Gary Bland Could Be Trouble for The SIC’s Pay-to-Play Lawsuit

Gary Bland

New Mexico Watchdog - A man with nothing to lose and a belly full of fight heads the long list of defendants in the State Investment Council’s pay-to-play lawsuit.  With his back against the wall, in a struggle he believes is about clearing his name, Gary Bland is mounting a legal defense that may end up helping all the defendants in the SIC’s complex legal case.  Ironically, the smallest dog in the fight might have the deepest bite. In a previous story–Marc Correra, You’ve Been Served!–we related the exuberant confidence of the SIC’s chief counsel. “We are winning,” he proclaimed in the SIC’s June meeting when reporting on the progress of the litigation. Not so fast, Bland counters.  Here’s his side of the story, and it could mean a major headache for the SIC down the road when it has to prove its case. The SIC’s claims are laid out in its Second Amended Complaint for Money Damages filed in the First Judicial Court of Santa Fe County on February 20, 2012.  The SIC alleges that Bland violated the fiduciary duty he owed to the SIC and its permanent funds as the State Investment Officer during the Bill Richardson Administration by placing investments with managers based on his own “selfish interests and the personal, political and financial interests of politically-connected individuals and their associates.” The political connections, the lawsuit alleges, all go back to former Governor Richardson, who appointed Bland. Personally, through his staff, or through a close associate named Anthony Correra, the suit alleges Richardson used his position to influence or direct Bland to steer investments to his friends and contributors. From that point on, the allegations get more complicated. Read More News New Mexico

Gary Bland Could Be Trouble for The SIC’s Pay-to-Play Lawsuit