Jury picked for former legislator’s ethics trial
Ex-Sen. Griego faces charges including fraud, bribery in building sale
SANTA FE — Former New Mexico state Sen. Phil Griego will go on trial today for allegedly using his elected position to help enrich himself, after a 10-man, six-woman jury was selected Monday.
The former longtime lawmaker — Griego represented a sprawling Senate district for more than 18 years before resigning in March 2015 — is facing fraud, bribery and other ethics charges for receiving a $50,000 broker’s fee during the 2014 sale of a historic state-owned building.
The trial in Santa Fe is scheduled to last up to two weeks, and Griego could face up to 23½ years in prison and as much as $33,000 in fines if convicted of all eight charges he is facing.
Attorney General Hector Balderas’ office filed criminal charges against Griego in February 2016, but it’s taken more than a year and a half for the case to reach trial.
That’s partly because all nine district judges in Santa Fe either recused themselves from the high-profile case or were bumped off it. District Judge Brett Loveless of Albuquerque was eventually appointed by the state Supreme Court to handle the case.
As the trial begins today, the AG’s Office is expected to call Legislative Council Service Director Raúl Burciaga and former Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Secretary John Bemis, among others, to testify.
However, Loveless has barred attorneys on both sides from eliciting testimony about certain aspects of New Mexico legislative culture — including other lawmakers facing criminal charges and whether Griego’s actions should have just been handled in house by the Legislature’s secretive system for ethics complaints.
During jury selection on Monday, potential jurors were questioned about their beliefs about politicians, and Griego’s attorney, Tom Clark, suggested much of the media coverage of the case has been “unflattering” for Griego.
Griego, 69, a Democrat who lives in rural San Miguel County and worked for years as a real estate broker, has pleaded not guilty. He said at the time of his resignation from the Senate that he was unaware of the constitutional provision against lawmakers profiting off legislation passed during their terms and insisted he did not think he was doing anything wrong.
Greigo also faces separate charges of perjury, fraud and embezzlement for allegedly pocketing money from his campaign account and lying about it on required reports. Those charges will not be considered during the trial that starts today.