N.M. corruption 'epidemic,' fed says

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A retiring FBI agent in the thick of investigating and prosecuting public officials said Tuesday New Mexico may be the most corrupt state in the nation.

New Mexico has a long list of corrupt politicians, and the list could be growing. High-profile political figures and associates have been convicted, and ongoing investigations are making frequent headlines.

Many of those cases began with FBI agents in Albuquerque.

"It's our No. 1 criminal program," Thomas McClenaghan, special agent in charge of the FBI Albuquerque field office, said.

Corruption scandals that took down former state Sen. Manny Aragón, once considered the most powerful politician in the Senate. Former State Treasurer Robert Vigil, his predecessor and a long list of criminal accomplices have been convicted or cut plea deals in federal court.

McClenaghan will lead Albuquerque's team of FBI agents only through the end of the week. He retires on Friday.

"From what we've seen here, corruption in this state is epidemic," he told KRQE News 13. "It is at all levels of government."

New Mexico is not alone, of course.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is at the center of a federal investigation that had him arrested late last year. At the time Special Agent In Charge Rob Grant of the Chicago FBI field office had little good to say about how Illinois does political business.

"If it isn't the most corrupt state in the United States, it is certainly one hell of a competitor," Grant said.

McClenaghan's take?

"All I can say is Special Agent In Charge Rob Grant never worked in New Mexico."

That's a strong statement from a man who's made it a point to pursue political corruption aggressively.

When his agents went after Vigil, then the sitting state treasurer, undercover video showed a California financial consultant who was cooperating with the FBI handing him $10,000 in cash.

At Vigil's first trial jurors couldn't decide whether he was guilty or not, and ultimately the evidence was not enough to convict him on 23 counts of racketeering, conspiracy and extortion.

However Vigil was eventually convicted on one count of attempted extortion in 2006.

That conviction was much needed motivation for the FBI discouraged by the outcome of the first trial.

"We just felt that it may be hard to convict anyone in this state," McClenaghan said.

They were much more successful in prosecuting the coconspirators who skimmed $4 million from the $80 million spent to construct the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse in Albuquerque.

By late last year a total of eight people pleaded guilty in the scheme including Aragón who admitted he accepted illegal kickbacks.

"We were eventually were able to convict everybody without even going to trial," McClenaghan said. And, he added, the work at the FBI field office is far from over.

McClenaghan would not comment on any current investigations including the probe of the Richardson administration's dealings with a California investment company that did business with the state about the time it contributed money to Richardson political committees.