Rio Arriba County commissioner indicted
Trujillo accused of fourth-degree felonies over schools contract
A grand jury has indicted Rio Arriba County Commissioner Barney Trujillo on felony charges involving his dealings with Española Public Schools, state Attorney General Hector Balderas said Thursday.
Trujillo, 38, who at one time had a $50,000 annual contract with the Española school district to provide marketing services, is charged with three counts of unlawful interest in a public contract and failure to disclose campaign contributions while bidding on a contract.
The charges in the indictment, all fourth-degree felonies, relate to alleged illegal acts between August 2014 and June 2017.
School board member Ruben Archuleta last year publicly questioned why Trujillo was hired for the marketing work. Archuleta said he asked Trujillo for an itemized list of his duties but never received it.
All told, the school district paid Trujillo more than $136,000 for work that was meant to stem declining enrollment, the Rio Grande Sun has reported. School board members terminated his contract on a 4-1 vote in April 2017.
Investigators from the Attorney General’s Office raided Trujillo’s home in Chimayó in January 2017, a week after items were seized from the Española Public School District.
“The allegations stem from failing to provide required and correct information to the Secretary of State surrounding contracts with the Española Public Schools and failing to disclose campaign donations in the contracting process,” Attorney General spokesman David Carl said in an emailed statement.
Trujillo, in a voicemail, said that on the advice of counsel he could not comment on the indict-
ment and referred inquiries to his Santa Fe attorney, Dan Cron.
Cron said Thursday he had neither seen the indictment nor had any discussions with the Attorney General’s Office.
A news release quoted Balderas as saying, “Public school funds should be used on the needs of students. I will continue to bring charges against candidates and officials who fail to serve our communities by pursuing or failing to disclose improper financial interests.”
In addition to failing to provide required information about his public school contracts, Trujillo, as a prospective contractor in a sealed bid process, is accused of failing to disclose “all campaign contributions” given to public officials during the two years prior to the bid being submitted.
Española school board members did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
The Attorney General’s Office said Trujillo’s arraignment on the charges has not yet been scheduled.
Trujillo has been a county commissioner since 2010. He is vice chairman of the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities and previously chaired that board, according to its website. He also twice ran unsuccessfully for the District 40 seat in the state House of Representatives.