Senate observes death of former Sen. Phil Griego 

Former state Sen. Phil Griego, who rose to become a powerful legislator and committee chairman before falling from grace when he was convicted in a 2017 corruption case, has died at the age of 78.

The state Senate observed a moment of silence in Griego's honor Friday after his death was announced.

Griego served more than 18 years in the Senate before resigning abruptly in 2015 under the cloud of an ethics investigation in connection with the sale of a historic state building for which he received a commission in 2014.

Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas, described Griego on Friday as a champion of underserved rural communities.

"In my heart, I will always believe he was unselfish," Campos said.

The son of a Santa Fe grocery store owner and local politician, Griego began his political career on Santa Fe's planning commission before his election to the City Council in 1986, then to the state Senate District 39 in 1996. He was reelected to the Senate four times.

He resigned from the Senate in March 2015 after rumors of an improper real estate deal circulated at the Roundhouse during the final week of a 60-day legislative session.

At the time, Griego was a 66-year-old real estate consultant and rancher. He had been a chairman of the Senate Corporations and Transportation Committee since 2009.

The criminal case was prosecuted by then Attorney General Hector Balderas, who accused Griego of pushing the Legislature to authorize the sale of a historic state building in Downtown Santa Fe, then pocketing $50,000 from the sale.

Griego testified for six hours in his own defense during the three-week trial in Santa Fe in November 2017, telling jurors that he didn't commit a crime.

Griego told jurors that prior to the 2014 legislative session he was called by a member of the Seret family, who expressed interest in buying the building from the state if it were to go on the market.

Griego told jurors that he didn’t actually vote on legislation that authorized the sale of the building. Instead, Griego said he “took a walk” during the vote — one of many steps he described as an attempt to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

In November 2017, the jury convicted Griego on five counts, including bribery, fraud over $20,000 and unlawful interest in a public contract. He faced up to 17 1/2 years in prison.

State District Judge Brett Loveless sentenced him to 18 months in state prison and fined him $47,000.