Latest news with #Maestas
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State auditor and Attorney General investigate missing money in Mora County
MORA COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – Nearly three million dollars in public funds have gone missing, and now two of the state's top investigators are bearing down on Mora County, which was charged with overseeing that cash. 'We've been receiving complaints from a county official about potential financial malfeasance, conflicts of interest, potential procurement violations,' said Joseph Maestas, New Mexico State Auditor. Story continues below Trending: Remains found in Santa Fe National Forest identified as 1950s wrestler, actor Don't Miss: Santa Fe teacher, principal, and school counselor put on administrative leave Entertainment: Which Santa Fe spots did Guy Fieri visit on 'Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives'? Those whistleblower complaints led the auditor to declare a 'special audit' against Mora County. An accounting firm looking into that county's finances found the red flag.'This forensic accountant disclosed the fact that there was 2.7 million dollars in unaccounted for funds,' said Maestas. It comes as Mora County is simultaneously managing $40 million in state wildfire relief funding after the Hermits Peak Calf Canyon Fire. Countywide, dozens of roads and culverts need repair following flooding on burn scars. 'Regarding the 40 million dollars in disaster relief funds for infrastructure repair and replacement, we're concerned in terms of whether or not the county can adequately manage that amount of funds,' said Maestas. While investigators still need to get to the bottom of exactly where the county's missing $2.7 million and what those dollars are supposed to be for, the auditor said the financial mess signals major concerns for Mora County. 'I have an obligation to the Mora county residents to ensure them that we're going to get to the bottom of any financial mismanagement and ensure that the 40 million dollars that's been set aside for disaster relief and mitigation is spent appropriately,' said Maestas. The New Mexico Department of Justice also confirmed with KRQE News 13 on Wednesday that they're opening a review into financial concerns surrounding Mora County's finances. The county manager's office did not return KRQE News 13's call on Wednesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNN
15-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
US attorneys general fly free to luxury hotel in Rome thanks to group funded by corporate interests
As thousands gathered to mourn the pope last month, a group of American state government officials were ushered past a lengthy line to a Vatican museum. They hadn't come for a Pope Francis memorial, though. At the museum, Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor snapped photos surrounded by a scrum of lawyers and lobbyists. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill smiled as she stood next to an attorney from a firm representing a company her office is suing. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador chatted with the head of a corporate consultancy. Those attorneys general had all traveled to Rome for free – thanks to an association funded by some of the same companies whose representatives now chatted up the American officials. That group also organized the officials' stay in an opulent, luxury hotel and their chauffeured sightseeing around the Eternal City. As CNN documented in March, companies have regularly paid to enjoy this kind of special access through the nonprofit Attorney General Alliance, which organizes trips to US resorts and foreign destinations. The AGA's Rome trip offers the most detailed evidence yet of the close access corporate powers gain at these junkets – and of the potential conflicts of interest that come with that arrangement. Critics say that by accepting luxury trips funded by donations from corporate interests, attorneys general may undermine public trust in their actions, especially their mission to enforce the law against powerful interests. 'It hurts the credibility of the office and the rule of law for attorneys general to use their status to elicit this kind of luxury travel,' said Stephen Gillers, a professor of legal ethics at NYU Law. 'If they really need to meet… how about Chicago in January?' In a statement to CNN, AGA said the delegation to Rome included meetings with international law enforcement partners and Vatican officials on a range of issues including human trafficking. The trip also included accredited legal educational sessions for the attorneys general. 'The goal of our meeting was to discuss solutions for stronger enforcement of the law and better protection for those who are trafficked as modern-day slaves,' AGA's general counsel Tania Maestas said in the statement. Maestas said no litigation was discussed during the delegation and defended the attendance of state attorneys general. 'To conflate lawful business travel with a violation of the rule of law is to substitute optics for legality,' Maestas said. 'The credibility of an office is best preserved not by avoiding all activity that might be perceived unfavorably, but by upholding the rule of law.' A draft itinerary for the week-long Rome trip lists law enforcement meetings on topics like cryptocurrency and human trafficking in the mornings – but also other times blocked off for meals and tourism, like visits to museums and a tour of St. Peter's Basilica. The schedule for Friday listed only an unspecified 'optional excursion' and a 'closing dinner.' Participants stayed at the five-star Rome Cavalieri hotel, which describes itself as an 'opulent haven' and the 'peak of prestige.' A CNN reporter spotted Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown resting with his eyes closed near the hotel pool on a sunny morning. A spokesperson for Brown's office said he was honored to participate in the trip 'to advance critical international law enforcement partnerships.' Documents show AGA covered business-class flights to Italy for the attorneys general and their guests. For example, AGA reimbursed Attorney General Brown and his wife for tickets totaling over $14,000, according to copies of the flight receipts obtained by CNN. An AGA staffer also booked tickets for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and his wife, emails obtained through public records requests show. A separate AGA email last year touted the Rome trip as an 'unforgettable experience.' AGA did not respond to a question about how many attorneys general attended the conference. CNN asked attorneys general offices in all 50 states whether they planned to participate. Thirty-two offices said they were not attending, and 16 did not answer. Brown's office in Maryland confirmed that he was attending, and after the trip, a spokesperson for Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said that he attended with his family and secured a $100,000 grant from AGA to fight human trafficking. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez also accepted an invitation for the trip, according to an AGA email from November obtained through a records request. CNN reporters in Rome also observed the attorneys general for Alaska, Idaho and Louisiana. AGA, which pulled in nearly $27 million in sponsorships between 2019 and 2023 – the last year of records available in public financial reports – largely relies on donations from companies to fund its trips. Attorneys general also pay thousands of dollars per year in membership dues using taxpayer funds. The group has previously granted varying levels of perks to companies based on how much they have contributed, records show. An AGA document from 2023, for example, promised sponsors who contributed $100,000 access to 'invite-only events' and speaking slots at conferences not available to donors who gave $30,000. One donor listed in previous AGA documents is WilmerHale, an international law firm that represents companies across a range of industries. One of the firm's partners, Paul Connell, attended the AGA trip to Rome, where he joined at least three state attorneys general and other business representatives for a tour of the Vatican Museums. After exiting the delegation's tour bus, Connell stood beside Louisiana Attorney General Murrill at one point. This year, Murrill joined a dozen other Republican attorneys general in a lawsuit against investment companies alleging an anticompetitive conspiracy restricting coal production. Connell's firm WilmerHale represents asset management company BlackRock in the case. The defendants in the lawsuit have argued the case 'spins a farfetched theory' and fails to offer facts that demonstrate a conspiracy. Connell is not listed in court records as one of WilmerHale's attorneys working on the case. Asked what, if anything, Connell discussed with Murrill on the trip, a WilmerHale spokesperson said conversations between firms and clients are privileged and noted that the Louisiana Department of Justice is a firm client. Murrill's office did not respond to a question about whether her attendance and interaction with Connell in Rome posed a potential conflict of interest related to the BlackRock case. In an interview on the podcast Legal Speak last month, Murrill encouraged companies to engage with state attorneys general offices, though she seemed to acknowledge that access through AGA comes at a price. 'It also can depend on the size of your business, what can you afford?' Murrill said. 'The Attorney General Alliance is a membership organization but it has enormous value because you can engage on the front end … and you can meet a lot of attorney generals including your own in the states where you do business.' As the AGA tour group joined the line for the Vatican Museums, other corporate attorneys and lobbyists identified by CNN could be seen standing alongside the attorneys general. Among them was Kia Floyd, the vice president of state and local policy for General Motors, which was listed in a 2023 AGA document as one of the group's sponsors. General Motors and Floyd did not respond to requests for comment. In the last year, General Motors was sued in separate cases by Texas and Arkansas over allegations regarding the company's handling of private customer data. General Motors has denied the allegations and stated in court it has provided all necessary information for consumers to assess its products. A spokesperson for Arkansas Attorney General Griffin said his boss 'met and exchanged pleasantries with Ms. Floyd but did not discuss the lawsuit against General Motors, which we are pursuing aggressively to hold GM accountable.' The Texas attorney general's office did not respond to a question about whether he joined the Rome trip. Others identified in the Vatican tour group include Andrew Cook, a partner at the law firm Orrick, and Preston Baldwin, the CEO of corporate strategy firm, Centerpoint360. CNN confirmed their attendance by reaching their rooms at the Rome Cavalieri. They did not respond to requests for comment. 'What I often counsel clients is state AGs are enormously important. You can't neglect them. You have to go right to them… having a game plan put in place is really important,' Cook said during a webinar for the Federalist Society last year. Gillers, the NYU professor, said he doesn't fault private companies for seeking to influence state officials. 'I don't blame them,' he said. 'I blame the attorneys general for going. They should just say no.'
CNN
15-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
US attorneys general fly free to luxury hotel in Rome thanks to group funded by corporate interests
As thousands gathered to mourn the pope last month, a group of American state government officials were ushered past a lengthy line to a Vatican museum. They hadn't come for a Pope Francis memorial, though. At the museum, Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor snapped photos surrounded by a scrum of lawyers and lobbyists. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill smiled as she stood next to an attorney from a firm representing a company her office is suing. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador chatted with the head of a corporate consultancy. Those attorneys general had all traveled to Rome for free – thanks to an association funded by some of the same companies whose representatives now chatted up the American officials. That group also organized the officials' stay in an opulent, luxury hotel and their chauffeured sightseeing around the Eternal City. As CNN documented in March, companies have regularly paid to enjoy this kind of special access through the nonprofit Attorney General Alliance, which organizes trips to US resorts and foreign destinations. The AGA's Rome trip offers the most detailed evidence yet of the close access corporate powers gain at these junkets – and of the potential conflicts of interest that come with that arrangement. Critics say that by accepting luxury trips funded by donations from corporate interests, attorneys general may undermine public trust in their actions, especially their mission to enforce the law against powerful interests. 'It hurts the credibility of the office and the rule of law for attorneys general to use their status to elicit this kind of luxury travel,' said Stephen Gillers, a professor of legal ethics at NYU Law. 'If they really need to meet… how about Chicago in January?' In a statement to CNN, AGA said the delegation to Rome included meetings with international law enforcement partners and Vatican officials on a range of issues including human trafficking. The trip also included accredited legal educational sessions for the attorneys general. 'The goal of our meeting was to discuss solutions for stronger enforcement of the law and better protection for those who are trafficked as modern-day slaves,' AGA's general counsel Tania Maestas said in the statement. Maestas said no litigation was discussed during the delegation and defended the attendance of state attorneys general. 'To conflate lawful business travel with a violation of the rule of law is to substitute optics for legality,' Maestas said. 'The credibility of an office is best preserved not by avoiding all activity that might be perceived unfavorably, but by upholding the rule of law.' A draft itinerary for the week-long Rome trip lists law enforcement meetings on topics like cryptocurrency and human trafficking in the mornings – but also other times blocked off for meals and tourism, like visits to museums and a tour of St. Peter's Basilica. The schedule for Friday listed only an unspecified 'optional excursion' and a 'closing dinner.' Participants stayed at the five-star Rome Cavalieri hotel, which describes itself as an 'opulent haven' and the 'peak of prestige.' A CNN reporter spotted Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown resting with his eyes closed near the hotel pool on a sunny morning. A spokesperson for Brown's office said he was honored to participate in the trip 'to advance critical international law enforcement partnerships.' Documents show AGA covered business-class flights to Italy for the attorneys general and their guests. For example, AGA reimbursed Attorney General Brown and his wife for tickets totaling over $14,000, according to copies of the flight receipts obtained by CNN. An AGA staffer also booked tickets for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and his wife, emails obtained through public records requests show. A separate AGA email last year touted the Rome trip as an 'unforgettable experience.' AGA did not respond to a question about how many attorneys general attended the conference. CNN asked attorneys general offices in all 50 states whether they planned to participate. Thirty-two offices said they were not attending, and 16 did not answer. Brown's office in Maryland confirmed that he was attending, and after the trip, a spokesperson for Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said that he attended with his family and secured a $100,000 grant from AGA to fight human trafficking. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez also accepted an invitation for the trip, according to an AGA email from November obtained through a records request. CNN reporters in Rome also observed the attorneys general for Alaska, Idaho and Louisiana. AGA, which pulled in nearly $27 million in sponsorships between 2019 and 2023 – the last year of records available in public financial reports – largely relies on donations from companies to fund its trips. Attorneys general also pay thousands of dollars per year in membership dues using taxpayer funds. The group has previously granted varying levels of perks to companies based on how much they have contributed, records show. An AGA document from 2023, for example, promised sponsors who contributed $100,000 access to 'invite-only events' and speaking slots at conferences not available to donors who gave $30,000. One donor listed in previous AGA documents is WilmerHale, an international law firm that represents companies across a range of industries. One of the firm's partners, Paul Connell, attended the AGA trip to Rome, where he joined at least three state attorneys general and other business representatives for a tour of the Vatican Museums. After exiting the delegation's tour bus, Connell stood beside Louisiana Attorney General Murrill at one point. This year, Murrill joined a dozen other Republican attorneys general in a lawsuit against investment companies alleging an anticompetitive conspiracy restricting coal production. Connell's firm WilmerHale represents asset management company BlackRock in the case. The defendants in the lawsuit have argued the case 'spins a farfetched theory' and fails to offer facts that demonstrate a conspiracy. Connell is not listed in court records as one of WilmerHale's attorneys working on the case. Asked what, if anything, Connell discussed with Murrill on the trip, a WilmerHale spokesperson said conversations between firms and clients are privileged and noted that the Louisiana Department of Justice is a firm client. Murrill's office did not respond to a question about whether her attendance and interaction with Connell in Rome posed a potential conflict of interest related to the BlackRock case. In an interview on the podcast Legal Speak last month, Murrill encouraged companies to engage with state attorneys general offices, though she seemed to acknowledge that access through AGA comes at a price. 'It also can depend on the size of your business, what can you afford?' Murrill said. 'The Attorney General Alliance is a membership organization but it has enormous value because you can engage on the front end … and you can meet a lot of attorney generals including your own in the states where you do business.' As the AGA tour group joined the line for the Vatican Museums, other corporate attorneys and lobbyists identified by CNN could be seen standing alongside the attorneys general. Among them was Kia Floyd, the vice president of state and local policy for General Motors, which was listed in a 2023 AGA document as one of the group's sponsors. General Motors and Floyd did not respond to requests for comment. In the last year, General Motors was sued in separate cases by Texas and Arkansas over allegations regarding the company's handling of private customer data. General Motors has denied the allegations and stated in court it has provided all necessary information for consumers to assess its products. A spokesperson for Arkansas Attorney General Griffin said his boss 'met and exchanged pleasantries with Ms. Floyd but did not discuss the lawsuit against General Motors, which we are pursuing aggressively to hold GM accountable.' The Texas attorney general's office did not respond to a question about whether he joined the Rome trip. Others identified in the Vatican tour group include Andrew Cook, a partner at the law firm Orrick, and Preston Baldwin, the CEO of corporate strategy firm, Centerpoint360. CNN confirmed their attendance by reaching their rooms at the Rome Cavalieri. They did not respond to requests for comment. 'What I often counsel clients is state AGs are enormously important. You can't neglect them. You have to go right to them… having a game plan put in place is really important,' Cook said during a webinar for the Federalist Society last year. Gillers, the NYU professor, said he doesn't fault private companies for seeking to influence state officials. 'I don't blame them,' he said. 'I blame the attorneys general for going. They should just say no.'
CNN
15-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
US attorneys general fly free to luxury hotel in Rome thanks to group funded by corporate interests
As thousands gathered to mourn the pope last month, a group of American state government officials were ushered past a lengthy line to a Vatican museum. They hadn't come for a Pope Francis memorial, though. At the museum, Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor snapped photos surrounded by a scrum of lawyers and lobbyists. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill smiled as she stood next to an attorney from a firm representing a company her office is suing. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador chatted with the head of a corporate consultancy. Those attorneys general had all traveled to Rome for free – thanks to an association funded by some of the same companies whose representatives now chatted up the American officials. That group also organized the officials' stay in an opulent, luxury hotel and their chauffeured sightseeing around the Eternal City. As CNN documented in March, companies have regularly paid to enjoy this kind of special access through the nonprofit Attorney General Alliance, which organizes trips to US resorts and foreign destinations. The AGA's Rome trip offers the most detailed evidence yet of the close access corporate powers gain at these junkets – and of the potential conflicts of interest that come with that arrangement. Critics say that by accepting luxury trips funded by donations from corporate interests, attorneys general may undermine public trust in their actions, especially their mission to enforce the law against powerful interests. 'It hurts the credibility of the office and the rule of law for attorneys general to use their status to elicit this kind of luxury travel,' said Stephen Gillers, a professor of legal ethics at NYU Law. 'If they really need to meet… how about Chicago in January?' In a statement to CNN, AGA said the delegation to Rome included meetings with international law enforcement partners and Vatican officials on a range of issues including human trafficking. The trip also included accredited legal educational sessions for the attorneys general. 'The goal of our meeting was to discuss solutions for stronger enforcement of the law and better protection for those who are trafficked as modern-day slaves,' AGA's general counsel Tania Maestas said in the statement. Maestas said no litigation was discussed during the delegation and defended the attendance of state attorneys general. 'To conflate lawful business travel with a violation of the rule of law is to substitute optics for legality,' Maestas said. 'The credibility of an office is best preserved not by avoiding all activity that might be perceived unfavorably, but by upholding the rule of law.' A draft itinerary for the week-long Rome trip lists law enforcement meetings on topics like cryptocurrency and human trafficking in the mornings – but also other times blocked off for meals and tourism, like visits to museums and a tour of St. Peter's Basilica. The schedule for Friday listed only an unspecified 'optional excursion' and a 'closing dinner.' Participants stayed at the five-star Rome Cavalieri hotel, which describes itself as an 'opulent haven' and the 'peak of prestige.' A CNN reporter spotted Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown resting with his eyes closed near the hotel pool on a sunny morning. A spokesperson for Brown's office said he was honored to participate in the trip 'to advance critical international law enforcement partnerships.' Documents show AGA covered business-class flights to Italy for the attorneys general and their guests. For example, AGA reimbursed Attorney General Brown and his wife for tickets totaling over $14,000, according to copies of the flight receipts obtained by CNN. An AGA staffer also booked tickets for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and his wife, emails obtained through public records requests show. A separate AGA email last year touted the Rome trip as an 'unforgettable experience.' AGA did not respond to a question about how many attorneys general attended the conference. CNN asked attorneys general offices in all 50 states whether they planned to participate. Thirty-two offices said they were not attending, and 16 did not answer. Brown's office in Maryland confirmed that he was attending, and after the trip, a spokesperson for Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said that he attended with his family and secured a $100,000 grant from AGA to fight human trafficking. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez also accepted an invitation for the trip, according to an AGA email from November obtained through a records request. CNN reporters in Rome also observed the attorneys general for Alaska, Idaho and Louisiana. AGA, which pulled in nearly $27 million in sponsorships between 2019 and 2023 – the last year of records available in public financial reports – largely relies on donations from companies to fund its trips. Attorneys general also pay thousands of dollars per year in membership dues using taxpayer funds. The group has previously granted varying levels of perks to companies based on how much they have contributed, records show. An AGA document from 2023, for example, promised sponsors who contributed $100,000 access to 'invite-only events' and speaking slots at conferences not available to donors who gave $30,000. One donor listed in previous AGA documents is WilmerHale, an international law firm that represents companies across a range of industries. One of the firm's partners, Paul Connell, attended the AGA trip to Rome, where he joined at least three state attorneys general and other business representatives for a tour of the Vatican Museums. After exiting the delegation's tour bus, Connell stood beside Louisiana Attorney General Murrill at one point. This year, Murrill joined a dozen other Republican attorneys general in a lawsuit against investment companies alleging an anticompetitive conspiracy restricting coal production. Connell's firm WilmerHale represents asset management company BlackRock in the case. The defendants in the lawsuit have argued the case 'spins a farfetched theory' and fails to offer facts that demonstrate a conspiracy. Connell is not listed in court records as one of WilmerHale's attorneys working on the case. Asked what, if anything, Connell discussed with Murrill on the trip, a WilmerHale spokesperson said conversations between firms and clients are privileged and noted that the Louisiana Department of Justice is a firm client. Murrill's office did not respond to a question about whether her attendance and interaction with Connell in Rome posed a potential conflict of interest related to the BlackRock case. In an interview on the podcast Legal Speak last month, Murrill encouraged companies to engage with state attorneys general offices, though she seemed to acknowledge that access through AGA comes at a price. 'It also can depend on the size of your business, what can you afford?' Murrill said. 'The Attorney General Alliance is a membership organization but it has enormous value because you can engage on the front end … and you can meet a lot of attorney generals including your own in the states where you do business.' As the AGA tour group joined the line for the Vatican Museums, other corporate attorneys and lobbyists identified by CNN could be seen standing alongside the attorneys general. Among them was Kia Floyd, the vice president of state and local policy for General Motors, which was listed in a 2023 AGA document as one of the group's sponsors. General Motors and Floyd did not respond to requests for comment. In the last year, General Motors was sued in separate cases by Texas and Arkansas over allegations regarding the company's handling of private customer data. General Motors has denied the allegations and stated in court it has provided all necessary information for consumers to assess its products. A spokesperson for Arkansas Attorney General Griffin said his boss 'met and exchanged pleasantries with Ms. Floyd but did not discuss the lawsuit against General Motors, which we are pursuing aggressively to hold GM accountable.' The Texas attorney general's office did not respond to a question about whether he joined the Rome trip. Others identified in the Vatican tour group include Andrew Cook, a partner at the law firm Orrick, and Preston Baldwin, the CEO of corporate strategy firm, Centerpoint360. CNN confirmed their attendance by reaching their rooms at the Rome Cavalieri. They did not respond to requests for comment. 'What I often counsel clients is state AGs are enormously important. You can't neglect them. You have to go right to them… having a game plan put in place is really important,' Cook said during a webinar for the Federalist Society last year. Gillers, the NYU professor, said he doesn't fault private companies for seeking to influence state officials. 'I don't blame them,' he said. 'I blame the attorneys general for going. They should just say no.'
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
Community rallies around Port Angeles family who lost home in arson incident
A Port Angeles family is working to rebuild after police say a woman set fire to their home, nearly destroying all of their belongings and killing their dog. Without insurance coverage for most of the damage, the family isn't quite sure how they'll move forward. 'You have to go every day,' said Xander Maestas, who lived in the home. Maestas and the six others who lived in the home are now displaced, cramming in with other relatives for the time being. While many of their belongings were destroyed, he says the hardest part has been losing their four-year-old Great Dane Niblets. 'She was the sweetest dog,' he said. 'A big baby, that's how Great Danes are, you know?' Police arrested a suspect after the fire. Documents show she is related to the family and might have been experiencing a mental health crisis. 'It's harder on my mom,' Maestas said. 'Because she's just a sweet person and she would let everybody stay here if she could.' A fundraiser started for the family has been a glimmer of hope, raising more than $4,000 so far to help them rebuild. 'Growing up around this area, it really does kind of give you an idea how well people are and how amazing the community is,' Maestas said. 'There's people out of town that I haven't talked to, and our family hasn't talked to in a long time, and they've, they've helped and reached out.' If you'd like to support this family, you can donate to the fundraiser here.
