Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 122, No. 191 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
SOUTH MIAMI, Fla. (AP) — Derek Medina appeared to live much of his life online. The 6foot-2, 200-pound South Miami resident... - PAGE B3
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Ariz. group to control Counseling Assoc. JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
MURDER SUSPECT POSTS DEAD BODY PHOTO ONLINE
August 10, 2013
A Phoenix-based nonprofit group will assume control of Counseling Associates Inc. Sunday, making the longtime local behavioral services group the latest casualty in an ongoing New Mexico Human Services Department Medicaid fraud investigation. Counseling Associates has yet to be accused of any wrongdoing. Human Services hired an outside fir m to audit behavioral health centers
earlier this year. The department tur ned the audit over to the Attorney General and has not shared the audit with legislators or the health centers. Yet, immediately following receipt of the audit, NMHSD froze funding to 12 health centers across the state, including Counseling Associates, and hired Arizona companies to take over services. Turquoise Health and Wellness Inc. Community Support Services, owned by Thomas McKelvey, of Phoenix, will operate Coun-
seling Associates. NMHSD signed a contract with Turquoise for $2 million to take over services in Roswell, Clovis, Portales, Ft. Sumner and Tucumcari. Attorney General Gary King’s office estimated the case could take as long as a year to investigate. “It could be a year,” said AG spokesman Phil Sisneros. A similar Medicaid fraud case tur ned over to the AG’s of fice in February 2012, alleged by NMHSD against Carlsbad Mental
Health Center, is still not complete, Sisneros said. Even though smaller cases, such as the Carlsbad Mental Health Center, typically only take three to four months to investigate, Sisneros said he didn’t know why Carlsbad’s case hadn’t been resolved. No charges have been filed in that case either, though Carlsbad Mental Health Center was forced to close. The state department appointed Roswell’s Counseling Associates to assume control of that center in November.
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Roberto Varela irrigates a corn field south of Brasher along S. Sunset, Friday afternoon.
Mark Wilson Photo
NMHSD spokesman Matt Kennicott said he couldn’t reveal the allegations in the Carlsbad case either. “It’s under investigation by the Attor ney General and we can’t reveal what it was,” Kennicott said. “They’re very complex and technical investigations.”
During a visit to the building Wednesday, Turquoise representatives barred the Daily Record from speaking to Counseling Associates staff. See COUNSELING, Page A3
Martinez, Mexico officials unveil border plan
SANTA TERESA (AP) — Gov. Susana Martinez and of ficials from Mexico announced Friday the creation of a 70,000-acre, master-planned community around the Santa TeresaSan Jeronimo border crossing in an effort to expand the fast-growing border region even more. Martinez joined Chihuahua state Gov. Cesar Duarte at press conferences on both sides of the New Mexico-Mexico border to outline details of the “twin cities” which would include more than 2,000 acres of rail-served industrial land. “The potential of the See BORDER, Page A3
Obama: Reform spy program, pause Russia ‘reset’ DUFNER LEADS AFTER 2 PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Nothing was dull about the way Jason Dufner played golf Friday at the PGA Championship. If anything, it was historic. Dufner holed... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
There are no obituaries for today.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Responding to critics, President Barack Obama promised on Friday to work with Congress on “appropriate reforms” for the domestic surveillance programs that have stirred criticism at home and abroad. He also said it is time to recalibrate the United States’ relationship with Russia, which is harboring NSA secrets leaker Edward Snowden. “It’s not enough for me to have confidence in these programs,” the president declared of NSA domestic intelligencegathering programs at a White House news conference, one day before his scheduled departure on a weeklong vacation. “The American people have to have confidence in them as well.” The president
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announced a series of changes in a program begun under the anti-terror Patriot Act that was passed in the wake of the attacks of Sept, 11, 2001. But none of the moves would alter the basic core of the program, the collection of millions of Americans’ phone records. As for Snowden, recently granted temporary asylum by Russia, Obama said he is not a patriot, as some have suggested, and challenged him to return to the United States to face espionage charges. On Russia, Obama said that given recent differences over Syria, human rights and Snowden, it is “probably appropriate for us to take a pause, reassess where it is that Russia is going ... and recalibrate the relationship.”
AP Photo
President Barack Obama gestures during his news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, The hour -long news conference ranged over numerous issues, although the president became especially ani-
Bevers: A modern R e n ai s san c e man JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....A7 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 NATION .................B3 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
Jessica Palmer Photo
J. Wayne Bevers
J. Wayne Bevers is a interesting man with an unusual name. He says he has no first name, stating that it is just “J.” Known as Wayne or J.W., Bevers was born and raised in Roswell. His family settled here in the 1940s and have held several successful business. He and his wife, Penny, continue that tradition with Bevers Realty and their own private investigations firm. “I, like many, made it through high school and then got out of town,” he
said. Bevers lived all over Texas during the years he was gone, but eventually he decided it was time to come home in 1990. While in Texas, he worked in the oilfield and in wireline service industry for Vann Tool Company. Bevers boasts a diverse background. He made a career switch to safety and served as safety officer for several different trucking firms. These skills he brought back with him to Roswell. He uses them as a private investigator. Bevers says he has done some crime investigation. He also investigates insur-
mated when the questions turned to Republicans in Congress. He said they would risk the wrath of the public if
ance claims and works as a claims adjustor. He specializes in the oil and gas and trucking industries. He also does investigations for law firms. “I get a lot of heavy equipment claims.” As an investigator, he works all over New Mexico. Licensing in New Mexico isn’t easy. First, the person must get 6,000 hours experience within five years and pass an examination. His wife is also a licensed private investigator. His investigations lead to writing. Bevers just had his first book, “Veil of Trust,” released by Tate Publishing of Oklahoma. He calls it a mystery and a romance
they vote to shut down the government this fall in an attempt to cut off funding for his signature health care law.
novel, and he is working on a sequel. “I like fiction. I like writing about southeast New Mexico. I want to show New Mexico in a good light. We have a rich Hispanic heritage and such cultural diversity here.”
His book reflects his interests. “The Veil of Trust” is set in New Mexico against the backdrop of the oil industry. The book starts in the 1940s, in the preface, and then switches to present day in the first chapter. A portion of the action takes place at Roswell’s UFO Festival. See SPOTLIGHT, Page A3