Lawsuit alleges New Mexico broker may have left the country, dodging lawsuit

Lawsuit alleges NM broker evading damage suit

SANTA FE, N.M. — A former investment officer for a state educational pension fund says a politically connected Santa Fe broker and his father are dodging a whistleblower lawsuit alleging improper political pressures on investment decisions.

Marc Correra, and his father, Anthony Correra, are defendants in a lawsuit brought by Frank Foy earlier this year seeking to recover money on behalf of the state for losses on pension fund investments.

Foy’s lawyer, Victor Marshall, said Thursday the Correras have not been served with a summons about the lawsuit despite efforts to locate them since May.

In a court filing, Marshall said “Marc Correra has disappeared” and apparently has left the country. It also said Anthony Correra’s house in Albuquerque “appears to be deserted” and that “it is not known whether Anthony Correra has left the United States.”

Sam Bregman, a lawyer for Marc Correra, declined to comment on the latest allegations in the lawsuit.

Jason Bowles, a lawyer for Anthony Correra, said his client “is not trying to hide from anything.”

“He is in the country. He has just not been served,” said Bowles.

In an affidavit filed with the court, a process server said he went to Anthony Correra’s house in late May and a man said Correra was not there. The man identified himself as a friend of Correra. After closing the door, the man was overheard to say, “Somebody was here trying to serve you.”

According to another affidavit, Marc Correra’s assistant told a process server late last month that Correra was “out of the country on an extensive sightseeing tour.”

According to state records, Marc Correra got a share of nearly $22 million in fees as a third-party placement agent to help money management firms win investments with the State Investment Council and a state educational pension fund in 2003-2008.

Anthony Correra, political supporter of Gov. Bill Richardson, has operated his own investment firm in New Mexico. He was named by the governor to a committee that recommended hiring Gary Bland as state investment officer after Richardson was elected in 2002. He and Bland are friends.

Bland resigned Wednesday amid a federal investigation of state investments. Several members of the Investment Council were trying to oust Bland because of allegations that he pressured investment firms doing business with the state to hire placement agents.

Foy’s lawsuit alleges that investment decisions by the council and Educational Retirement Board, a state pension fund for educators, were made to reward Richardson allies and political supporters. The lawsuit says the state lost money because misleading or fraudulent information used for investment decisions.

The suit names about 75 defendants, including Bland, Richardson’s former chief of staff and dozens of investment firms. Bland and other defendants have denied any wrongdoing.

At a hearing Thursday with lawyers about the status of the lawsuit, state District Judge James Hall was told that Foy has been diagnosed with cancer and will undergo surgery this week. Marshall asked the judge to try to expedite the case.

According to Marshall, the Correras will add to delays in the lawsuit by avoiding their summons. He also said several investment firms named as defendants have shut down.

Hall said he will transfer the lawsuit to another judge in Santa Fe because he can’t accomplish much before Hall retires at the end of the year. He said one judge should decide pretrial motions, including whether the case should be dismissed.

However, Hall said getting a new judge could take many weeks. It’s possible all Santa Fe judges will be recused by lawyers and the state Supreme Court may need to assign the case to a judge in another city.

Marshall said in an interview that he plans to ask the court to stop the state from providing a taxpayer-financed lawyer to represent Bland because of the allegations surrounding his resignation.