The Journal has endorsed Mayor Chavez (subscription) without any mention of his scandalous past. Now they seem to be avoiding the scandalous present. The Tribune reports on the Mayor’s link to the criminal underworld with kid gloves allowing statements that raise more questions then they answer to go unchallenged:
“The event [fundraiser at Angelo Garcia’s house for Marty Chavez] raised about $3,000, though Garcia himself is not a contributor to the campaign,” Griffin said.
“We wouldn’t be any part of that fund-raiser if we had any knowledge of him today,” Griffin said. “But back on Aug. 15, no one other than the people working on the case in Santa Fe with the sealed records knew about his illegal business dealings.”
I can’t believe they reported that statement without any investigative reporting to follow it up. This is what should have followed next:
Art Trujillo, co-host of the event and recipient of more than $20,000 in campaign funds from Angelo Garcia, could not be reached for comment.
A quick search of campaign contributions on followthemoney.org reveals that the individual payout by Angelo Garcia of $14,600 to Art Trujillo is the largest single contribution by any individual to any Commissioner of Public Lands candidate since 1992. Throw in the $5,500 additional payout by Angelo Garcia’s company, American Financial Group, and the amount raises some serious questions especially in light of the indictments against Angelo Garcia.
Mr. Garcia has only supported two candidates and the other one, who received less then Mr. Trujillo, has been indicted on extortion charges.
You see, if that had been reported, then the public would be demanding to know more about Mayor Marty Chavez’s long affiliation with Art Trujillo and his crooked friends. People should be judged by the company the keep.
The rest of the “news” outlets, which have failed to cover this story, could still get a scoop. I just laid it out for you. How about reporting it?