Additional Charge Filed Against Las Cruces Judge

Prosecutors have filed a misdemeanor ethics charge against a Las Cruces judge already accused of bribery in a pay-to-play scandal with alleged ties to former Gov. Bill Richardson.

The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that state District Court Judge Michael Murphy has been charged with violating the “ethical principles of public service” law.

Murphy is accused of telling a potential judicial candidate that if she wanted a seat on the bench she needed to donate to the Democratic Party through a Dona Ana County political activist linked to Richardson.

Allegations in a special prosecutor’s report imply the practice was common in the district during Richardson’s time in office.

Richardson called the accusations “outrageous and defamatory.”

Murphy was appointed to the bench in 2006 by then governor Richardson. A grand jury indicted him May 15.

No one else has been charged in the alleged scheme.