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Saturday, December 26, 2009
Broker on State Deals Gets Out of Dodge
By Thomas J. Cole
Journal Staff Writer
Having stuffed his pockets with millions made on state investment deals under Gov. Bill Richardson, it looks like Marc Correra is pulling up stakes in New Mexico, closing his office and putting his home up for sale.
Paris may be the new home for Correra.
Adios and au revoir, pal.
I'm not an expert on the issue, but someone who is an expert said a move to France doesn't put a person out of the reach of criminal or civil action in this country.
Correra, of course, has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the investment deals, now under investigation by the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Correra is the son of a Richardson campaign contributor and former adviser and also has his own ties to the governor and Richardson's former state investment chief.
Correra and his wife, Claudia, a former international protocol officer for the governor, have their home in the Santa Fe foothills on the market for just a shade under $1.9 million.
Correra, 46, also has vacated his office in Santa Fe, and the couple sold another home in Albuquerque over the summer.
Claudia Correra is listed as an advisory board member for the South East European Film Festival in Los Angeles, and the festival's Web site has changed her home from Santa Fe to Paris.
Also, a woman by the same name has a telephone listing with an address in the heart of Paris, not far from the River Seine, the Eiffel Tower and the trendy shops of the Avenue De Champs-Élysées.
The address is for a five-story stone building with a restaurant on the ground floor.
The state's endowment funds and the teachers' pension fund disclosed this year that Correra shared in about $22 million in fees paid by companies for helping them get investment deals with the state.
The securities broker/dealer moved to Santa Fe in about 2001 and began doing deals with the state in 2003, the year Richardson took office. The governor has said he wasn't aware of the fees paid to Correra.
A former state adviser has said in a plea deal in a New York investment scam that he recommended investment deals in New Mexico that were pushed by "politically connected individuals."
The state Racing Commission, which is controlled by Richardson, also had approved a plan by Correra and a partner to build a $50 million horse-racing track and casino in northeastern New Mexico.
Correra pulled out of the deal over the summer after the scandal broke about his investment fees.
Victor Marshall, the lead attorney in two lawsuits alleging state investment deals were made by the Richardson administration based on political considerations, told a judge in October that he was having trouble serving Correra and his father, Anthony, with papers related to the lawsuits.
Marshall said the Correras had disappeared and probably left the country.
There was no sign of occupancy Wednesday at the Correra home in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Ted Parnall, professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico Law School, said the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission are capable of conducting investigations involving people in other countries and a person in France can be served with a subpoena to appear in a U.S. court or a notice of a civil action against them in the United States.
"The world has gotten a lot smaller," Parnall said.
The United States has a treaty with France to extradite accused criminals to this country, and Parnall added that judgments from U.S. civil courts can be enforced in France.
Property records indicate the Correras built the Santa Fe home after buying the land in 2001.
The pueblo-style home has about 5,050 square feet and sits on about three acres, according to a property listing. It has three bedrooms, each with its own fireplace and bath.
The home also features a heated driveway, wet bar in the dining room and a gourmet kitchen.
Marc Correra vacated his office space in downtown Santa Fe when the lease expired in August or September, the property manager said. Anthony Correra had shared the office space.
Marc and Claudia Correra purchased another home in the Houston suburb of Katy last spring. The couple lived in the Houston area prior to their profitable move to New Mexico.
UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Thom Cole can be reached in Santa Fe at 505-992-6280 or at tcole@abqjournal.com
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