On Friday, former Taxation and Revenue chief Demesia Padilla, 61, was found guilty of embezzling $20,000 and computer access with intent to defraud or embezzle over $20,000 following a trial in 13th Judicial District Court.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, “Authorities say that, between 2011 and 2013, Padilla stole more than $25,000 from a Bernalillo business, Harold’s Grading and Trucking, while she was Cabinet secretary. To do so, Padilla linked her personal credit card to the business’ checking account.”
The corrupt former cabinet secretary under Gov. Susana Martinez will be sentenced at a later date. She faces up to nine years on each of the counts.
Padilla’s conviction is just the latest in a revolving door of corruption in New Mexico politics, from small-town mayors and state senators to public regulation commissioners, secretaries of state, and beyond.
In Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s regime, tens of thousands of dollars have been misappropriated by the governor to pay off sexual accusers and her own daughter for hair and makeup.
At the Department of Workforce Solutions, staffers “misplaced” over $250 million, while at the Public Education Department, $35 million is gone. At Lujan Grisham’s Children, Youth, and Families Department has been instructed by the Governor to delete public records, a grave violation of state law through the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA).
During the Legislative Session, multiple politicians, including House Speaker Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe) and Sen. Katy Duhigg (D-Bernalillo), sponsored bills they would directly profit from, including a proposal to deny peace officers qualified immunity rights, which Egolf’s firm would benefit from and a bill to legalize recreational marijuan, directly benefiting Duhigg with a new marijuana law venture.
New Mexicans are still awaiting action from state auditor Brian Colón, who is running for attorney general on million-dollar hush-money payments made by former Gov. Susana Martinez, which he dubbed “abuse of power.” New Mexicans are still waiting for action on all these cases, and with each passing day, public trust erodes.
So she operated for years under tax and rev as a CPA but my research proved she was not licensed until her last years in office. This is fraud. She was also gifted by the NMCPA board as some sort of QUEEN in 2014, yet she never held her CPA license until 2016 or after.
DemocRat’s are all crooks.