Let’s start at the top.
A New Mexico mayor has admitted that he was hammered when he entered his fair metropolis into a long term contract with a California company. Now he wants out of that contract.
Mexico border town mayor and congressional candidate Martin Resendiz was drunk when he signed nine contracts with a California company that is now suing the city for $1 million, according to a deposition in the case.
“The day I signed, I had way too much to drink. It was after 5 p.m. and I signed it (the contracts) and I didn’t know what I was signing,” the Sunland Park mayor wrote in response to questions from lawyers for the architectural design firm Synthesis+. “My sister had to pick me up.”
The lawsuit claims the company is owed $1 million for work performed under the nine contracts, according to a report Thursday in the Albuquerque Journal. Sunland Park contends the contracts were not valid because they weren’t approved by the City Council.
Resendiz, a former El Paso, Texas, police officer and Sunland Park municipal judge, has been mayor since March 2008 and has said he plans to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce.
Resendiz could not be reached Thursday morning, but his office said it expected to issue a statement.
According to a transcript of Resendiz’s June 2010 deposition by attorney Victor Poulos, Resendiz acknowledged signing the documents in May or June 2008 after several hours of drinking with Sythesis+ executives at Ardovino’s Crossing, an Italian restaurant in Sunland Park. Among the executives present was architect Daniel Soltero.
“Again, this was after two or three hours of us drinking, not exactly the best time to do business, not exactly the best time to read over legal documents, which he (Soltero) did not portray at any time to be legal documents,” Resendiz said, according to a transcript of the deposition.
And, Skippy, also not the best time to be signing anything. But I am curious what he thought he was signing? I’ve been to many establishments where drinking was a pass time and none of them handed me documents at any point of my stay. I have been handed contracts to review, which I neatly put in my briefcase, took home and read in the morning. It’s not that hard if you’re not stupid to begin with.
Of course, in Santa Fe, cops have the difficult issue of firing one of their own for breaking the law. First his story, then mine.
A New Mexico state police officer has been fired after security cameras caught him having sex with a woman on the hood of a car.
Officer Bert Lopez’s dismissal from the New Mexico state police was confirmed by The Santa Fe New Mexican (http://bit.ly/oIqKyd ) on Saturday. The newspaper said Lopez has 30 days to appeal the firing.
The surveillance photos were taken from a motion-triggered security camera positioned at the front gate of the county-owned La Bajada Ranch south of Santa Fe. The encounter was at the remote Canyon Ranch.
Two photos showing a uniformed officer having sex on the hood were forwarded to Santa Fe Sheriff Robert Garcia, who identified the officer as being with New Mexico State Police. He forwarded the images to State Police Chief Robert Shilling.
An internal investigation was immediately launched, and Lopez, an eight-year veteran, was put on paid administrative leave for about three weeks.
Police officials would not comment on whether the dismissal was an indication whether the officer was on duty at the time of the incident.
The dismissal came days after investigators said the officer didn’t commit a crime. Officials were assured the sexual encounter was not in exchange for anything related to his position as a law enforcement officer.
My turn. Many years ago I met a comely young lass who begged me to take her to the Planetarium. It was around 4 AM at the time. So, we went. When we got there we walked around and saw an empty Chicago police car. I looked at her, she at me and we were doing the horizontal bop on top of the car within minutes.
Unfortunately, it seems that the officer who belonged to the car had merely been answering an urgent call from nature and he returned to find us polishing his hood. A few embarrassed phone calls later we were let out of jail and no charges were filed. I was never allowed to see her again. Her parents sent her to a nice school somewhere in Europe a few days later.
However, I should note that I wasn’t doing this on the taxpayer’s dime.
Oh well, things could have been worse. In the case of the next story, they could have been MUCH WORSE!!!! It seems that a woman was detained, given a body cavity search and then charged for the experience. Yep, definitely take Las Cruces off of your New Mexico travel plans.
Should a drug suspect have to pay the bill for undergoing a court-ordered cavity search that finds nothing?
No, says a New Mexico woman who wants Doña Ana County officials to pay the $1,122 hospital bill she received after undergoing such a search on suspicion she was hiding heroin, The Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
The woman’s identity was not being released.
Her lawyer, Michael Lilley of Las Cruces, filed a claim Aug. 30 against the county to justify her demand that authorities pay for her forcible body cavity search, according to the newspaper. Here’s what happened, the newspaper said:
The Metro Narcotics Agency had “credible information from a reliable source” that the woman had concealed up to an ounce of heroin, which led to a search warrant on July 1, said Metro Sgt. Mike Alba.
- The woman was searched at Memorial Medical Center, which then billed her for $1,122.
- No heroin or any other narcotic was recovered from the exam.
- The woman was not arrested or charged.
- The woman had no criminal history in New Mexico.
County officials would not comment on a pending lawsuit, the newspaper reported.
In New Mexico “credible information from a reliable source” really means “we met this guy at a bar and he seemed cool.”
It’s also how they select their mayors.
Nevertheless, no story about New Mexico would be complete without a fun look at Roswell. I think I understand this state much better just knowing that it is full of people who think a UFO crashed and managed to leave no debris. Even though a craft hitting a planet at any speeds near those required for re-entry would leave a trail for miles. Okay, here’s the story.
A military fighter plane crashed Wednesday in southern New Mexico after the pilot ejected safely, Air Force officials said.
The QF-4 Phantom from Holloman Air Force Base crashed in grasslands between Roswell and Artesia, sparking a fire that burned 28 acres before it was contained.
The pilot was in good condition, according to a statement from Col. David Krumm, commander of the 49th Wing.
KOB-TV reported there was live ammunition aboard the plane, and rescue crews were being asked to approach the crash site with caution. Holloman officials declined to confirm that report, but Krumm said in his statement that the base was “asking the public to cooperate with military and civilian authorities at the scene to ensure the safety of everyone involved.”
The aircraft was assigned to and operated by Detachment 1, 82nd Aerial Target Squadron.
The QF-4 is used as a target for weapons testing. It can be flown by remote control or with a pilot.
This incident comes on the heels of the annual Roswell UFO Festival that was celebrated in the small town over the July 4 weekend.
The festivities commemorate one of the most debated and legendary events in the history of UFO studies: the alleged crash of an alien spaceship and its otherworldly crew on a ranch just outside Roswell in early July 1947, followed by a press conference confirming the crash.
Wanna have some fun? Point out to Roswell heads that the actual alleged crash was in Corona, New Mexico which is about 75 miles away. Wanna have more fun? Ask them to show you the debris trail. You’ll end up buying a souvenir and laughing at them for the rest of your life.
That being said, I’m glad the pilot’s okay. I don’t need anyone to die to make me laugh. Rappers using the desert to pretend they live in the hood are good enough for me.
Listen to Bill McCormick on WBIG AM 1280, every Thursday morning around 9:10!