Rio Arriba County Manager Lorenzo Valdez met with State Police June 18 to report possible fraud occurring at the County complex and involving a well-traveled Sheriff’s Department employee.
“It’s my duty to report suspected cases of criminal financial conduct to the police, the (District Attorney) and the state auditor,” Valdez said. “I did my duty.”
Valdez confirmed that the probe is focused on County Sheriff’s Department administrative assistant Jackie Martinez, 38, of Española, who has received a total of $5,149 from the County since July 2008 for various trainings she supposedly attended, according to County travel vouchers. For instance, the County paid $249 for Martinez to attend a September 2008 training in Santa Fe called “Stress, Anger and Fear Management for the Peace Officer” and $135 for a “Problem Employees in a Challenging Workplace” conference in January in Albuquerque, plus compensation for gas.
The travel was all within New Mexico, and the post-travel vouchers were signed by either County accounting systems coordinator Guadalupe Mercure or Martinez’s supervisor, Sheriff Joe Mascareñas.
Neither Martinez nor Mascareñas returned calls.
Those payments are now under scrutiny. Valdez said he noticed a spending pattern and began making calls to confirm Martinez was actually showing up to the trainings she claimed.
He discovered that at least in some instances, other people at the trainings did not see Martinez in attendance, Valdez said.
As of Tuesday, uniformed police officers had not turned the investigation over to criminal agents, but State Police Capt. Daniel Lovato said that will happen in the next few days. Lovato was reluctant to discuss details, in case the investigation turns out to be based on unfounded allegations made by someone trying to stir up trouble, he said.
That someone may be Santa Fe Police officer Fidel Cordova, rumored to have had a romantic relationship with Martinez. Cordova confirmed Monday that he approached County management with concerns about possible fraud by a County employee, but declined to comment further.
“There’s a lot going on and I’ve been advised by my chief just to stay away,” Cordova said.
Martinez was not in the office Monday or Tuesday, but County Human Resources Director Jessica Madrid said she has not been suspended or put on leave.