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paperboy text opinion editorialsThis editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by editorial page staff and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers
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Thursday, January 13, 2011
The Audacious Deal that Didn't Get Done
Unsettling revelations about the Richardson administration keep coming to light even as the former governor eases back into private life.
In the midst of ongoing federal investigations into pay-to-play allegations and insider investment deals involving the State Investment Council and the Educational Retirement Board comes word of a fishy deal that died thanks to some sharp-eyed former state staffers.
What was afoot was a plan to invest $100 million of New Mexico taxpayers' money in a Baltimore casino deal.
The arrangement included a familiar cast of characters — former State Investment Officer Gary Bland, Canadian developer Michael Moldenhauer, and former Santa Fe broker Marc Correra. Moldenhauer and Correra at one time were partners in a stalled racino in Raton.
Correra, the son of a Richardson confidant who was paid tens of millions in finder's fees for helping financial firms secure investments from the state's $14 billion in permanent funds, got out of both casino projects after connections between a New York criminal investigation in pension investments there and New Mexico state investments became public.
But in late 2008 and early 2009 the SIC was involved in discussions with a New York financial firm, Stone Tower Capital, over a potential investment in the Maryland casino project headed by Moldenhauer with Correra as a partner.
The primary question everyone involved should have been asking is what business does New Mexico have risking its money on a casino, nearby or across the country? Thanks to the work of former SIC General Counsel Bryan Otero and Deputy Investment Officer Adam Levine, New Mexico dodged a bullet.
New Mexico taxpayers will never know if an out-of-state casino would have produced a marvelous return on investment or would have just been millions of our dollars down a rat hole, but for sure the insiders were set to benefit.
That such a deal was even considered shows the willingness of Richardson's cronies to view the state's coffers as their own private bank. As more documents come to public light, each revelation just gets more stunning and makes you wonder. How could all of this be legal?
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