Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Chavez found guilty on several charges Vol. 123, No. 49 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
A Chaves County jury found Robert Chavez guilty on charges, including one count of racketeering, one for conspiracy to commit racketeering, two counts of trafficking methamphetamines, two counts of conspiracy to commit drug traf ficking, and three counts of money laundering. He now faces a prison term of up to 26 years. The cumulative charges
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accrued from acts that reportedly took place in Otero County starting in November 2007 through May 2012, where a group brought 7.5 pounds and 4 pounds of methamphetamines to Alamogordo from Arizona on at least two and potentially three separate dates, Feb. 28, April 8 and May 1, 2012. Authorities valued the 4 pounds at $300,000 and the 7.5 at a half million dollars. Kirby Wills, deputy district attorney, 12th District
Court, explained the charges of racketeering allowed the State to put the entire organization on trial. “We did not invent the name of the AZ Boys; they did.” The money laundering charges originated after the group known as the AZ Boys purchased some 19 vehicles from an Alamogordo dealership, Richardson Motors. Chavez’s brother Joe spent an estimated $50,000 on vehicles within
two week’s time. A Mercedes-Benz GLK was purchased on March 24, 2012, with successive payments of $9,000 and $9,000 and $8,800, transactions just under the amount which had to be reported to the gover nment. An expert witness testified that none of the appropriate for ms for income had been filed. During the State’s final summation, Matthew J. Bouillon, assistant attorney general, Border Violence
Kelly Berrones Photo
Barbara Gomez, left, event coordinator of the Baby Boomer Conference and Business Expo, poses with grand prize package winner Adam Carrasco, center and Nathan Padilla of The Red Shield at the fifth annual expo, which was held Saturday at the Roswell Convention Center.
Thousands enjoy Baby Boomer Expo from filling the Roswell Convention Center, where the fifth annual Baby Boomer Conference and Saturday’s beautiful Business Expo offered fun, weather didn’t keep people music and information to RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
for Frontier Medical Home people of all ages. “We had between 2,000 Health Care. and 3,000 people come The event was a through the event on Saturday,” said Barbara See BOOMER, Page A3 Gomez, event coordinator
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Division, said the Chavez brothers and their girlfriends, Tracy Garrison and Angela Catt, completed the purchases when their estimated legitimate income was zero. “It all comes down to greed and lust for power...” Bouillon reported that neither brother was a drug user. Their only intent was to “poison the community of Alamogordo.” Attorney for the defense, Jason Flores-Williams, argued that the State had
provided no direct evidence such as DNA or fingerprints to link Chavez to the 4 pounds of methamphetamines that were located in a spare tire of a vehicle parked in his driveway. “There’s reasonable doubt beyond measure in this case ” Flores-Williams urged the jury to find for the defendant. “They think they can treat anyone like a crimi-
RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
stored at the plant, but officials say there's no public health threat. Carlsbad's mayor scheduled a community meeting Monday evening with officials from the Department of Energy and the Radiation Control Bureau of the New Mexico Environment Department. “The New Mexico Environment Department has seen no data to suggest any health threats to people have occurred as a result of the Feb. 14 incident that led to a release of radiation outside the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant,” said Jim Winchester, communications director of the state Environment Department. “The New Mexico Environment Department and the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center continue to monitor radiation levels and will notify the public of any health threats if they were to occur.”
Increased levels of radiation detected from leak at WIPP Slightly elevated levels of airbor ne radiation have been detected in Southeastern New Mexico from a leak at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, according to a U.S. Department of Energy news release. The continuing radiation monitoring resulted in a town meeting being scheduled in Carlsbad between state, federal and local officials and the public. The DOE said Monday the results are from samples collected last week at numerous air monitoring stations at and around the WIPP site. Last week, DOE officials confirmed the firstever leak at the facility. It stores plutonium-contaminated waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory and other gover nment nuclear sites. The results are consistent with the kinds of waste
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Board approves Committee recommends e-cigarette ban funding for EDC JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
The Chaves CountyRoswell Economic Development Corporation will continue its push to bring new business and workers to the county after county commissioners approved allocating funding to it last week. “I’m very grateful, as is the board, for the reinstatement of the funding,” said Executive Director John Mulcahy. “Without it, we would have a very difficult time marketing. So, we’re very grateful they helped.” Mulcahy will use the
funds for travel, marketing and operations. He has already traveled to Phoenix and will head to Dallas next week to market the county and city to businesses and job hunters. The county budgeted $175,000 for the EDC in the 2013-14 fiscal year that began July 1, 2013. But the county cut the corporation’s funding to $75,000 until the EDC found an executive director. Mulcahy was selected after a lengthy search following the retirement of Bob Donnell last year. Don-
Puffing away at an electronic cigarette could soon be outlawed in the same public areas in Roswell as the real deal. A committee recommended Monday banning the vaporizers and including the language as part of the city’s nosmoking policy. City councilors will consider advertising the amendment to the city’s cigarette ban to include e-cigarettes at their regular meeting March 13. Councilor Steve Henderson told the Building and Lands Committee he came up with the idea one day. He and his wife were sitting at an airport with their backs to a man who was steaming up the airways with his e-cigarette. “It was coming over our way and it was unpleasant and I think we need to deal with it,” Henderson said. Henderson said he felt the e-ciga-
rettes still contained a vapor with nicotine. The battery-powered electronic devices vaporize a nicotine-filled liquid that can be flavored. They are often used as an alternative to traditional cigarettes. Experts disagree on whether the devices reduce habitual smoking. Lawmakers recently have taken stands against them, saying they encourage underage smoking. Henderson said his main objection was the public nuisance aspect. “It’s objectionable, if it’s in a meeting or in a public place,” Henderson said. The city passed its anti-smoking ordinance in 2004. The change would modify language to include all electronic smoking devices. “A number of communities have already taken action on this deal,” Henderson said. “It’s a big problem and I think we owe our citizens the same right under the tobacco ordinance.”
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Henderson said he had been working on the issue with City Attorney Barbara Patterson since November.
The language can be combined to include e-cigarettes, cigars and other e-smoking devices, Patterson said.
Committee chairman and Councilor Jason Perry agreed with the change. “When you originally brought this up, I wasn’t sure,” Perry said. “I don’t smoke and have no desire to smoke. But we have a lady in our church who had to miss a couple of services. She was in a place where the vapors triggered a severe asthma attack. It alerted me to ... it doesn’t have to be the nicotine component.” Henderson said the smell was an issue, as users can get the smoke in chocolate, cherry and other flavors.
Committee members Perry, Henderson and Councilor Juan Oropesa voted in favor of moving the idea on to City Council for further consideration.
Norris promotes independent filmmakers, post-production RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Dirk Norris is a man on a mission — to support New Mexico’s independent filmmakers and post-production artists. Speaking at the Roswell Film Fest and Cosmicon kick-off on Friday, Norris said he wants to grow his organization, the New Mexico Film Foundation, to the point where it can one day offer grants for filmmakers and screenwriters. “Our mission is to help
See EDC, Page A3
grow the independent film industry in New Mexico while offering financial support and educational opportunities to New Mexico independent filmmakers,” Norris said. He started the Film Foundation last year, after heading the New Mexico Film Office for a year and a half, with the intention of supporting both independent filmmakers and the state’s post-production professionals. “We have some of the most talented film profes-
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sionals in the world here in New Mexico,” Norris said. “What we want to do is make the film industry more aware of what we have available for post-production services.” Hollywood already has New Mexico on its speed dial when it comes to shooting, with Disney, Bad Robot, and 20th Century Fox Television among the industry leaders who film in the state. However, independent filmmakers don’t have the access to funding the big
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corporations have, and Norris wants to help small films get produced in New Mexico as well as big blockbusters. “When we get funded, the foundation would like to be able to provide seed grants to get film projects going,” Norris said. “I would like for us to also have grants available for post-production and for screen writers.” Norris was in Roswell on Friday supporting the film festival and spreading the word of the foundation, as well as seeking financial
ARE NO OBITUARIES FOR TODAY. FOR INFORMATION ON SCHEDULED FUNERAL SERVICES, SEE PAGE A6.
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support. “I started the foundation last December, and we’re still working on raising funds,” he said. Norris has been traveling the state on behalf of the Film Foundation, and he is looking forward to getting the funding in place so the foundation can begin supporting filmmakers. “The New Mexico Film Foundation invests in filmmakers, not films,” Norris said. “We are not a producSee NORRIS, Page A3
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B4
Dick Norris started the Film Foundation last year, after heading the New Mexico Film Office for a year and a half.
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2 OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD ..................A6