by Mike Gallagher at Albuquerque Journal
A search warrant affidavit prepared by the Attorney General’s Office and made public Wednesday details an investigation into “the alleged nefarious receipt of millions of dollars of public funds over a decade-long period by individuals, including at least one high-ranking elected official.”
The high-ranking official named in that affidavit is Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton, the second most powerful member of the state House of Representatives.
Investigators from the Attorney General’s Office served search warrants on Stapleton’s home and her employer, the Albuquerque Public Schools, on Wednesday as part of a sweeping investigation into Stapleton’s financial relationship and possible kickback scheme with a district vendor that has been paid more than $5 million over more than a decade.
The search warrant affidavit says the AG’s Office is conducting a “criminal investigation of racketeering, money laundering, receiving illegal kickback, and violations of the Governmental Conduct Act.”
News of the investigation sent shock waves through New Mexico on Wednesday, catching lawmakers and state leaders by surprise. Stapleton, a Democrat, is House majority leader and a longtime employee of APS, where she is coordinator and director of Career and Technical Education. The school district placed her on leave Wednesday pending the AG’s investigation.
According to the search warrant affidavit, investigators have found bank records showing that businesses and charities Stapleton either owns or has an interest in received more than $950,000 from Washington, D.C.-based Robotics Management Learning Systems LLC dating back to 2012. The money was in the form of payments to her family’s restaurant, A Taste of the Caribbean; a consulting firm, S. Williams Associates; and two charities that listed the president of Robotics, Joseph F. Johnson, as president and Stapleton as secretary and treasurer.
Robotics submitted invoices to APS totaling $5.3 million from 2006 through June 23, 2021, operating for most of that time under a sole-source contract. APS stopped business with Robotics on May 26, 2021.
No charges have been filed in the case.
“While we cannot comment on the specifics of an ongoing investigation,…
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