Las Cruces, NM----Third Judicial District Attorney, Mark D’Antonio released an “Administrative Investigative Report” of missing e-mails and destruction of computer hard drives by former District Attorney employees. The report was prompted by difficulty encountered in the District Attorney’s Office responding to a request made under the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA). Mr. D’Antonio issued the following statement:
“It is the policy of my office to respond quickly and thoroughly to public records requests made by any citizen. Unfortunately, we have not been able to comply with a recent IPRA request for e-mail correspondence because it appears that e-mails related to District Attorney business have been intentionally deleted and hard drives may have been destroyed by the prior administration. Also very troubling is that one of the few e-mails that were found during this investigation reveals the former District Attorney and current Department of Public Safety General Counsel, Amy Orlando, ordered staff to make it difficult for my incoming administration to apply for more than $200,000 of federal grants under the Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative.”
“That e-mail clearly shows a mind set to put politics above public safety and justice. I made a commitment to the people of Doña Ana County and New Mexico that politics would have no place in my decision making and that all citizens would have free and open access to their District Attorney’s Office. I want to take this opportunity to reassure the people that the inappropriate behavior and activities that took place prior to my taking office are not occurring now and will not be tolerated under my watch.”
Information from Third Judicial District Attorney's Office
KRWG News contacted former District Attorney Amy Orlando and she submitted this response:
"The district attorney’s election was almost two years ago and the citizens of Dona Ana County should expect that the district attorney and his investigators ought to be spending their time on investigating and prosecuting crimes, rather than on taxpayer-funded political witch hunts. My office fully complied with public records requests and laws and that's why he's left with nothing but baseless innuendos and black-helicopter conspiracy theories.
The timing of this proves it is nothing more than a transparent attempt by Mr D'Antonio to shift attention from the fact that he hid information about federal felonies from the FBI and US Attorney's office in the Jamie Estrada case.
At its core, the district attorney’s action today is a clumsy and amateurish political stunt on the eve of an election."