Sentencing was set for mid-December. “After today, citizens can be confident that Dianna Duran will no longer have supervisory control of public funds or the reporting process within the Secretary of State’s Office”. In that case, the AG’s Office would apparently resume prosecuting its original charges against Duran.
Advertisement
Officials say Secretary of State Dianna Duran has resigned. The court would also require that Duran would repay embezzled funds to campaign donors and the New Mexico treasury.
Since Duran just resigned, it’s unclear if she gets to keep her pension. “Moreover, I want to make it abundantly clear to all New Mexicans that I never improperly used taxpayer resources, including money”. Duran can withdraw her agreement if a judge decides to impose prison time.
Deputy Secretary of State Mary Quintana will serve as acting secretary of state until Gov. Susana Martinez names a new person to the post.
Sanchez says the Republican governor will be accepting resumes and recommendations from the public, lawmakers, and other elected officials.
On Friday morning, however, Duran chose not to gamble with her freedom, by sticking with a risky high stakes “not guilty” plea. The plea agreement she entered includes a suspended sentence and a probation of up to five years. She was in her second term.
According to KOB, the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office originally considered Dianna Duran guilty of 65 counts of various crimes, including embezzlement, money laundering, and identity theft.
Former New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran, left, sits with her attorney, Erlinda Johnson, on Friday. Although the amounts withdrawn at eight casinos ran into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the counts against Duran revolved around 19 transactions totaling about $13,000.
Details of the agreement are not yet public.
Leaders of both the state Democratic and Republican parties also weighed in on Duran’s resignation.
According to a court document, investigators at New Mexico Attorney General Office conducted an investigation after receiving a confidential tip that numerous cash deposits had been made into Duran’s account that were inconsistent with her known sources of income.
Duran served as the elected county clerk of Otero County from 1988 to 1992.
The case has raised questions about the integrity of New Mexico’s campaign finance system, and open government advocates have called for reforms as well as an audit of all campaign finance reports and the creation of a state ethics commission in the wake of the probe. “We will have a strong Democratic candidate that will take a hard look at the drop in voter participation in New Mexico as well as the other various issues facing the Secretary of State’s office”.
Advertisement
He added that the impeachment committee, which he appointed, will not continue their investigation.
