New Mexico has been a busy place for federal prosecutors and investigators.  The governor's office is under investigation in a "pay-to-play" scandal. The state's long-time U.S. Senator, Pete Domenici, in under investigation in the US Attorney firings scandal.  And, yesterday, former State Senator Manny Aragon was sent to prison for public corruption:

Thirty years of political power ended with a whimper Tuesday when a federal judge sentenced former state Sen. Manny Aragón to prison for his role in the largest public corruption case in state history.

His sentence: 5 1/2 years in prison as worked out in his plea agreement last fall plus nearly $2 million in fines and restitution. This after Aragón admitted his part in using padded contracts and bogus invoices to skim more than $4 million from construction of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse.

Seven other men including the court administrator, the project architect and a lobbyist-bagman once the mayor of Albuquerque also have pleaded guilty in the case. Most of the charges involved mail fraud and conspiracy.