Former Las Vegas, NM mayor Tonita Gurulé-Girón, who was convicted in May of fourth-degree crimes of illegal bribes and violating the Government Conduct Act of New Mexico, was sentenced to 18 months probation on Friday.
Matt Baca, a spokesman for the attorney general, confirmed late Friday that a judge had ordered Gurulé-Girón to serve his sentence on parole. She must also do community service and pay full compensation, Baca wrote in an email.
According to a Las Vegas Optic report, Gurulé-Girón was fined $ 1,000 in compensation.
Gurulé-Girón was convicted on only one of the two charges, the newspaper reported, because a district judge found the charges too similar.
The case goes back to allegations of bidder manipulation and abuse of power while Gurulé-Girón was in office in the small town in northern New Mexico. Four out of six charges against her were dismissed by 4th Judge Judge Abigail Aragon, who sentenced her on Friday.
Gurulé-Girón was threatened with imprisonment of up to 18 months, or a total of 36 months, for each conviction.
“While we are disappointed that the judge did not impose the three years in prison we spoke out in favor of, we are grateful that we were able to enforce justice and accountability on behalf of the community in this case,” wrote Baca.
The former city councilor who took office as mayor in March 2016, Gurulé-Girón resigned in January 2020. She was accused of having put employees under pressure to give contracts to her friend’s construction company, for which she was also a business partner, according to a complaint filed by the attorney general.
Her term in office was marked by controversy almost from the start. Early in her tenure, she faced two product recalls battling spending and ethics with the city police chief and the city council. In autumn 2017, she had to face a special audit due to alleged conflicts of interest and irregularities in purchasing.
Las Vegas City Council should discuss her dismissal before stepping down.
