State Auditor: One Billion Dollars Unchecked in NM

Today State Auditor Hector Balderas released a report saying nearly 90 state agencies have failed to submit compliance audits as required by law. The total amount of dollars that hasn't been audited according to a list I received is $1,177,233,118.00.

From a press release sent out by the Office of the State Auditor:

“Over one billion dollars has been received by these governmental agencies at risk. This figure is even more alarming when considering that a special audit conducted by my office found that $3.3 million was embezzled from the Jemez Mountain School District over a period of seven years. During most of that time the District failed to submit audits. Now, all these agencies now have been put on notice that they will be held to a higher standard of accountability." -Hector Balderas, State Auditor

There are 87 agencies on this list. Some of them are small school districts, small villages, housing authorities and other municipalities.

Balderas says it's usually a sign of potential abuse and fraud when an agency fails to submit it's yearly compliance audit.

Balderas says he's proposing a law that would stop legislative funding of agencies that fail to submit their audits.
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jeremyjojola.com

NM Gang Task Force: Some ICP Fans Considered Gang Memebers

This past week I found this article that mentions a trend among law enforcement agencies across the country. It says some followers/fans of Insane Clown Posse are considered gang members within some departments. The band has an extraordinary, loyal following.

I figured I'd email a great contact of mine with the New Mexico Gang Task Force. Sure enough, he wrote me in an email about ICP:

“We” (NM Gang Task Force) do consider them a gang due to the definition plus the fact that there have been more and more incidents here and nationwide with them committing acts of violence as part of the group. We do caution folks to not automatically group every kid wearing a shirt as part of the “gang”.

My contact tells me some young followers of the band have been taking hatchets to class here in New Mexico hidden their backpacks. (One symbol associated with ICP is the Juggalo. A silhouette of a man with spiked hair holding a hatchet. See picture below.)



My contact also tells me recently a young New Mexico ICP fan sharpened the hatchet portion of a Juggalo necklace around his neck and used it during a fight at school to cut another student.

While I haven't heard of any problems with ICP fans here in Albuquerque recently myself, there was a riot among some fans at a local concert about five years ago that made headlines. Albuquerque police had to use tear gas to settle the crowd down. Since then ICP has returned to Albuquerque and there haven't been any problems.

Some fans appear to use hand-signs similar to gangs. Here's a picture I found on a local Myspace page (click to enlarge):



I spoke to several ICP fans over the phone this past week too. One of them tells me he gets pulled over by local police often because he has a Juggalo sticker on the back of his car. He claims he once had his picture taken on the side of the road by police and was told he's considered a gang member. He stresses he's not violent and does not participate in gang activity.

Another fan tells me being apart of the ICP fan base makes him feel wanted and part of a family. He strongly asserts he is not violent and says he identifies with the band and it's music.

Even here at our station there is co-worker of mine who is a hard working, reliable, talented employee who is also a loyal ICP fan. He is definitely not violent and is one of the nicest guys I know at the station.

ICP reminds me of KISS. We all know KISS has a loyal following where fans mimic the bands style of painting their faces black and white.

Are all ICP members gang members? That's clearly not case as my Gang Force contact asserts in his email, "We do caution folks to not automatically group every kid wearing a shirt as part of the “gang”.

But it does appear there may be a few bad apples hurting the reputation of the group as a whole.
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jeremyjojola.com

What's Up with Wayne Bent

Just checked my email. The son of Wayne Bent, Jeff Bent, sent out the following:

Hello,

You are receiving this message because you have contacted me about my
father, Wayne Bent, or have reported on his criminal case. I have
sent copies of this statement to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson,
Attorney General Gary King, and the Department of Corrections.

My father is in the 18th day of a religious fast over his wrongful
conviction and imprisonment. Since Monday, September 14th, he has
been taking water only.

John McCall, my father's attorney, stated publicly, "Our office has
determined that this case is more of a trial of the media and the
structures in our society that are tasked with determining the truth."
The media's role is to separate fact from fiction, and to seek the
truth. The courts are to judge according to the facts and the law -
nothing else.

The media and the courts failed spectacularly at doing their job. My
father, Wayne Bent, found himself at the center of a national media
feeding frenzy in 2008, having become the subject of a largely
contrived and self-perpetuating storyline of a "cult leader" requiring
sex with the young virgins in his apocalyptic church while falsely
predicting the end of the world. While this fiction had mass appeal
and was much more interesting than the truth, it resulted in a highly
charged criminal case involving his healing practices with two teenage
sisters. Caught up in the maelstrom of publicity and unable, or
unwilling, to separate my father's media created persona from the
actual events called into question, the court failed in its role to
stick with the facts and the law, delivering a great injustice to my
father and his church.

This outcome should be of concern to everyone that understands the
importance of a legal system that protects people equally under the
law, especially unpopular minorities who may find themselves targeted
by the media's powerful ability to mold public perceptions.

The facts of my father's criminal case are as follows:

1. My father was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact
with a minor (CSM), and two counts of contributing to the delinquency
of a minor (CDM). He was acquitted on one count of CSM, and convicted
on the other counts.

2. These charges stemmed from a religious healing practice where the
teenaged minors asked to be in his presence unclothed. These
encounters were for the purpose of healing prior emotional trauma in a
safe setting. These encounters were decidedly and emphatically
non-sexual in nature. The minors' parents were not unaware of the
healing practices some in the church were requesting of Mr. Bent. It
was a subject of open discussion within the church.

3. It was common for Wayne Bent, when he was still ministering to his
flock, to put his hand on the sternum above the heart, just below the
clavicle. He did this to invest the soul of that person with his own
peace. It is believed by Mr. Bent that the heart is where the soul
resides.

4. Witness A.S., age 16 at the time, was one of the minors who
requested of Wayne Bent to be in a state of naked vulnerability in his
presence so she could release prior emotional trauma that blocked her
from Oneness with God. This non-sexual 15 minute session with A.S. is
what resulted in my father's conviction on one count of CSM. A.S.
left the church and chose a different lifestyle a couple of years
before this case went to trial. The other witness - her younger
sister - remains part of my father's church.

5. A.S. testified that my father, Wayne Bent, placed his hand on her
sternum over her heart. When asked if his hand touched any portion of
her breast, she replied, "I don't remember." The prosecutor asked if
Mr. Bent placed his hand anywhere else on her body. She answered,
"Not that I recall."

6. A.S. said Mr. Bent kissed her on her "breast." When asked to show
the court where he kissed her, she pointed to an area on her chest
below her left clavicle and above the pillow portion of her breast.
There were significant questions during the trial of what constitutes
a breast that were never answered.

7. Defense attorney Sarah Montoya showed witness A.S. a Barbie doll
wearing a bikini and asked her if Mr. Bent touched her anywhere on her
body where the Barbie was covered by the bikini. She answered, "No."
Ms. Montoya asked "Are you sure?" A.S. replied, "Yes."

8. My father, Wayne Bent, testified under oath that he never touched
the breasts of either witness.

9. During a bench conference with counsel at closing arguments, Judge
Gerald Baca can be heard on the record whispering, "There's no
evidence to support that there was ever a touching of the breast."

10. During closing arguments, the prosecutor told the jury multiple
times that the witnesses both testified that they were touched on the
breasts by Mr. Bent. This falsehood, as well as others uttered by the
prosecutor, helped sway the jury in the direction of conviction,
according to one juror who was interviewed afterwards by The Alibi
newspaper.

11. Judge Baca sentenced my father to 18 years in prison, with 8
years suspended. He also received 8 years supervised probation and
must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

To say the least, my father did not receive justice at his trial. The
State failed to meet any reasonable burden of proof that my father had
broken the law. Much of the trial consisted of testimony from the
State's witnesses about my father's controversial religious beliefs.
Having controversial beliefs is not a crime in New Mexico.

The sentence he received is incredible beyond belief, being extremely
disproportionate by any measure of comparison. The sentence for
murder in the second degree is 14 years. The day before my father
received his sentence, a high school coach in Alamogordo was sentenced
to ten months work release for having sexual intercourse multiple
times with a 16 year old student at his mother's apartment. This year
a fire captain in Rio Rancho received probation for having sexual
intercourse with a 15 year old multiple times in the fire house.

My father has been turned down twice for a bond that he is legally
entitled to receive during his appeal. Why is that? Why is this
frail, physically at risk 68 year old man such as threat to everyone?
Why is the State so determined to keep him locked away?

My father is mindful of the fact that the courts are heavily
influenced by public opinion regarding his case, and not the facts and
the law. There are no political costs for keeping him in prison, but
justice has taken a back seat to political expediency.

This is why my father is now on a religious fast, and will not end his
fast until there is movement in the direction of justice, or he dies.
He was wrongly convicted and wrongly incarcerated as a result of a
modern-day witch-hunt, and he cannot continue to be a party to this
travesty of justice.

Jeff Bent

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jeremyjojola.com

Man With 22 DWI's: I Shouldn't Be Locked Up

Update: Here's the broadcast report I was promising earlier:



This morning I had the rare opportunity to hear from an inmate whom I've written about before.

State Police say he has 22 DWI arrests. Amazing.

Delano Vigil says he doesn't have 22 DWI's but rather only 8 of them.

Here's a snippet of our phone conversation (I'll post the story with audio here shortly).

Jojola: Even if you say you have eight DWI's, it still seems you have a problem with alcohol and getting behind the wheel. Is there any explanation for that?

Vigil: Well, I was a product of my environment. My mom and dad used to be alcoholics, in all my family. I'm also diagnosed as a schizophrenic, so I sometimes don't know the difference between reality and fantasy. So I end up drinking.

Jojola: Do you believe you should be locked up for your crime?
Vigil: No actually I think I just need to go to a program. I've never been to one before.

Jojola: People listening to you would say you have a blatant disregard for the law and for heir safety.
Vigil: Well I've never been in a wreck. I got a high tolerance for alcohol.
Jojola: So what you're saying then, is because you have a high tolerance for alcohol, you should be allowed to drive?
Vigil: No, I'm not saying that, I drive pretty well.

Jojola: Aren't you worried that you're going to end up killing yourself or killing someone else.
Vigil: Uh, I don't plan on driving anymore...but I don't know, I'm not worried about that. I have never been in a wreck.

Unbelievable? Listen to the audio.
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jeremyjojola.com

Oops.....My Bad.

Got nailed today by an Albuquerque Police Officer for not stopping completely at a stop sign.

To put it simply, I wasn't paying attention and there is no excuse. I'm usually good about this sort of thing but not today.

Now I got a 75.00 dollar ticket.

On a side note, here's everything you ever wanted to know about Stop Signs.

Be careful out there and don't make the same mistake I did. :)
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jeremyjojola.com

Spanish Pronunciations in Local News

This write-up is in response to Arturo Sandoval's commentary which appears in the New Mexico Independent. The opinion below is my own and does not reflect the opinions of my managers or the owners of the company I work for.

Sanna Fay or San-TAH Feh?

Muh-DREED or MAH-drid?

Rio Grand-EH or Rio Grand (no e)?

What's right or wrong? Depends who you ask, I think.

No matter how these place names are pronounced on the local news, someone is going to gripe about it.

I can understand the anger but I don't let someone's unfamiliarity with Nuevomexicano culture bother me. During summers as a boy, I would spend time at my grandparent's home, learning New Mexico Spanish while getting sunburned under the Zia Sun while swimming in the Pecos River. I would return home to Reno, Nevada with new Spanish words on my tongue and explain to my classmates where I've been. Sometimes I would get perplexed looks as if I left the country. Explaining my birthplace (Las Cruces) was also a challenge sometimes.

Side note:

When registering for third-grade in Reno, the secretary at my new school told my father I needed a green card when she was presented with my New Mexico Birth Certificate, which is a bilingual certificate. Funny story, but my father didn't get angry or feel disrespected.

I did poorly on a Spanish test in middle school because the Spanish I picked up at my grandparent's home wasn't "correct." Shortes doesn't mean shorts in Spanish. Or maybe it does! (thank you Mr. Ruben Cobos.)

These instances didn't anger me, although I felt my identity was a bit confusing, even to myself. I just shrugged my shoulders and moved on knowing people weren't going out of their way to be disrespectful to my background.

But it's hard to shrug those shoulders sometimes when people are quick to claim disrespect.

Throughout my career as a TV reporter I have experienced disdain from both Hispanics AND Anglos about how local town names are pronounced here in New Mexico on the news.

Being of Hispanic and Anglo descent I often find myself torn over how to say these names on the news. Who shall I offend today?

I'm a hard-core reader of New Mexico history (Marc Simmons is a God) and I'd like to think I know a bit about our state's cultural diversity. But that doesn't matter. I'm a TV guy, and a lot of people assume I'm just a an ignorant blow-dried dude with a suit who is only worried about ratings.

I've received emails from people from up in northern New Mexico saying I should be ashamed of myself for pronouncing Spanish place names without the true accent. I've betrayed my heritage and have "butchered" the culture, some have written in anonymous emails.

I've also had Anglo viewers born and raised in New Mexico secretly ask me why Hispanic reporters like myself must always push the accent on air as if they are trying really hard to prove they are Hispanic.

(When I say Gutierrez, I roll the "r" and when I say "Los Lunas" I say "los" instead of "las." It just feels right)

One of my Anglo friends, who is definitely not a racist, says it's a bit annoying.

For example, the street Candelaria. Candel-air-EE-uh or Can-deh-LAR-ia?

How do you pronounce it? How should I then? It's a Spanish name, obviously. Here in Albuquerque, I hear more people say it Anglicized. Up north though, people pronounce it the original way.

Most of my colleagues in the TV news industry also try their best despite this guy's assumptions. They know if they mispronounce a Spanish word, even on accident, they will be blamed for being ignorant or ambivalent towards the local culture. Trust me Mr. Arturo Sandoval, we get emails from old-school folks like you who are quick to claim disrespect and martyrdom.

So why am I writing this little rant? No lo sé...er....I don't know. It's just something that gets to me often (or is that off-en or off-Ten?).

In the end, I'm not going to say what way is right or wrong. It depends on who you ask.

Yes history must be acknowledged and respected, but let's not live in the past.
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jeremyjojola.com