Report: Federal Official In New Mexico Took Gifts, Meals

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A new report is raising questions about a former federal Bureau of Land Management official who worked in New Mexico. The Santa Fe New Mexican (http://www.sfnewmexican.com) reports a U.S. Interior Department report made public this week says Steve Henke may have violated agency policy and federal law by accepting gifts and meals. Henke served the manager of the bureau's Farmington Field Office before taking a top job with New Mexico's largest oil and gas trade organization in 2010. The report says Henke accepted gifts and meals and didn't financially disclose them. It also says Henke may have influenced witnesses, including his wife and staff, to convey false information to inspectors. Henke told The Associated Press he stood by his record and believed the report "lacked depth."