Embezzlement Record Breaker?

Could this woman make the record books in New Mexico as one of the state's biggest thieves?



Kathy Borrego was fired earlier this summer from her job as the business manager for Jemez Mountain Schools, a position she held for ten years in the remote village of Gallina.

The superintendent of the district discovered questionable account activity among Borrego's files and notified the Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Department, which has yet to file official charges against Borrego.

Property has been seized from her home with the execution of search warrants.

The State Auditor's office did some initial checking of her activity and publicly stated roughly 300-thousand dollars is missing over the past two years.

The amount missing is so damaging to the district, it had to take an emergency loan just go keep schools running.

Borrego has been with the district since 1999 and currently a "special audit" is underway, looking at all of her activity with the district over that time period.

How much more was stolen? Possibly, much, much more.

I sat down with State Auditor Hector Balderas this past week to discuss the case. He alluded that the 300-thousand dollars is just the tip of the iceberg.

Jojola: Could this set a record of embezzlement in New Mexico, this case?
Balderas: You know I have never seen anything like this. My best auditor that is conducting the special audit, has never the egregious behavior that we are now testing. In 35 years of auditing, he has never seen anything like this.

Balderas also says the Feds have been notified because it's suspected Borrego pocketed Federal dollars given to the district. Not only is she likely to face state charges, but the Feds may choose to charge her as well, at least that's my prediction.

The "special audit" is expected to be released soon, possibly early next week.

While Balderas can not go into detail about the audit or who are what else they are looking at in this investigation, there are questions that must be answered by the authorities once more facts are revealed.

How could someone steal so much by themselves, and for so long?

Who was responsible for oversight?

Did Borrego have help from friends, relatives? Surely a bank teller or someone should have raised their eyebrows when a woman shows up with a substantial amount of money to deposit in her account--especially checks from a school district made out to her own name.

My predictions: More people will be implicated in this case and will turn over evidence/testimony against Borrego to save their own hides from prison time. Expect charges of not only embezzlement, but tampering with evidence and possibly money laundering.
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jeremyjojola.com

Breaking: "Cookie Bandit" used Missing Man's Gun

Here's some new information regarding who shot who during the "Cookie Bandit" shootout between him and Sgt. Joe Harris and Deputy Theresa Moriarty of the Sandoval County Sheriff's Office.

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jeremyjojola.com

Caught on Tape: Deputies & Suspect Shootout

Video Highlights:

2:22: Man jumps out of vehicle traveling at 95 miles per hour.

4:50: Deputies pin suspect vehicle & shoot suspect

When: May 12, 2007
Where: Bloomfield, NM
Who: San Juan County Deputies and Suspect Lionel Claw, 22 years old.



Here's the press release that accompanied this video.

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jeremyjojola.com

Cold Hard Facts

One of the most difficult things about my job is contacting people who are in the middle of dealing with the loss of a loved-one. It's awkward and terrible and sometimes I really hate making the phone call, all while deeply questioning why I work in this industry. I bury those feelings once the dial tone hits my ear, and I become a robot on the outside...at least for a while.

If I don't make the call, I'll likely be blamed for not getting their perspective or their side of the story, either by viewers and/or the victim's relatives.

Or....

If I do make the call, I'll be blamed for intruding on their private moment and exploiting their grief, either by viewers and/or the victim's relatives.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

No matter what though, I acknowledge that my feelings and troubles of doing my job pale in comparison to what loved-ones are going through.

My awkwardness shouldn't matter, only the cold hard facts, right? And who cares about the victims and their feelings? Only the facts should be reported, right?

The cold hard facts.

When is it appropriate to report all the cold-hard facts? Immediately, no matter who is dead and no matter who is suffering with grief?

These are questions running though my mind this week after covering the case of the four teens who were killed by a suspected drunk driver.

I wasn't working the day it happened. I do remember feeling sadness and anger over their deaths when I opened my laptop to read the news on that Sunday morning.

Soon, I began to not look forward to covering the story and making those....calls. I know tragedy breeds anger. And what better target are the "vultures" holding the notepads, microphones and audio recorders ready to report every cold, hard fact?

I covered the story, trying to be delicate as possible and to be as fair as possible with the public's interest and the private interests of the families at mind. After all, viewers expect us reporters to treat grieving families with respect. I expect that of myself.

As I predicted, one man sent me a message via a public forum accusing me of passing off a "sob story" and not telling the "whole story" about the crash. It was his impression my report was biased and one-sided.

I was dumbfounded and confused, wondering how a reporter avoids a "sob story" when four young people suddenly lose their lives.

He was angry that I did not report the fact that Avree Koffman shouldn't have had that many people in her car because she had a conditional license as a teen driver. It's a fact that should be reported, the man said, saying suspected drunk-driver Scott Owens is not the only one to blame. A cold-hard fact.

Koffman is still in the hospital with head injuries who has no memory of the crash and who lost four friends. When she becomes completely coherent, there's no doubt her emotional pain will overwhelm her in ways I can only imagine.

The Sheriff's Department has not criticized Koffman nor has it stated Koffman's conditional license was the direct cause of the crash. But is it relevant and necessary to report immediately?

The Sheriff's Department says Owens drove the wrong way and was driving drunk at twice the legal limit. That's the suspected cause, and that must be reported.

I didn't mention Koffman's conditional license in my report, feeling it wasn't relevant and necessary at that moment, and out of respect for Koffman and her family. That fact could be reported later, if deemed relevant, I thought. My newsroom took and still continues to take the same position, although I do believe we may have briefly mentioned it.

Am I wrong on all of this? Maybe.

I responded to the criticism in a way I usually don't. I aggressively defended myself and my report. I was abrupt, direct and defensive. He became my target and I realized at that moment when I got caught up in the exchange of messages...that I was angry too.

Who do I direct my anger at? Who can I blame?

It was at this moment I realized some viewers expect and want us reporters to be emotionless and to report all the cold-hard facts despite the feelings of families.

Some of them want us to be.........vultures.
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jeremyjojola.com