A former New Mexico lawmaker has been convicted in a major federal corruption case.
A jury in Albuquerque found former House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton and co-defendant Joseph Johnson guilty on all counts. Stapleton was found guilty on 37 counts including fraud, bribery, and money laundering. Johnson, her long-time friend, was found guilty on 31 federal counts.
Prosecutors say they diverted more than a million dollars from Albuquerque Public Schools, and funneled about three-point-two million in federal vocational education funds to Johnson’s company, Robotics Management Learning Systems, in exchange for kickbacks.
Both remain free pending sentencing. Stapleton faces up to 20 years in prison, and a separate state racketeering and fraud trial set for October fifth, twenty-twenty-six.
