Thank you, Raul Torrez.
The New Mexico State Attorney General has promised his office is “concentrating on a wide-ranging civil investigation,” into the massive allegations about mismanagement, malfeasance, and simply shoddy business practices at the North Central Solid Waste Authority.
The Rio Grande Sun carries no hubris here or flatters ourselves to believe we had a meaningful impact on this decision, but it is what we argued for and hoped for in in our editorials.
Torrez and his office may be our chance at finding authentic heroes below the rubble of shenanigans at the trash authority.
That’s because at this point there are no heroes. Virtually every player in the game leading up to a grand jury investigation into trash authority policies and procedures is suspect. Most have had their own personal agendas and those agendas are also covered in grime.
Attorney General Torrez, do not stop at the grand jury’s request for an indictment aimed at the entire waste authority itself or more investigating of current and former board members. The grand jury report, in fact, even suggests trash authority board members be barred from holding any public office.
No, do not stop at what we know.
Go after what we do not know but hear in whispers.
The Rio Grande Sun this week received an anonymous tip that jury tampering was involved among at least one person on the grand jury. Another tip came in saying someone at the trash authority may have stolen as much as $2 million from it and taxpayers.
This is, Mr. Torrez, just the tip of that proverbial iceberg. In its report to the public in the 22-page, somewhat voluminous report, the grand jury raised more questions that it answered. For instance, it criticized the First Judicial District Attorney’s office of failing to provide truly complete information in a timely manner or not at all so that the grand jury could dig more deeply into the allegations of multiple shoddy and perhaps criminal practices at the waste authority.
That charge against the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office has resulted in the office recusing itself into further pursuing perjury indictments of County Board Chairman Alex Naranjo, former county manager Tomas Campos, and former board member John Ricci.
Now, in a separate matter, those charges will need to be handled by a special prosecutor.
Torrez and his office have the chance to make a meaningful impact not only on revealing the past sins and perhaps crimes at the trash authority but on the future of Rio Arriba County politics and quality of government. As we have said many times, much of what we see and experience here is the result of decades of abuse of the public trust. We have some new faces in government and those folks along with the literally older faces are still doing business the old way here.
And the old way was perpetuation of favoritism, cronyism, political skullduggery, and corruption. It is not government “for the people,” but instead government for a few political bosses and their friends to enrich themselves and abuse power.
Attorney General Torrez, we hope your office’s investigation will lead us out of the morass of trash that has plagued this county for so many years.