Jury: Ex-New Mexico state tax chief guilty of embezzlement

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A jury has found New Mexico’s former state tax chief guilty of embezzling more than $25,000 from a trucking business while she served in former Gov. Susana Martinez’s cabinet.

Demesia Padilla, 61, could face up to 18 years in prison when she is sentenced for her conviction Friday on embezzlement and intent to defraud charges. A sentencing date was not immediately set.

Padilla’s attorney, Paul J. Kennedy, did not immediately respond Saturday to a telephone message.

Jurors deliberated about two hours before returning the verdicts, state attorney general’s office spokesman Matt Baca, told The New Mexican of Santa Fe.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/nm-state-wire-new-mexico-embezzlement-business-7177983a07daa18c477a5773eef6b865

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. She might have to pay w loss of 6 hours freedom for every dollar embezzled. Was it worth 16c/hr?

[ZZenith]

2. Nominated to her position by a Republican governor.

Hmmm...

[duhneece]

3. Exactly!

On local news sites, Republicans don’t read and keep saying she’s a Democrat…. And I have to correct.

[jimfields33]

5. I even thought she'd be a democratic supporter

New Mexico have a republican? Lol. She’s rare republican is a total understatement in that state. Not quite California but getting there.

[duhneece]

7. The southern half of New Mexico is quite Republican outside Las Cruces

Cowboys for Trump Couy Griffin, arrested for 1/6 and recently on CNN “…not sure if Officer Sicknick or Asli Babbit are really dead..”

[Elessar Zappa]

9. Don't forget Grant County!

We’re blue too.

[duhneece]

10. Yikes! How could I forget! nt

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Sometimes financial crimes receive the stiffest penalties of all

[Bucky]

13. It's a white collar crime.

The punishment will not be proportional to the amount of financial harm she caused. There's a very good chance she'll end up in one of them country club prisons.

[Warpy]

6. A Repubblican was caught embezzling

and water is still wet, if we ever see rain again out here.

I'm just surprised by two things: first, the amount was so small; and second, that she was caught so quickly. I mean honestly, if you're going to risk the embarrassment of being all over the newspapers, dragged through a trial, and sentenced to prison, you'd think people would steal on a grander scale. Also, government thieves here are clumsy and sloppy by Boston standards, but prosecutors still drag their feet on indictments of public figures.

Other than those two things, another Republican with his or her hand in the till is never surprising. Never.

[Escurumbele]

8. A mini-bio of her...all we need to know, really...

Demesia Padilla was an at-large delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from New Mexico. Padilla was one of 24 delegates from New Mexico bound by state party rules to support Donald Trump at the convention.[1] As of July 13, 2016, Trump had approximately 1,542 delegates. The winner of the Republican nomination needed the support of 1,237 delegates. Trump formally won the nomination on July 19, 2016.

[peppertree]

11. Demesia? Sounds like one of Cheeto's conditions.

Dementia + amnesia.

[littlemissmartypants]

12. Well, at least she escaped the 4 or 5 ethics charges she was accused of for lack of evidence.

What a winner.