Roswell Daily Record Vol. 124, No. 68 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
March 20, 2015
www.rdrnews.com
FRIDAY
House OKs gambling compact as deadline nears
SANTA FE (AP) — With a deadline fast approaching, New Mexico lawmakers came together Thursday to approve a gambling compact that will allow a handful of American Indian tribes to continue operating casinos. The House voted 61-5 in favor on one of the last remaining big-ticket items on the calendar as the session nears adjournment Saturday. The compact is the result of three years of negotiations by Gov. Susana Martinez’s office, the Navajo Nation, the Mescalero and Jicarilla Apache tribes, and the pueblos of Jemez and Acoma. Among other things, the
agreement allows casinos to stay open around the clock and to offer complimentary food and lodging. The compact also clears the way for the casinos to extend credit to high-rolling patrons. It was previously approved by the state Senate, and it now requires final consideration by the U.S. Interior Department. “I am so relieved. I know the Navajo people are,” Navajo President Ben Shelly said moments after the vote. He was among the tribal leaders present on the House floor. Shelly said it would have been devastating for the tribe had the Legislature not approved the compact.
and lead negotiator, said the compact is more socially responsible and will provide stability for New Mexico’s gambling market for another two decades. “It is a balanced approach that will provide economic development opportunities for tribes, protect the revenue the state receives in exchange for the valuable benefits it provides the tribes through the compacts, and ensure safe and responsible tribal gaming in New Mexico,” she said in a statement issued Thursday. Sen. Clemente Sanchez, a Grants Democrat who chairs the compacts committee, has said the compact would increase rev-
The tribe has invested more than $200 million in its gambling facilities, he said. The Jicarilla Apache Nation “is very pleased” with the House vote and eager to work with the Interior Department to seek approval of “this historic compact,” General Counsel Dion Killsback said. The Legislature was under pressure to act this session because the current compact with the Navajo Nation and some of the other tribes expires in June. If the tribes want to legally operate casinos, the new compact had to be approved by the Legislature. Jessica Hernandez, Martinez’s deputy chief of staff
Folklorico fun
enues to the state during the next two decades beyond what existing compacts would offer. Tribes that operate casinos in New Mexico reported more than $731 million in net winnings in 2014. Net winnings are the amount wagered on gambling machines, less the prizes won on those machines and regulatory fees. State officials say the tribes paid New Mexico more than $66 million last year under revenue-sharing agreements that call for the state to ensure gambling exclusivity for them in exchange for a percentage of net winnings. Revenue sharing under the compact is expected to top an esti-
mated $77 million in 2019. Lawmakers say the compact will bring in $10 million more in the next fiscal year alone. Several members of the House spoke in favor of the compact, calling it an economic driver for the state and for the prosperity of tribal lands. Rep. Sharon Clahchischilliage, R-Kirtland, said the compact is reasonable and a “true compromise between the state and the tribes.” Nine other New Mexico tribes operate under different compacts with the state. Those agreements were approved in 2007 and See HOUSE, Page A3
Drug task force arrests parks superintendent By Jeff Jackson Record City Editor The city of Roswell’s superintendent of parks was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged on five marijuana-related counts. According to Roswell police and a criminal complaint filed in Chaves County Magistrate Court on Thursday, Kenneth Smith was arrested at about 6 p.m. Wednesday in the 1000 block of North Sycamore Avenue after an arrangement had been made to sell marijuana to an officer with the coun-
Smith ty’s Narcotics Task Force. The charges include four counts of distribution of marijuana and one count of conspiracy. See SMITH, Page A3
Woman accused of tax fraud gets reduced bond Staff Report
Max Scally Photos
Roswell Folklorico, under the direction of Frank Herrera, will be attending the Viva Aztlan Festival Friday and Saturday. The festival, now in its 21st year, will be held in McAllen, Texas, near Lub-
bock. The festival will feature a traditional folkloric dance group competition as well as a Mariachi concert and folkloric and Mariachi workshops. Participants and entertainers travel to Lubbock for the Viva Aztlan Festival from various cities
throughout Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Colorado. Roswell’s Folklorico is a multi-generational dance group dedicated to the preservation of the traditional dances of Mexico.
For more information or to purchase tickets, call 806-466-8616, or visit vivaaztlan.org. Pictured are members of the group rehearsing Wednesday night at the Yucca Recreation Center.
Sylvia Franco, the Roswell woman accused of preparing dozens of fraudulent tax returns and bilking the state of New Mexico out of $120,493, was released Monday from the Chaves County Detention Center on a reduced bond. Franco’s cash-only bond was set at $25,000 but has been reduced to $2,500, 10 percent of the original amount. On March 13, a motion for a reduced bond was filed by her defense attorney, according to the New
Mexico Courts case lookup website. The site does not state who Franco’s defense attorney is. Franco, 45, had waived a preliminary hearing that was scheduled Wednesday. Franco’s bond reduction comes with a number of stipulations imposed by the court: She shall not possess firearms or dangerous weapons; she shall not possess or consume alcohol or enter liquor establishments; she shall not violate any federal, state or local See FRAUD, Page A3
‘Tis’ a happy day with Robbery at Verizon a hoax, 2 suspects admit rescue responders Staff report
By Jeff Jackson Record City Editor Roswell rescue workers responded to a home on Del Norte Drive for the second time in seven weeks, but Tuesday’s visit was much more casual and relaxed. For the second time in recent weeks, the Roswell Fire Department returned to a home for a follow-up visit with a patient who had went into cardiac arrest, and the department plans to keep going, said Eric Mann, EMS division chief. “Well over 80 percent of our calls are EMS-related so this is the spot, in my mind, where the Roswell Fire Department makes the biggest impact in the com-
munity as far as it affects the community, and I don’t think many people realize it,” Mann said. “For me it’s a huge benefit to the job. I got into the business to make a difference and especially at the cardiac level you can truly make a difference.” In the call to assist Josephine Tis, who is 79, the EMTs from Superior Ambulance Services comforted her by having a conversation in the ambulance, which rarely occurs, Mann said. “Less than 6 percent of the cardiac patients survive and have all their neurological functions, or all of See RESCUE, Page A3
Two employees of a Verizon store downtown were arrested Thursday after self-reporting themselves to police that they were behind a robbery at the cellphone outlet on March 11. Joshua Fitisemanu, 25, and Felicia Mejia, 21, told police they had fabricated a story about an armed subject who robbed their store at 200 N. Main St. An arrest warrant for a third suspect, 23-year-old Marcus Boyd, was issued. The trio’s objective was to steal cash and cellphones from the store, according to a news release from the Roswell Police Department.
Fitisemanu
Mejia
In the hoax, all three workers gave police similar descriptions of a man who entered the store with a gun, but footage from a business that shares a door with Veri-
zon revealed there was no gunman entering the store matching the descriptions in the duration they had claimed. According to statements from Fitisemanu
Today’s Forecast
Today’s Obituaries Page A6
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• Amparo Vega • Dr. Raymond U. Seale Sr. • Lucy Mae Marsh Aragon
and Mejia, he concocted the plan to recover money that had been garnished from his wages because deposits were short. His two accomplices agreed to create the fake robbery, the report stated. Fitisemanu is accused of taking 10 cellphones worth about $7,550 and $7,270 in cash. The phones and $1,500 were recovered, but the man told police he had spent the rest of the money. He is charged with embezzlement, false reporting and conspiracy to commit embezzlement, while the other two are charged with false reporting and conspiracy to commit embezzlement.
Index Classifieds...........B5 Comics..................B4 Entertainment. ....A8 Financial..............B3
General...............A2 Horoscopes.........A8 Lotteries. ............A2 Opinion.................A4
Sports. ................B1 Weather...............A8 World..................A6