Speeches Raise Gov.'s Profile

from PAGE Al

are the governors," he said. Richardson was in San Francisco, where he addressed the Newspaper Association of America's annual convention Monday.

He's scheduled' to travel to Las Vegas, Nev., on Wednesday for a speech before the Radio and Television News Directors Association.

While he was invited to speak at both events, such appearances are important to a presidential campaign, according to political analysts.

Richardson is also planning a trip to New Hampshire this June for three speeches there.

New Hampshire hosts the first presidential primary in an election year.

"If you're running for president, which I believe Richardson is, you want to keep the press fully apprised," said Larry Sabato, a political science professor from the University of Virginia.

"If you're the governor of a state like New Mexico, you have to work at it," Sabato said. "New Mexico is not going to get a lot of independent coverage. So Richardson has to go and see the national press. National press by and large is not going to come and see him."

The chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico, Allen Weh, contends Richardson is already campaigning for the Democratic ticket in 2008. And that has consequences for New Mexico, he said.

"We're not going to have a governor," Weh said. "This guy's going to have a 'Not at work today' sign on the front of his desk. So the affairs of the state are going to be left to hired staff while he's out gallivanting around."

Christine Sierra, a political science professor from the University of New Mexico, said Richardson "sees himself as a national figure and he wants to extend his reach across the country. So that's what he's doing.

"Here in New Mexico he's a big fish in a little pond," Sierra said. "He wants to be a big fish in a big pond."

Sabato's view that Richardson has national political ambitions is shared by political observers across the country and is accepted widely in New Mexico.

But Richardson said his re- election in the 2006 governor's race is his No. 1. consideration.

"I've made no bones that my first priority is New Mexico and re-election," Richardson said Monday. "But beyond that I have not precluded anything."

Richardson was a New Mexico congressman, a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Energy secretary under President Clinton before being elected governor in 2002.

"He's always had a national presence in addition to his ties to New Mexico," said Louis Desipio, apolitical science professor from the University of California at Irvine. "Certainly his service in the Clinton administration made him a national figure ... the more practical answer is of course that he's laying the foundation for consideration for national office in 2008 or 2012."

Albuquerque Journal Tuesday April 19, 2005

----- Original Message -----
From: Dr. Guttman
To: william h payne
Sent: Sunday, April 17, 2005 10:08 AM
Subject: Albuquerque Journal

Please look at Albuquerque Journal per Article about complaint to Judicial Statndards involving Donation to New Mexico Court of Appeals Candidate written by Mike gallagher, Please put on Web-Site. Stuart

Donation Prompts Judicial Complaint

from PAGE Al

show 4700 LLC has six board members - Frank M. Zanzucchi, Patrick H. Zanzucchi, William Vincent Zanzucchi, Robert Matthew Zanzucchi, James L. Zanzucchi, and Timothy E. Zanzucchi, The records did not include the company's mission.

Family members control other companies that operate topless nightclubs in Arizona and New Mexico.

Patrick and Robert Zanzucchi were convicted of drug trafficking in the 1980s, and Patrick was involved in the shooting of an undercover officer in Tucson after he got out of prison. Authorities ruled that he acted in self- defense, but he was sent back to prison for a weapons-related parole violation.

Vigil said he followed the law that prohibits judicial candidates from soliciting campaign contributions and points out that the contribution is perfectly legal. contribution.

The Zanzucchis and their attorney didn't return phone calls.

Meanwhile, the state Republican Party, which blasted the contribution last fall, has filed a formal complaint with the Judicial Standards Commission.

"The Republican Party realizes that it is not illegal for Judge Vigil to accept campaign contributions from convicted criminals," the complaint said. "We do question, however, why Judge Vigil received a $4,000 contributions from an Arizona family with such strong ties to the underworld of drug dealing and a police killing."

'I followed the law'

Vigil, in a telephone interview, said that, until Republicans raised the issue, "I didn't know who had contributed to my campaign. I followed the law."

Judges are prohibited from personal. ly soliciting campaign donations. Campaign committees do the fund raising.

Greg Graves, who resigned earlier last week as executive director of the state GOP to pursue political consulting, filed the complaint and is named as the complainant.

Graves said judicial candidates know who contributes.

"The current law is bogus," he said "The law allows the trial lawyers to control who the judges are."

"Be honest about it," Graves said. "That's what happens now. Everyone just winks and looks the other way. We need to be honest about it and the public has to know who really is contributing to judicial candidates."

State Democratic Party Chairman John Wertheim said the complaint is "a remarkably desperate political attack. They're playing a dangerous game of chicken with the public's confidence in the judiciary."

The largest contributor to Vigil's Republican opponent, Paul Barber, was the American Tort Reform Association of Washington, D.C., which contributed $15,000.

The association supports limits on punitive damages, product liability and other changes to cap jury awards in civil cases. The association, in its 2004 Judicial Hellholes awards, gave the New Mexico appellate courts a dishonorable mention.

There was an unsuccessful effort in this year's New Mexico Legislature to provide public funding for statewide judicial races.

Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, and Rep. Kenneth Martinez, D-Grants, introduced the legislation.

"These races are getting too expensive," Feldman said. "It's costing hundreds of thousands of dollars."

The proposal would have required candidates to raise up to $15,000 in "seed money" from individuals in small amounts, and, if they met certain conditions, they would be eligible for up to $100,000 in state campaign funds in contested statewide judicial elections.

The law would also have limited contributions from state political parties.

Feldman said she was concerned that large contributions for state judicial races were coming from out-of-state groups.

After passing their own chambers. Feldman's bill died in the House and Martinez's bill was on the Senate calendar, but was not voted on when the legislature adjourned.

Run by Democrats

Some see the Republican Party coin plaint as another step in the effort to make inroads into a judiciary dominated by Democrats.

Democrats have controlled the New Mexico Supreme Court and Court of Appeals for 70 years.

There are two Republicans on the 10 member Court of Appeals and none or the state Supreme Court.

Nationally, Republicans have succeeded in states like Alabama and Mississippi in challenging what had been considered safe judgeships for the Democratic Party.

Brian Sanderoff, president of Research and Polling Inc., said Republicans traditionally have a difficult time winning lower-profile statewide races in New Mexico because there are more registered Democrats than Republicans.

"When people don't have a lot of information about a race, they tend to fall back on party registration," Sanderoff said. "That's what makes it so difficult for Republicans in these lower-profile races like court of appeals, secretary of state or state treasurer."

"Filing a complaint like this demonstrates they have added some new tactics to change the status quo," he said.

Michael F, Hart, president of the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, said it is a fallacy that trial lawyers care if a judge is a Democrat or Republican.

"Believe it or not, all good lawyers want are good, smart judges," Hart said.

He noted that there have been Republican judges who have received bipartisan support from trial lawyers, including Court of Appeals Judge Roderick Kennedy and District Judge Denise Barela Shepard of Albuquerque.

Inapproprite forum

Vigil was reluctant to discuss the complaint after it had been filed.

"A newspaper isn't the appropriate forum to discuss this now that it's before the Judicial Standards Commission," he said.

In an interview before the filing, Vigil said that, when he looked into the contributors, he found their convictions were more than 16 years old.

"They have a perfect right to contribute to anyone they want to," Vigil said. "I never met them and didn't know who they were. My understanding is they own nightclubs."

According to filings with the Secretary of State, Vigil raised more than $250,000 for his campaign, but about half of that was in loans he made to his campaign.

All of the money was reported spent, much of it for television advertising.

Barber raised just over $30,000.

Besides personal loans to his campaign, Vigil's biggest financial supporters were members of the Maloof family. The family, which owns the state's largest liquor distributorship, a Las Vegas, Nev., casino and the Sacramento Kings basketball franchise, contribute $30,000 to Vigil's campaign.

Another large contributor was Yanni's restaurant in Albuquerque, owned by Nick Kapnison, who was convicted of federal bank fraud in the 1980s. Campaign finance reports list a $10,000 contribution from Yanni's. Kapnison's civil rights were reinstated by Repubilcan Gov. Gary Johnson.

Barber's other large contribution was $5,000 from Yates Petroleum Corporation of Artesia. Members of the Yate family are longtime Republican Part supporters.

Frank Zanzucchi also contribute $500 to the national Republican party.

Served prison time

According to Arizona news reports Patrick and Robert Zanzucchi were convicted in federal court of being part northern Arizona cocaine network in 1986. Each served a minimum of seven years in federal prison.

According to news reports, Patrick Zanzucchi was later involved in the 1996 shooting death of off-duty Tucson police officer Gabriel Abendano.

Abendano was an undercover officer who had once investigated a topless bar in Tucson where Zanzucchi worked.

Police found that Zanzucchi shot Abendano in self-defense after being confronted by the pistol-wielding officer, who was wearing a ski mask at night outside the home of a Zanzucchi business associate. The two men reportedly exchanged gunfire.

According to press reports at the time, Abendano was off-duty, wearing dark clothing, a bullet-proof vest and carrying a gun that hadn't been issued by the police department.

Abendano's shoes were wrapped in duct tape and the license plate had been removed from his unmarked police car.

According to press reports, Zanzucci's federal parole was revoked for carrying a pistol and he served an addional five months in prison.

Patrick Zanzucchi could not be reached for comment.

Neither of the two brothers with felony convictions are listed as officers or directors of the topless bars, according to state liquor license records in Arizona and New Mexico.

New Mexico liquor records show that Frank, Timothy, James and Vincent Zanzucchi lease the liquor license and building for TD's Showclub, 6001 Brentwood Lane NE.

Albuquerque Tribune April 17, 2005