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High-ranking official facing charges

SANTA FE, NM (KRQE) – A high-ranking Department Of Corrections employee now faces charges for firing his gun on prison grounds near the state pen in Santa Fe. Larry Flynn was living in the housing division for corrections employees on the prison grounds with his girlfriend Lupe Martinez, who was at the time Corrections Secretary. that housing division is where corrections officials say Flynn fired his personal gun.

A report states Flynn pulled the trigger more than a dozen times back in August. At that time the Department Of Corrections said they did not believe any laws had been broken so they did not call in state police to investigate.

Flynn claimed he was shooting at a rattlesnake that he spotted under his dog’s house. The report was taken, the acting warden called and an internal investigation began.

The Governor’s office got wind of the allegations and called for a criminal investigation to make sure Flynn did not receive special treatment.

Weeks after the investigation began, detectives slapped charges on Flynn, the head of the special operations division for the state’s Probation and Parole Department. he is now facing misdemeanor charges for negligent use of a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence.

On Thursday, corrections officials said this wont happen again.

“This point forward on anything that can be remotely preceived as a criminal act – protocol is going to be that we are going to call law enforcement,” said Greg Marcantel, Interim Deputy Secretary of the Corrections Department.

Corrections officials who’ve replaced Lupe Martinez said when Flynn fired off his gun on prison grounds he absolutely broke the rules.

They tell us there has been an action taken regarding Flynn’s employment but would not elaborate any further.

Flynn no longer lives on the prison grounds.

Flynn was also accused of cheating on his time card months ago. He’s still on paid suspension while that investigation wraps up.

Martinez, Flynn’s girlfriend, resigned shortly after questions came up about whether Flynn got special treatment when he wasn’t immediately punished or criminally investigated.

Citing differences, San Mateo County top official steps down

Citing philosophical differences with his bosses, San Mateo County Manager David Boesch announced Friday that he is resigning.

Boesch’s decision followed a special, two-hour closed session with the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors late Thursday afternoon during which it discussed his performance evaluation.

In a statement released by the county Friday, Boesch, 54, said it was clear that he and the board had “different philosophies” and in the best interests of everyone he submitted his resignation. He did not respond to a call from the Bay Area News Group for additional comment.

Board President Carole Groom acknowledged that the supervisors and Boesch didn’t always agree, although she wouldn’t elaborate.

“There were different philosophies,” Groom said. “We felt the county needed a new direction.”

An interim manager has not been named, and the board will conduct a nationwide search for a new county manager, Groom said.

A separation agreement signed Thursday by Boesch and Groom states that the county manager “agrees to resign” effective Dec. 31, but will work from home starting Nov. 15 “on transition issues and projects to facilitate a smooth transition with respect to his separation.”

On Dec. 31, Boesch will receive a severance payment from the county roughly equal to 31/2 months of his annual $270,233 salary, or about $72,755, according to the agreement. Unused vacation, holiday and compensatory time would be used to pay Boesch during the 46 days he works from home.

Boesch’s contract with the county did not expire until December 2012.

Though it’s not clear whether any particular action caused the rift, Boesch and the supervisors have not moved in lock step on county spending. when crafting this fiscal year’s budget, Boesch initially suggested the county’s $82 million deficit could be reduced through a 15 percent across-the-board spending cut, which would have saved the county $55 million.

But the budget that the board approved in June cut considerably less — $29 million. the board chose to erase the bulk of that budget deficit by grabbing $50 million from reserves — an annual ritual in the past few years.

And in September, Boesch sent a memo to the board suggesting that the county might consider less costly alternatives to building a new 576-to-832-bed jail, even though land had already been purchased for the correctional facility. the board nevertheless voted to proceed with the jail plan, and at the time Sheriff Greg Munks told the Bay Area News Group he had been blindsided by Boesch’s memo.

Asked to comment about Boesch’s resignation, Munks said on Friday that while it’s clear “we did not see eye to eye on the jail project, I don’t know what, if anything, that had to do with his departure.” Boesch’s no-nonsense management style did not curry him favor with other county officials, according to one insider who asked to remain anonymous.

Menlo Park Mayor Rich Cline, who worked with Boesch in 2006 when he was that city’s manager, agreed that Boesch didn’t always come across as a team player. Nonetheless, Cline praised Boesch’s ability to manage municipal projects and budgets and credited him for helping to build Menlo Park’s reserves.

“He came and did his job and he didn’t spend a lot of time making friends,” Cline said. “He was pretty smart about how to get things done. That didn’t always make people feel good, but his performance record speaks for itself.”

Boesch served as Menlo Park’s city manager from 2000 to 2007 before joining San Mateo County. He started as assistant county manager and was selected for the top job after a nationwide search in 2008.

Federal business official speaks at Maine gathering

Posted: November 6Updated: Today at 9:05 PM Official: Small-business interests represented in Washington

BY J. HEMMERDINGERMaine Sunday Telegram

FREEPORT — A top federal official pledged his support Friday to Maine mortgage brokers and owners of other financial companies who fear that impending federal regulations will hamper their ability to compete with larger financial firms.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Maine Association of Mortgage Professionals, Winslow Sargeant, chief counsel in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s advocacy office, said his agency will ensure that small-business interests are represented in Washington, where regulators at the recently formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are writing new rules for the financial industry.

"These rules are going to be far and wide in their reach. It’s very important that (small businesses) be at the table," Sargeant told a crowd of roughly 50 mortgage brokers, bankers and real estate professionals who attended the conference, which was held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport.

Sargeant, who spent the last few days meeting with small businesses in new England, said compliance tends to be more difficult for smaller firms that don’t have staff dedicated to analyzing rules. He said his organization will work to ensure new rules are clear and easy to follow.

"we will make sure that the regulations aren’t one-size-fits-all, but that they take into account small business," Sargeant said in an interview.

He added that new rules must not create more problems for the struggling real estate industry, a sector that helps drive the U.S. economy.

Housing prices in Maine have fallen 14 percent from their peak before the economy entered recession in 2007, said Kirk Willison of Freddie Mac, who spoke at the meeting.

Small financial firms like independent mortgage brokers say they are already overwhelmed by a slew of state and federal financial regulations.

"There are varying interpretations of laws, and the volume (of rules) is so great. Some organizations don’t have the staffing and means to address them," said Dick Morin, president of the mortgage professionals group.

Morin invited businesspeople in related industries, including banking and real estate, to discuss their concerns in a private meeting with Sargeant.

"the message was, there are too many rules, a lack of clarity and a lack of uniformity," Morin said. "we thought this was a great opportunity to develop a message to bring to Washington."

David Meserve of Alpine Mortgage in Augusta, who attended the conference, said he supports consumer protection laws, but added that they often have "unintended consequences."

For instance, he said new standards for property appraisers have shut qualified people out of the business and created a shortage of appraisers.

As a result, Meserve said, appraisers often travel long distances to evaluate properties. Sometimes, they’re unfamiliar with market conditions in areas where they work.

"A lot of the rules set up to protect consumers have added time and cost to the process," he said.

If more rules are coming, the least government can do is provide education on the intricacies, say some businesspeople.

"If they do that, we will have less problems with enforcement and consumers will get protection," said Tony Armstrong, president of Maine Home Mortgage in Portland.

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