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Source: Albuquerque Journal, N.mini storageM.Nov. 10--Bernalillo County's part-time investment officer, Patrick Padilla, has been indicted, accused of harassment and defeated at the polls over a long career in politics.He has also been acquitted, completed a sensitivity class and won his old office back. He hopes voters will elect him state treasurer next year."I'm a work in progress, as I tell people," Padilla said in a recent interview.Now, Padilla finds himself at the center of yet another county controversy -- this one a dispute over whether his investment strategy has left the county without enough cash to cover daily operations. Investigators for the state Securities Division are also scrutinizing county investment activity, and state auditors have warned the Treasurer's Office not to interfere with an audit they are doing.Padilla's term as county treasurer ended more than 10 months ago on Dec. 31, but he never really left the treasurer's basement-level offices at One Civic Plaza. Term limits barred him from seeking reelection last year.New Treasurer Manny Ortiz, upon taking office in January, immediately hired Padilla to work as his part-time investment officer, Ortiz's old job. The two, in effect, switched positions, though Ortiz said it wasn't planned beforehand.Padilla's continued presence doesn't sit well with some county officials."I'm not sure people knew when they were voting for Manny Ortiz that they were not going to get a new treasurer," County Commissioner Wayne Johnson said. "... It does seem to be a cozy little relationship."Padilla contends it's a good thing he stuck around, given that Ortiz is facing pressure to abandon their long-term investment strategy, which has generated $4.1 million in income this year and $86 million in the previous eight years, Padilla said.It's that very strategy, however, that critics say has exposed the investment portfolio to substantial risk from rising interests rates and raised concern over whether the county has enough cash flow to pay bills."Should people trust me?" Padilla said, echoing a reporter's question. "Absolutely -- because I'm working for them."Jury acquittal in 1994Padilla, 63, lives in the East Mountains. He and family members own an accounting firm, which has an office on San Mateo NE.A 9-foot, 230-pound shark Padilla caught in 1993 towers over his desk. He says he's an early bird, but not much of a fisherman.Padilla won the treasurer's office in 1988, serving until 1992. He lost a re-election bid amid questions centering on county investments, which Padilla blames on an "overzealous investment officer."The controversy resulted in criminal charges. In 1993, Padilla and another county worker were accused in indictments of falsifying investment records and misusing public money.A jury acquitted them of all charges after a trial in 1994.Padilla said the early 1990s case was politically motivated. A county commissioner, he said, hired an accounting firm and "their total task was to find something wrong with the treasurer's office."Padilla said he later sued the firm and won a "substantial settlement."But he does acknowledge the office made mistakes."I had an overzealous investment officer that did overcommit the county," Padilla said. "That's not a secret."But Padilla said he found a way out and "the county ended up that year with the highest rate of return it's ever had."Political comebackA decade later, Padilla was ready for his comeback.He narrowly defeated incumbent Treasurer Alex Abeyta Jr. in 2004. It was the beginning of two consecutive terms that took him through last year."A lot of people said, 'You never should have left politics,' " Padilla recalls of his 2004 run. "I was like, 'You know what, I have to see if Bernalillo County residents still think Patrick Padilla is a crook, or do they think Patrick Padilla is a good guy?' "Padilla said he worked hard as treasurer, particularly to make it easier for people to pay their property taxes, among other changes.He pulled hundreds of millions of dollars out of an investment pool run by the State Treasurer's Office and invested instead where he could get a higher rate of return. It was the beginning of the strategy that's triggered criticism today, though Padilla said he heard praise, not complaints, for years."I know I doubled (investment income) the first year I was there," Padilla said. "... Everybody said, 'Man, you're doing a good job on your investments.' "That pursuit of yield is part of what's at issue today.County Manager Tom Zdunek said he and Padilla seem to have very different priorities for public money. Interest income ought to be the last priority, Zdunek said, behind security and liquidity."That's taxpayer money," he said. It's "better to know what we have than to assume what we may or may not have depending on the market."Public misstepsEven before today's investment dispute, Padilla's return to office included some public dustups.In 2006, Padilla was arrested on a drunken-driving charge, which was dismissed after prosecutors said a breath-alcohol test showed him under the presumed level of intoxication.In 2012, Padilla faced an investigation into harassment allegations made by an employee. A three-person panel that reviewed a report on the investigself storagetion determined Padilla made statements "that were inappropriate, as outlined in the county anti-harassment policy," a county spokeswoman said at the time.The panel recommended Padilla and his employees undergo training on county policies. Padilla says he did.Padilla said the whole thing started when he chose his words poorly and called an employee "stupida.""I've learned from that," he said. "I've never done that again."The investigator found there was evidence to support the employee's allegation of verbal and environmental harassment because of witness testimony about "inappropriate, unprofessional comments in the workplace."Padilla was accused of referring to some employees as "stupida;" mimicking a "Native American accent" as a joke with another employee; and making negative comments about employees who didn't go to his end-of-the-summer party, according to the 47-page report.Padilla said he was just joking around. The Native American employee apparently wasn't offended and, in fact, teased Padilla back about his own accent, according to the report and Padilla's account at the time.The report noted that most witnesses interviewed didn't support the allegations of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. But five did testify that "Padilla's conduct in the workplace is inappropriate and unprofessional."Cash shortfallCriticism followed Padilla, even after he left elected office at the end of last year.The County Commission, financial advisers hired by the county administration and the state Department of Finance and Administration have raised questions about the county's investment strategy.They say too much county money is tied up in long-term investments at risk of losing value as interest rates rise. The county lost about $758,000 in recent months when Treasurer Ortiz sold bonds at a loss to cover expenses.The county administration also contends it's had to make budget cuts because the portfolio has already lost about $16 million in value.Padilla said everything will be fine, especially as tax revenue floods in as usual late in the calendar year."I can assure you that in 30 days, nobody's going to be crying," Padilla said. "There's going to be enough money."The controversy started, Padilla said, with an "honest mistake" made by someone in the treasurer's accounting department, which resulted in a "shortfall of cash.""We invested more money because the estimates we had said we had more money to invest," Padilla said, "and the real numbers came out -- we overinvested by $35 million" or perhaps more.Padilla said the ensuing debate is "politically motivated." The County Commission last week unanimously approved a vote of no confidence in Ortiz.Padilla is running for state treasurer.Not in it for the moneyIn the meantime, he said, he's sticking around to help Ortiz, whom he has known "forever." They met years ago, when Ortiz was a loan officer for the Small Business Administration and Padilla was buying his first bookkeeping office.Cheryl Tucker, Padilla's wife and a former investment officer who ran into controversy in Sandoval County more than a decade ago, served as Ortiz's campaign treasurer.In that case, the State Auditor's Office had accused the Sandoval County treasurer's office of engaging in illegal trading activities. Tucker and the treasurer at the time, Josephine Montoya, said they did nothing wrong and were following the county's investment policy. Prosecutors later said they found no evidence of criminal violations.Padilla said the investment-officer job was always intended to be temporary. He plans to leave Dec. 20.But "right now," Padilla said, "I'm probably the best choice" to serve as investment officer.Zdunek, the county manager, said he advised Ortiz against hiring Padilla but couldn't stop him."I didn't think it was in the current treasurer's interest to have his former boss now being one of his subordinates," Zdunek said. "It didn't seem to make sense to me."Ortiz, for his part, said Padilla "has been very valuable to me on the investment side of the business."Padilla's job pays $36.73 an hour, and he has made about $42,000 this year working part-time, according to county records.Padilla said he isn't in it for the money: He can make more focusing on his accounting business."I personally would rather get out of it," Padilla said. "I want to concentrate on my campaign right now."No cause for concernPadilla now says he could have avoided much of the controversy during his career by sitting back and just printing up the tax bills."But that's not Patrick Padilla," he said. "Patrick Padilla wants new and innovative things."Padilla maintains that he's trustworthy.Are "there problems? Absolutely," Padilla said. "What is the biggest problem? Lack of communication -- lack of communication between the treasurer's office and the (county) finance department. ..."Has anything been done wrong that the public needs to be concerned with? Absolutely not." Oversight for treasurer's office?The county manager supports hiring an expert financial adviser to oversee county investments A8Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) Visit the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) at .abqjournal.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉