https://www.krqe.com/news/larry-barker/turf-wars-a-tale-of-deception-and-misused-tax-dollars/
"Turf Wars: A Tale of Deception and Misused Tax Dollars"
We invite all Burqueños and all supporters of the Elena Gallegos to please watch/read this recent Larry Barker/KRQE investigation into an illegal misappropriation of public money that happened within our Parks & Rec this year.
In 2021, Parks and Rec asked the New Mexico State Legislature for funding to buy artificial turf for public use at “public recreation facilities” in Albuquerque. They were granted $160k in state taxpayer money.
In January 2022, Parks and Rec combined this $160k with $77k in City funds and ILLEGALLY diverted the money to pay for a new indoor football arena in Rio Rancho for the Duke City Gladiators.
The Gladiators are a privately-owned indoor football team. It was illegal for Parks and Rec to use public money to aid a private business; to spend money intended for public facilities on a private facility; to request state money for Albuquerque but then spend it in Rio Rancho; and to spend state money in a different manner than for which it had been approved.
To add a further twist to the tale: Parks and Rec paid for this new arena upfront before the state funds had actually been paid out. In September 2022, their request for reimbursement was denied, because the request for the money didn't match how the money was actually used. So now Albuquerque taxpayers are stuck with the bill— for a private arena in a different city!
And there's more! This year’s State Legislature Spending Bill shows a request from Parks and Rec for an additional $325k for "improvements to an indoor arena in Albuquerque." Albuquerque does not have an indoor arena. According to the state reps who sponsored the request, Parks and Rec was planning to illegally divert this money to buy a Jumbotron for the new stadium.
Unsurprisingly, the wealthy owner of the Duke City Gladiators is a close friend of Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and made large donations to his reelection campaign.
When pressed by investigative reporter Larry Barker, Parks and Rec Director Dave Simon insists he had “no knowledge” of these two requests for state funding that came from his own department… which cannot possibly be true. We’re supposed to believe that several hundred thousand dollars of state taxpayer money magically appeared in Parks and Rec’s budget, and Dave Simon didn’t know why the money was there but didn’t bother to find out?
Either way — he certainly approved how and where the money was spent, even though he knew it was illegal.
When discussing this year’s request for $325k, Larry Barker points out that Albuquerque does not have an indoor arena, and Dave Simon snaps, “So what?”
So what? So what, that Parks and Rec took several hundred thousand dollars in public taxpayer money and illegally diverted it to a private project that benefits Dave Simon’s wealthy friend? So what??
Dave Simon is the main driver behind the planned PROHIBITED development of the Elena Gallegos. No wonder the legal covenants which protect the land mean nothing to him. This man is corrupt. He believes he is above the law. He will misappropriate public money to get what he wants. And he will lie and deny when caught red-handed.
This is what “Save the Elena Gallegos” is up against. We cannot allow Dave Simon to win!
Funnily enough, this KRQE segment aired on Tuesday, November 22, on the same day as our KOB segment announcing our injunction. Imagine how corrupt Dave Simon must be that we were only the SECOND worst news story in his day!
We surpassed 8,000 signatures on our petition last week! And our GoFundMe is about halfway to our $30,000 goal. Thank you for your continued love and support. Behind-the-scenes, we have been working tirelessly to finalize our legal complaint and should have big updates soon!