The former governor of New Mexico – a friend of Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein just got some bad news from a civil lawsuit.
Bill Richardson has been accused of participating in a kickback scheme where he pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars.
He is alleged to have done this while in office. He allegedly used the money from his schemes to fund a luxury life including paying for sexual services and favors.
From The Daily Mail:
According to the lawsuit, Richardson ran a scam dubbed the ‘Richardson Ring’ which saw the one-time governor benefiting from money he grafted from business investments into the state of New Mexico in the early 2000s.
The greedy politician lined his own pockets with cash, used some money to fund his political campaigns and organizations and also enjoyed lavish meals, wine and liquor as well as luxury travel and entertainment, the legal filing claims.
Richardson, 72, served as Governor for New Mexico from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2010 and during that time he was the chairman of the State Investment Council (SIC).
Richardson’s alleged ‘pay to play’ scheme was exposed by a man called Frank Foy and made public in unsealed court documents in January 2009.
The resulting public scandal forced the SIC to begin investigating kickbacks in state investment business and Richardson himself.
Now in a civil action filed in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, in May, but only unsealed last week, it’s alleged that Richardson oversaw a sophisticated cover up of his scheme.
The lawsuit claims that Governor Richardson was able to place his trusted ‘operatives’ in state government jobs to cover-up his wrongdoing.
The documents allege Richardson installed several key allies into the SIC to help cover his tracks and thwart any corruption probe.
The filing states: ‘So far, the defendants have succeeded in covering up Bill Richardson’s wrongdoing.
‘To date, upon information and belief, Bill Richardson has managed to evade being deposed under oath about his graft.’
It added: ‘As Governor, Bill Richardson controlled the hiring of all state employees in the executive branch. He used his control to carry out corruption, and to cover it up.’
The suit, the paperwork states, is brought on behalf of the State of New Mexico, Frank Foy and John Casey, under the Fraud Against Taxpayers Act, and seeks damages from Richardson and several of his alleged cohorts to repay the state the money they allegedly took.
