The Two Week Trial For Ex-Senator Phil Griego Begins
The two week trial has begun for ex-state senator, Phil Griego for the sale of a historic state owned building in the downtown Santa Fe region to the owners of a nearby inn. Questions over the sale of the building and Griego’s involvement are two of many questions that are being discuss within the trial.
Griego faces six felony charges, including counts of fraud, bribery, perjury, unlawful interest in a public contract and violation of ethical principles of public service. He also faces two misdemeanor charges of violation of ethical principles of public service and failure to make required financial disclosures.
Assistant Attorney General Zach Jones stated that Griego made no notion and presented false information about the sale of the Santa Fe property, leading to Griego earning over $50,000 in commission.
Griego got the process for the necessary legislation for the sale of the building rolling in 2013 when he asked the Legislative Council Service to draft a resolution. When called upon to present the so called house joint resolution over the sale of the historic state owned building, Jones states that Griego yielded the floor to Senator Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa, to present the bill. Cisneros ended up giving the wrong information about the property’s sale when questioned by senator Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe. Stating that the state would put the property up for bid. However, it was the Serets who had first rights to buy it and Griego made no effort to correct Cisneros over this information. This evidence was provided through the video of the floor vote on the resolution that the jury of Griego’s case reviewed Monday.
The Serets at the time were the owners of the inn and were interested in buying the State building. At the time the building was owned by the Energy, MInerals, and Natural Resources Department and was leased to the Inn of the Five Graces.
Jones states that Griego went to John Bemis, the Secretary of State over the department, about selling the building a year prior to Griego becoming a broker for the corporation owned by the Secert family in 2014. This raises high suspicion but Thomas Clark, Griego’s lawyer, states that Griego didn't become a broker for the Secerts until a month after the state Legislature passed the resolution for the sale of the property. The biggest question is when exactly Griego became a broker for the Secerts and whether or not this fact of Griego discussing selling the building with John Bemis a year prior is true. Bemis is expect to take the witness stand on Wednesday.
Griego resigned a week before the end of the 2015 legislative session in the face of an “Stipulated Facts and Ethical Violations” investigation by the Senate Community. In the document that the Jury reviewed, Griego admitted that he did not disclose any “direct or indirect interest in the matter that was before the senate.” The property sale cost Griego his seat in the Senate, which he held for nearly 20 years.
Witnesses are likely to include members of the Santa Fe real estate dynasty, leading state lawmakers, legislative staff, campaign finance regulators and an investigative journalist. One of many witnesses included Senator Peter Wirth who testified Thursday. Stating that if he had known about the sale of the state building to the Santa Fe inn owner with Griego having a stake in the deal, he would have halted any voting from occurring.
