Former NM Sec of State receives 30 days of a 7.5-year sentence

[SheilaT]

2. No mention of taking away her pension.

Those of you not in NM may not realize that Dianna Duran was first elected in 2010, the first Republican to hold that office in something like 80 years, because her predecessors hadn't been all that terrific, and she promised to bring dignity to the office. One of the first things she did was send something like 60,000 names of voters to the state AG she thought were guilty of some kind of voter fraud.

No fraud uncovered.

Various other incompetencies, including naming someone as her campaign treasurer, who did no such thing, and forging signatures on checks written to other people, but then deposited into her own accounts. She got re-elected last year, and then was caught withdrawing several hundred thousand dollars of campaign money from ATMs at various casinos.

She's been completely unrepentant, says she's done a good job, not much money is at stake anyway, blames the casinos for their predatory behavior, and as begged not to have her pension taken away. It should be. An example needs to be set, but this state is so flaming corrupt at all levels, it probably won't be. I am rather amazed at this sentence, because it really is pretty harsh, considering how many people in her position get off scot-free.

Wish she were serving at least six months in jail.