of debt enslavement in place.
The spending of billions and billions of dollars on the US war machine but call it DEFENSE so US bombs, and bullets could murder innocent civilians in these targeted enemey nations. Then oil comapanies and defense contractor heads like the treasonous lyer former Vice President Dick Cheney can takeover their oil fields in colusion with the military. These plans were drawn a long time ago.
These people have been infiltrated all 3 branches of government for decades and have run the US mass media propaganda machine with complete control since changes were made under President Reagan.
Yeh New Mexico was stolen and what are you going to do about this small stink fish? How about throw money, arms, and the most advanced military training to a group of men to fight against the Fascist takeover by the U.S.?
The CIA already beat you to it and they call them the enemey known as Alqueda. Alqueda under a different name was started by the CIA to fight against Russian forces when they attacked Afganistan for the oil back in the 1980’s.
You want truth? You want justice? You want your country back? Then dismantal the Illuminati New World Order rulers of the United States. Fix the system, and start the world court convictions of the Bush administration who need to go to jail.
The Federal reserve is not even a government entity. It a group of unknown questionable bankers. Note it is not made up of Hollywood actors or celebrities who get full time spot- light in the US corporate mass media. They have been printing and taxing US people since 1933.
Cut the Denfense spending to 1 quarter it’s current budget and divert the money into renewable sources of energy.
Clean coal is a fcking lie and nuclear must be phased out. Wind, solar, geothermal, and some water. Lead the nations in cleaning up the oceans before the complete collapse of the still currently over-fished fisheries.
Obama might be dark skinned and the former Bush administration was multi racial BUT they represent the same people as Bush. Wake up!!!
On a radio program in advance of the 2004 NM primary, I heard Vicki Jiron tell a radio audience that she was unaware of any difference between open source and proprietary software.
Vicki’s one of half-a-dozen loyal Dim females in N M who have been promoted to positions of authority in State Government not for their intelligence, competence, or ability, but for their loyalty to the State Dim machine. Others include the current Sec.of State, Mary Herrerra (formerly the County Clerk of the largest NM county), and Patsy Madrid, whose ill-fated campaign against Leather Heather Wilson (Domenici’s personal Congressional ‘lap-top’) was the instigating event in the US Attorney firing here of David Iglesis.
That she is also corrupt does not surprise me. It surprised me that it apparently took two full years to drop the hammer on her.
Great job exposing the real “evil doers.” The problem has however become so systemic that our Republic is in imminent danger of extinction. Generally speaking I am pro-choice and against the death penalty. But I am willing to change my stance on the latter under certain circumstances. This is one of those circumstances. “We the People” need to learn some of the lessons that were laid out for us by our Founding fathers.