Corrupt ex-Dem House leader convicted on all counts

Corrupt ex-Democrat House leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton convicted on all federal counts

Former New Mexico House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton, once one of the most powerful Democrats in the state Legislature, was convicted Friday on all federal counts in a sprawling corruption case tied to millions of dollars meant for Albuquerque Public Schools students.

A federal jury found Stapleton, 69, and her longtime friend and co-defendant Joseph Johnson, 74, guilty on every count they faced after a two-week trial in Albuquerque. The charges included bribery, mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Stapleton was convicted of 31 felony counts in all, while Johnson was convicted of 28 counts. Stapleton was also convicted on tax-related charges for failing to report income prosecutors said she received through the scheme.

The verdict marks a stunning fall for Stapleton, a longtime Albuquerque Democrat who represented House District 19 and rose to become House majority leader before resigning in 2021 after investigators searched her home and offices.

“It’s a fall from grace story, someone who rode high in the Democratic political establishment and is now facing a number of years in a federal prison,” legal expert John Day told KOAT.

Federal prosecutors alleged Stapleton used her position as Albuquerque Public Schools’ Career and Technical Education coordinator to steer state and federal education dollars to Robotics Management Learning Systems, a Washington, D.C.-based company owned by Johnson. The company provided a math education program called CyberQuest to APS.

According to reporting on the case, APS paid Robotics roughly $3.25 million between 2013 and 2021, with some of the money coming from federal grants funded by taxpayers. Prosecutors said much of the money did not go toward maintaining or operating the software program. Instead, they argued Johnson sent blank company checks to Stapleton, who used more than $1.1 million for her own benefit.

Prosecutors urged jurors to follow the money, arguing Stapleton and Johnson hid conflicts of interest while siphoning money intended for students. Evidence presented at trial showed APS mailed checks to an Albuquerque post office box for Robotics, and a former New Mexico Department of Justice agent testified that Stapleton personally retrieved the checks and deposited them into a Robotics bank account.

The Albuquerque Journal reported that Johnson’s office manager mailed blank Robotics checks to Stapleton, who used 234 of those checks to move $1,152,506 into accounts she controlled, including accounts tied to her family’s restaurant, consulting business, and a nonprofit foundation controlled by Stapleton and Johnson.

The jury rejected defense arguments from both defendants.

Stapleton’s attorneys admitted during trial that she took money she should not have taken, but claimed she stole from Johnson’s company — not taxpayers. Her attorney Ryan Villa told jurors during opening statements, “She did take money and she shouldn’t have,” adding, “We’re not here to tell you that she is 100% innocent.”

Johnson’s defense team claimed he did not know what Stapleton was doing and blamed an employee for sending her checks without his knowledge.

Jurors did not buy it.

Both defendants were convicted on every count.

Stapleton did not comment after leaving the courthouse Friday. Her attorney Ahmad Assed told reporters the defense was shaken by the verdict.

“We’re all emotionally taken aback with respect to the verdict that the jury came back with, and she obviously hasn’t had the time to process that,” Assed said.

U.S. District Judge James O. Browning allowed both Stapleton and Johnson to remain out of custody pending sentencing, saying there was “clear and convincing evidence” that neither defendant was a flight risk or danger to the community. Sentencing is expected to be set within 90 days.

Stapleton still faces a separate state case with 28 criminal counts, including racketeering, money laundering, fraud, soliciting or receiving illegal kickbacks, and engaging in an official act for personal financial gain. That trial is currently scheduled for October in 2nd Judicial District Court.

Villa said Stapleton’s defense plans to ask the New Mexico Department of Justice to reconsider pursuing the state case, arguing taxpayers should not fund a second trial over what he called “essentially the identical charges.”

Lauren Rodriguez, chief of staff for the New Mexico Department of Justice, said the agency is evaluating its next steps now that the federal case has concluded.

The conviction brings long-awaited accountability in likely New Mexico’s most notorious public corruption scandal of the modern age — a case involving a powerful Democrat lawmaker, a public school district, federal education money, and a scheme prosecutors said enriched insiders while students were left behind.

For years, Stapleton held power in Santa Fe while also working inside APS. On Friday, a federal jury concluded she used that position not to serve students, but to help funnel public money into private pockets.

The message from jurors was unmistakable: the defense could argue about who the money technically came from, but the trail began with education dollars meant for New Mexico children.