Public defender hires man convicted in courthouse scam

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — One of the men sent to federal prison and ordered to pay millions of dollars in restitution for a courthouse corruption scandal that rocked New Mexico politics has been hired by the state Law Offices of the Public Defender. Chief Public Defender Bennett Baur is defending the hiring of Toby Martinez, former administrator of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse. Baur says Martinez was the most qualified applicant for the paralegal position. Martinez along with former Senate President Pro Tem Manny Aragon and others were accused of bilking the state out of $4.2 million in the construction of the $83 million courthouse a decade ago. Martinez pleaded guilty to taking more than $2 million. He was released from prison in 2013. The general counsel for the New Mexico Attorney General's Office is questioning the hiring.