Accused want same fate as Vigil-Giron

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - Lawyers for three co-defendants in the case involving former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron were in court Monday, hoping to get what she got.

A judge last week dismissed a string of corruption charges against her.  The judge ruled the state had taken too long to bring that case to trial. 

The charges still stand against the other co-defendants and Monday, their attorneys told the judge they want the same fate as Vigil-Giron, on the same grounds. 

Judge Reed Sheppard didn’t rule on that Monday, but set another hearing for next spring.  One of those defendants, Elizabeth Kupfer, the only one of the three defendants who showed up to court, did not want to comment. 

Prosecutors did comment though. 

“We’re not done.  We’re still in there and we intend to fight the good fight and make sure that the people of New Mexico get an answer to the question of ‘what happened to the money’” said Prosecutor Joseph Campbell. 

Campbell says more than a million dollars of money is still unaccounted for after a 2006 voter education blitz run by then Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron.

Elizabeth and Joseph Kupfer were lobbyists.  The other defendant,  Armando Gutierrez helped produce the voter education ads. 

Court records show all three have multiple criminal charges against them in district court, including money laundering, tax fraud and kickbacks. 

Those three defendants are also due in federal court in January for federal charges stemming from an investigation into how money for that voter education blitz was spent.