Political career ends in tears, prison

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Thirty years of political power ended with a whimper Tuesday when a federal judge sentenced former state Sen. Manny Aragón to prison for his role in the largest public corruption case in state history.

His sentence: 5 1/2 years in prison as worked out in his plea agreement last fall plus nearly $2 million in fines and restitution. This after Aragón admitted his part in using padded contracts and bogus invoices to skim more than $4 million from construction of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse.

Seven other men including the court administrator, the project architect and a lobbyist-bagman once the mayor of Albuquerque also have pleaded guilty in the case. Most of the charges involved mail fraud and conspiracy.

"We're not going to have any comment at this time," Aragón's attorney said as he and his client left the federal courthouse.

However the 62-year-old político said plenty inside the courtroom. In a rambling 20-minute speech, Aragón apologized while painting himself as a "defender of the downtrodden."

He then broke into tears.

U.S. District Judge William "Chip" Johnson wasn't moved. He hammered Aragón with up to $1.1 million in restitution and fines totaling $750,000.

All but $87,000 of the fines already has been covered with money seized from one of Aragón's bank accounts. About half of the restitution is supposed to be paid by former court administrator Toby Martinez who, along with his wife, also pleaded guilty in the case.

"Based on the treachery and the contempt he showed for New Mexico taxpayers and those for whom he was a role model and a beacon of hope, prison is exactly where he belongs," U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt said after the sentencing.

Aragón has 60 days to surrender to begin serving his sentence.

"It's a sad day for the state of New Mexico," a cousin, Ricardo Aragón, said. "It's an unfortunate situation that happened.

"Manny did do a lot of good while he was in the Senate and worked as a political figure."

Later on Tuesday co-defendant Raul Parra was sentenced to 46 months in prison and fines and restitution of $611,000. He was a partner in an engineering firm working on the courthouse audio-visual system.

That contract was one of the main conduits for the swindle that was initially uncovered by a court-appointed accountant assigned when a dispute between Parra and a partner broke up the company.

 

"He knew how to handle power."

 

Prominent state politicians remembered Aragón as a person who represented the best and the worst of New Mexico politics.

“He knew how to handle power,” former governor Dave Cargo told KRQE News 13.

Aragon’s passion and understanding of the legislative process allowed him to move up in state government, Cargo, the Republican governor from 1967 to 1970 said.

Aragón, a Democrat from Albuquerque's South Valley, began his political career as president of the Young Democrats for Bernalillo County. He was 27 when first elected state senator in 1975. From 1988 to 2001 he held the powerful position of Senate President Pro-Tempore.

“Senator Aragón had a knack of seeing things that could be, and then not being afraid to go after it,” current Senate President Tim Jennings said. “What I remember most was his advocacy for the people who least had a voice.”

One of Aragón’s strengths was being an advocate for the poor.

“He made a huge mistake and he should pay,” Jennings said. "But you shouldn’t forget his life as a whole.”

But he also had his weaknesses including past convictions for illegal gambling and drunken driving in 1989, and questionable relationships and dealings inside and outside the state capitol.

“He always kind of walked on the edge,” Cargo said. “Not that you knew he was doing anything wrong, but he walked close to the edge.

“He’d do a lot of things that were good. It’s a real tragedy that he got caught up in something like this.”

 

Downfall began with Senate revolt

 

In federal court documents Aragon’s attorneys identified the 2001 Senate leadership vote as a turning point. Aragón was ousted from the president pro-tem position when a slim majority of senators voted in Sen. Richard Romero.

Aragón felt betrayed and depressed, according to his attorneys. That was part of the reason he took part in the Metro Courthouse construction scheme that is now sending him to federal prison, according to federal court documents.

He successfully secured the position of Senate Majority Leader, but it was not enough.

In 2004 Aragón resigned from the Senate to become president of New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas. He resigned two years later after pressure from university regents.

The federal investigation into Aragon’s involvement with the courthouse construction scheme was the reason for his resignation.