ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) - New Mexico's attorney general is on the defensive in the case against former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron.
It's a case that has already cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars and now Giron's attorney has filed yet another motion to dismiss the case.
Voter education ads are the center of the fraud trail against Giron. An investigation was launched in 2007 looking into the $6 million that came from a federal program called the Help America Vote Act.� A 2008 federal audit couldn't account for how half of the money was spent and that led to a state indictment for Giron and several others.
Since then, there have been dozens of motions filed by her attorney and that has been costly for the state.
"A couple lawyers working for about a year working for plus or minus $80,000 a year 25 plus investigators. I'd say its been a few hundred thousand dollars we've spent on the Rebecca Vigil-Giron case," New Mexico Attorney General Gary King said on Friday.
In mid-March a district court judge said that King's office had the appearance of a conflict of interest had to find a new prosecutor by June 17th.
King says his office has put aside $200,000 to hire that special prosecutor, but it hasn't happened yet.
"Ads have been placed and I hope the judge will look at that and see we are moving at a pace that's appropriate," King said.
Earlier this week, Giron's attorney filed a motion to dismiss citing several delays and extensions requested by the attorney general.
Giron said, "This is an abomination. The judge ordered the A.G. to have a special prosecutor in place by June 17th, not a process to find a special prosecutor."
A hearing date on the latest motion to dismiss the case has not been set.
A federal investigation was launched in March also looking into possible misuse of federal funds by Giron.
Source: http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/politics/state_politics/attorney-general-defends-case-delays
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