| SUBSCRIBE | | Why we charge |
|
|
|
Front Page
opinion guest_columns
Sunday, August 03, 2008
David Iglesias Unconvincing As Prosecutor, and as Author
By Patrick J. Rogers
Albuquerque Lawyer
In an interview with Barbara Solomon of the New York Times Magazine, David Iglesias was asked why a former U.S. attorney would need someone else to help write his story.
"I just couldn't sit still for eight to ten hours cranking it out. My cocker spaniel beckoned, my kids beckoned," he replied.
Iglesias' book leaves no doubt that he has great affection for his family, his dog and time spent as a lawyer in the military reserves, as well as a commitment to his faith. Much like his tenure as U.S. attorney, however, his book essentially avoids the elephant in New Mexico's living room: public corruption.
Unfortunately, when Iglesias strays beyond descriptions of his family and faith, his fact checkers are snoozing. Recall, for example, a critical matter from the 2000 election, when Democrats in Florida tried to prevent military votes from being counted. The authors get it exactly backwards, claiming that it was Republicans who targeted military voters for disenfranchisement by "caging," a term in vogue with the looney left, which recently lost a U.S. Supreme Court decision on voter ID.
The authors needed a nonpartisan, professional editor. Instead overwritten, irrelevant excesses pop-up regularly: "March 6 dawned clear and bitterly cold, the porcelain-blue skies an inept metaphor for the storm clouds that had been steadily gathering throughout March."
Iglesias' firing from his political job is actually described as the "Pearl Harbor Day Massacre." And, criticism of his tenure is either dismissed as "not worth responding to" or with vivid, but irrelevant, imagery: "We were trained to be the legal world's equivalents of gladiators, and the time was fast approaching when we would be entering the Coliseum."
Of course, some exaggeration is expected with any poison-pen payback from a fired employee. Readers can decide for themselves whether the book was written by persons with only rose-colored glasses or blinders.
The Iglesias media tour had its wonderful moments of irony. For example, a New Mexico newspaper headline blared: "Iglesias Pushes Prosecutions." His new-found interest in prosecutions, however, was simply to support his unsupportable theories about the firing of political appointees who serve at the pleasure of the president.
Had Iglesias shown more interest in actual prosecutions, particularly public corruption cases, during his term, perhaps other shortcomings might have been overlooked. Instead, potential prosecutions languished for years as Iglesias sat on corruption cases that he wouldn't (not couldn't) bring forward.
As a courthouse corruption case (U.S. v. Martinez, Aragon, et al.) finally approaches trial, court filings provide ever more evidence of problems with Iglesias' failure to pursue corruption cases. The United States has announced it will introduce evidence of other crimes, prior bad acts including other instances of bribery and kickbacks. The purpose of introducing the prior bad acts is to establish that the bribery and kickbacks were willful, deliberate, and part of a long-term plan to loot the public treasury.
Although Iglesias has acknowledged that public corruption is endemic in New Mexico, his approach to it was anemic. Experienced, informed attorneys called his office "risk averse" — afraid of high-visibility criminal cases. Experienced assistant U.S. attorneys in his office bemoaned a "lack of leadership," "poor morale," "a decline in the quality of work produced by his office," all undermining the reputation and effectiveness of the office.
Beginning in 2005, Iglesias ignored the advice of his own senior prosecutors and Sen. Pete Domenici, to beef up the public corruption effort. On the other hand, Iglesias was able to bring the full weight and majesty of the U.S. Justice system down upon a young woman who attached some gum to a government form.
The only high-profile corruption case brought to trial by Iglesias was against a former state treasurer. A mistrial occurred the first time around, then only one conviction on the 24 counts charged was obtained. Bottom line: public corruption, the FBI's No. 2 priority, was ignored by Iglesias.
Many relevant questions remain unanswered, perhaps chief among them: How many public corruption crimes and criminals will not be prosecuted because Iglesias allowed the statute of limitations to run while ignoring the FBI, public reports, the advice of his own senior prosecutors and Sen. Domenici?
In sum, while Iglesias was supposed to attend to the important public business he was appointed to perform, he apparently preferred to spend his time walking his dog.
<i>Pat Rogers was formerly legal counsel to the Republican Party of New Mexico and has represented New Mexico voters in several voter ID lawsuits</i>
Albuquerque Journal Subscriber Services
Submit a news tip | Place a classified ad | Advertise Online at ABQjournal | Advertise in Albuquerque Journal print products | Subscribe to newspaper
Save & Share
Tag this Page
| 
...go to bookmarks
E-mail Story
Print Friendly
