Email Investigation Documents Show More Involved

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
June 6, 2013


For some reason, my story on the newly unsealed affidavits in the governor's email case case didn't make it to the New Mexican's web site. I'm posting it below:

A Democratic political consultant communicated regularly with Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s former campaign manager and her former personal assistant, according to documents unsealed Wednesday by federal authorities. The FBI says the three also shared Martinez emails that allegedly were intercepted illegally.

The affidavits are part of the federal government’s case against Jamie Estrada, Martinez’s former campaign manager, who was indicted last week on charges that he illegally obtained Martinez emails and lied to the FBI.

Estrada, who is scheduled to be arraigned June 17 at the federal courthouse in Albuquerque, has said he didn’t break any laws.

Jason Loera, the Democratic consultant, was arrested this week on three counts of possessing child pornography. An affidavit unsealed Wednesday confirmed that authorities found pornographic images of young children on computer discs at Loera’s home after confiscating his computers and other equipment in November while searching for evidence in the hijacked-emails investigation.

Loera’s lawyer, Brian Newman, told The Associated Press he had no comment and hadn’t seen the unsealed affidavits.

FBI agents in November also searched the Rio Rancho home of Martinez’s former assistant, Anissa Galassini Ford, who allegedly received emails from an account controlled by Loera. Ford has not been charged with any crime.

During an interview with FBI agents, Martinez identified Estrada and Ford as people with possible motives for intercepting her emails. According to the affidavits, Martinez told the FBI that both had left her campaign under “unfavorable circumstances.” 

Estrada has disputed that he was fired and earlier this week released documents showing that Martinez and her campaign kept in contact with him and included him in some campaign functions.

One of the affidavits said Ford had worked as Martinez’s personal assistant until November 2010, which is when Martinez was elected governor.

“During a review of evidence seized from Estrada’s residence, numerous text messages, chat conversations and emails were identified between Estrada, Ford and Jason Loera which confirm [they] know each other and communicate on a regular basis,” one of the documents said.

Another person included in some of the emails from Loera, according to one of the affidavits, was Bruce Wetherbee of Independent Source PAC, a union-funded group that has been highly critical of Martinez and which released many of the emails.

Wetherbee said Wednesday he knew Loera but said he couldn’t talk about any possible sources of the campaign emails. He said a statement about the matter would be posted on the PAC’s website. It hadn’t been posted as of Wednesday evening.

According to the affidavits, the FBI got a break in the case from an email made public last September by Sam Bregman, the Albuquerque lawyer who this year was elected state Democratic Party chairman. Bregman included the email in legal documents he filed in an appeal of a state Corrections Department employee’s firing. 

The email had been sent to Martinez from her former deputy chief of staff, Ryan Cangliosi. That email indicated that it had been forwarded to Bregman from an account called OmarRavenherst@gmail.com.

The name is similar to “Omar Ravenhurst,” a pen name used by the late Kerry Thornley, a 1960s counter-culture writer, conspiracy buff and acquaintance of Lee Harvey Oswald.

After executing a warrant to search Google records of that account, the FBI learned that Loera was behind OmarRavenherst@gmail.com.

Before the latest batch of search warrant documents were released in the Estrada case, Martinez took to her Facebook account to post a lengthy statement about the email investigation, attacking some of her political opponents.

Martinez in the statement pointed out that Loera was involved in a political action committee headed by Bregman. “Bregman was very active in trying to use the emails to attack me,” she said.
One of the search-warrant affidavits pointed out that Loera had been paid by Bregman’s PAC, Grassroots New Mexico, and had made a contribution to the PAC. Bregman on Wednesday declined to comment to The New Mexican or The Associated Press.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that during a news conference in Rio Rancho on wildfires, Martinez said she was troubled by Bregman’s possible involvement in the email case, saying, “I think the public deserves to know what he knew, when he knew it and how much he knew.”

On her Facebook posting, the governor also ripped into one of the Democrats who has declared plans to run against her next year, writing that, “Some of the stolen emails included things such as bank account information, receipts for clothing, and political strategy memos. Those personal emails were released to be publicized by New Mexico Attorney General and Democratic candidate for governor Gary King. Afterward, King claimed he had no idea there was an ongoing FBI investigation despite the fact it had been very publicly reported in the media.”

King said in an interview Wednesday that under the state Inspection of Public Records Act he had no choice but to release the emails, which had been requested by the Santa Fe Reporter and others, including a Republican activist. King said the records act does not have any exceptions for the type of “personal” information Martinez complained about.

“Does the governor believe the attorney general shouldn’t follow the law if it’s something she doesn’t want released?” he said.

Although there had been reports in newspapers about the FBI looking into the governor’s emails, he said the FBI never contacted him about it — until after he released the emails.

King took issue with the notion that he had interfered with the FBI’s investigation. “It looks like they got their man,” he said, referring to Estrada.

Just to Take a Quick Break from Politics ...

Holy cow! Here's the scariest press release I've gotten all day:

From the NM Game & Fish Department:

This is the bear believed to have attacked woman

RATON – A large black bear broke into a home north of Cimarron and attacked an elderly, bedridden woman Tuesday night. A bear believed to have been the attacker was caught and killed by Game and Fish officers today. The woman received minor injuries. 

The 82-year-old woman, who asked to not be identified, was in bed with the doors and windows open when a bear broke the latch on a screen door and entered her room. The housekeeper went in about 10 p.m. to close the doors and turn off her light and found her with scratches on her nose and head. The housekeeper applied first aid but didn’t find it necessary to call for further medical assistance. Game and Fish officers were called the next morning when it was apparent that a bear had broken the screen door. 

Conservation Officer Kyle Jackson contacted Hap Blacksten, a local houndman, who was able to find the bear with dogs. The bear was killed and taken to the Veterinarian Diagnostic Center in Albuquerque, where it will be tested for rabies. 

“This was a large male bear, probably weighing over 400 pounds,” Officer Jackson said. “Comparing it to the marks on the door, we believe this is the bear that broke in, but there was no apparent reason for the bear to enter the house.” 

Normally, food smells entice bears into camps or homes, but there was no food in the bedroom. The housekeeper said she didn’t hear a sound and there also was a dog in the house that didn’t alert to the bear. 

Anyone who lives in bear country should make sure that their doors and windows are locked. Windows and doors left open for ventilation are easy entryways to bears and other wildlife looking for food.

Governor Posts Lengthy Response to eMail Stories

Gov. Susana Martinez has posted a lengthy take on her Facebook page about the email scandal.

In it, she attacks state Democratic Party Chairman Sam Bregman, Attorney General Gary King and others.

No, she doesn't talk about the FBI interviewing her former campaign finance manager about the racetrack contract and other scandals. She's already said no such investigation exists, despite Andrea Goff going public.

She concludes the post saying, "I stood up to criminals for 25 years as a prosecutor, I wasn’t intimidated then and I won't be intimidated now." I'm assuming the "criminals" she's talking about aren't the attorney general, Bregman and Ives.

I've asked for a response from Bregman and hopefully will be talking to others. I'll update this post as needed. (UPDATE: 1 pm. A spokesman for Bregman just told me, "the Chairman has no comment.")

I'm not sure what she means by Jamie Estrada's lawyer promising a "smear campaign," unless she's talking about Zach Ives saying that he will be mounting an aggressive defense.

Here's the governor's statement in its entirety:

How low will they go? 

Please indulge a lengthy post, as many of you have asked me about the recent news of my email theft and I thought I would take time on my flight back to New Mexico to provide you a thorough update. 

Last week, an individual I fired from my campaign was indicted in federal court for illegally intercepting my political and personal emails for almost a year that were then released to the media by leftwing political groups last year. The man is also charged with lying to the FBI about the scheme. 

A few days later, another man whose computers were seized by the FBI in the email theft investigation was arrested for possession of child pornography. The child pornography was found when the FBI served a search warrant in the email theft investigation, according to news reports. This man was the PAC Manager for the now Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, Sam Bregman. Bregman was very active in trying to use the emails to attack me. 

Some of the stolen emails included things such as bank account information, receipts for clothing, and political strategy memos. Those personal emails were released to be publicized by New Mexico Attorney General and Democratic candidate for Governor Gary King. Afterward, King claimed he had no idea there was an ongoing FBI investigation despite the fact it had been very publicly reported in the media.

In politics, we should expect tough and vigorous debates on the issues. But it’s disgusting to see operatives committing crimes and invading the privacy of their political opponents just to score cheap political points. And it's almost unbelievable that the state’s chief law enforcement officer interfered with an ongoing federal investigation by releasing emails he had to have known were stolen -- and provided to him directly by a union-funded PAC. That shouldn't happen on either side of the aisle.

Now, the leftwing criminal defense lawyer representing the indicted is promising a smear campaign. I stood up to criminals for 25 years as a prosecutor, I wasn’t intimidated then and I won't be intimidated now. 

Estrada Pushes Back on Claim Martinez Fired Him

Last week after Gov. Susana Martinez said she'd fired her former campaign manager Jamie Estrada -- who has been indicted on charges of illegally intercepting Martinez's emails. She said Estrada was "a man of suspect character."

However, at some point before she got elected governor, there apparently was some kind of reconciliation. Estrada's lawyer Zach Ives released several documents showing communication between Estrada and the Martinez campaign several months after he left it.

For instance, below elow is an invitation to a Washington, DC fundraiser in which Estrada is listed as a member of the host committee.

However, apparently there was some bad blood around the time Estrada left the campaign. Search warrants released by the U.S. Attorney's Office Tuesday quote an email from Estrada to Martinez's political adviser Jay McCleskey saying, "I can't understand why she wouldn't think there are political consequences for treating me poorly and unfairly."

The search warrant affidavits document the FBI's cyber-sleuthing that led them to consider Estrada a suspect.

More in tomorrow's New Mexican.

Invitation to Sept 14, 2010 Fundraiser for Susana Martinez. by Steve Terrell

An "Unrelated Investigation"

A search warrant for computers belonging to child-pornography suspect and former Democratic political consultant  Jason Loera of Albuquerque shows that before FBI agents searched Loera's computers for kiddie porn,  those computers already were in federal custody in connection with another case.

Is that other case the one that involves the alleged hijacking of emails from Gov. Susana Martinez's campaign accounts?

On  page 9 of the search warrant application below, Special Agent Aaron Cravens wrote that on Nov. 20, the FBI executed a search warrant signed by a judge the day before at Loera's Albuquerque home "in connection with an unrelated investigation ..." Agents seized computers and other devices including several CD-Rs from the house.

A subsequent examination of the discs showed pornographic images and videos of children believed to between the ages of six and 12.

These images were not within the scope of the "unrelated investigation" Cravens mentioned.

That initial search warrant still is sealed, the U.S. Attorney's Office told me a few minutes ago -- though it might be unsealed in the very near future.

But last night Albuquerque freelance journalist Peter St. Cyr posted on Twitter a photo of one page purported to be from that original search warrant affidavit. If the photo is what it claims to be, then agents were looking for documents  related to the "Susana2010" domain; any communications with GoDaddy.com and DomainsByProxy.com; and the "SusanaPAC.com" domain.

Last week former Martinez campaign manager Jamie Estrada was indicted on charges of intercepting email from Susana2010 accounts. The domain name originally was purchased from GoDaddy.com.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said she can't confirm at this time whether the first search warrant is connected with the email investigation. Below are the child-porn warrant as well as St. Cyr's photo.

Search Warrant for J Loera by Steve Terrell

Kiwanis Club Wants TV Blackout for Zozobra

Because of declining attendance at the annual pre-Fiesta burning of Zozobra, The Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe is requesting the city not do a live broadcast and webcast of the event this year.

For years the city, in partnership with Kiwanis and Santa Fe Community College, has broadcast the event for the benefit of elderly or disabled people who aren't able to make the long walk from downtown to Fort Marcy Park and for school children who have to attend classes Friday morning.

But Santa Fe Mayor David Coss said today that he is inclined to go along with Kiwanis' wishes.

"We asked (Kiwanis) to cut their ticket prices because $20 is too much for working families," Coss said in an interview. "We asked them to not move it to Friday night because of public-safety issues. They've tried hard to be very cooperative."

The mayor said he'd talk to senior staff about the request tomorrow.

In a letter to Coss Monday, Kiwanis Zozobra event chairman Ray Sandoval said, "As we have disclosed our attendance last year was an all-time low of only 13,000 paid attendees while public access had over tens of thousands of unique local I.P. addresses viewership of its live webcast."

In the letter, as well as a  news release, Sandoval noted that not only has the ticket price been cut in half, children under 10 will be admitted for free. The club also is adding 50 more volunteer ushers and adding more light towers to illuminate streets around Fort Marcy to make the exit from Zozobra safer.

"... we have spent this entire year redesigning everything from the ground up to make sure the community can come together and celebrate this Santa Fe Tradition together, and in person," the Kiwanis news release said.

While Coss said he is sympathetic to the request not to do a live broadcast and webcast of Zozobra, he's not  inclined to broadcast a video of the burning 24 hours later as Sandoval requested. People wouldn't want to watch it a day late, Coss said. "They'll already know how it ends."

Hint to those who haven't seen Zozobra: Here's how it ends:

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: Fascinating Contracts

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
June 2, 2013

Nathan Korn is a member of the state Law Enforcement Academy Board, first appointed by then-Gov. Bill Richardson, then reappointed in 2011 by Gov. Susana Martinez, who also named Korn to her transition team the year before. He also is a lawyer and the owner of Kaufman’s West in Albuquerque, which bills itself as “The Most Fascinating Store in New Mexico.”

Nathan Korn

I became fascinated when I realized that Kaufman’s West has made more than a million dollars selling uniforms, body armor and other equipment to state government in the past four years.

According to information from the state Sunshine Portal, Kaufman’s contracts total $1,222,401 for the fiscal years of 2010 through 2013.

His biggest two clients in state government are the Department of Public Safety, with $182,184 in Kaufman contracts for the current fiscal year, and the Corrections Department, which has just under $85,000 in contracts with Korn’s store this year. But other departments, including Game and Fish, Children, Youth and Families, and Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources, also have contracts.

No, the Law Enforcement Academy Board — which certifies officers and revokes or suspends certifications for officer misconduct — does not award contracts for police uniforms or equipment.

Neither Korn nor Gov. Susana Martinez, who reappointed Korn to the board, have made any secret of Korn’s business with the state. The news release from the Governor’s Office announcing Korn’s reappointment noted, “Korn is the president and founder of Kaufman’s West, LLC, which provides uniforms, gear and equipment to the U.S. Military and law enforcement organizations across New Mexico.”

In his financial disclosure form filed with the Secretary of State’s Office, Korn wrote, “All public safety agencies in New Mexico,” in the section that asked about “business with state agencies over $5,000.” He didn’t spell out every contract, but the disclosure forms don’t ask for such specific information.

Korn is a political contributor, too, though not a large one. Like many businessmen, Korn has contributed to both sides. In 2010, for instance, he contributed $2,300 to Martinez as well as $1,000 to Democrat Diane Denish, who ran against Martinez for governor that year. His wife, Deborah Peacock, gave Denish $2,000 that year. Korn later donated $2,000 to Martinez’s 2011 inauguration.

In 2006, Korn gave $1,000 to Gov. Bill Richardson’s re-election campaign, plus $1,000 to Attorney General Gary King. That’s somewhat ironic, considering that on the academy board, Korn is best known as a critic of King, who also sits on the board. He and other board members have blamed the backlog of misconduct cases on King’s office.

To be fair, Korn’s company has been supplying state agencies with uniforms and equipment since 2006 — four years or so before he was appointed to the academy board. According to a spokesman for the state General Services Department, Kaufman’s contracts totaled more than $611,000 in the 2008 fiscal year, so he could argue that he’s actually made less per year since he joined the board.

I asked a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office if there appeared to be any conflict of interest with a person sitting on a law-enforcement board making big cash bucks from selling goods to law-enforcement agencies. There doesn’t appear to be any, spokesman Phil Sisneros said.

I asked Vicki Harrison, executive director of New Mexico Common Cause, about it. She said as long as a contract is awarded by competitive bidding and the official doesn’t get involved in the procurement process, there’s no problem.

But, she added, “there are still issues with public perception when an appointed official makes money from the agencies they work with, so full disclosure, combined with excusing oneself from voting on anything that can be construed as a conflict of interest, is paramount to keeping and strengthening the public’s trust in government.”

That seems to be the case here. But I still find it fascinating.