Former Secretary of State Dianna Duran completed her 30-day jail sentence this weekend and was released from jail.
Dianna Duran mug shot, from Dec. 18, 2015.
Duran served 30-days in the Santa Fe County Jail, starting a week before Christmas. The jail’s website confirms that she was released shortly before 9:00 a.m. on Sunday.
A judge sentenced to the jail term after she pleaded guilty to six charges, including taking money from campaign accounts for personal gain. As Secretary of State, Duran was in charge of enforcing campaign laws, including campaign finance laws.
Duran isn’t quite free yet, though.
In addition to the jail term, the judge imposed more penalties. The former Secretary of State will serve supervised probation for five years and pay $14,000 in fines and just over $13,000 in restitution.
She will wear an ankle monitor for three years. She will not be allowed to go near casinos, racetracks or any other gambling establishments. If she finishes the first two years of supervised probation without any trouble, she will be able to apply to have the third year of GPS monitoring withdrawn.
Duran’s lawyer said ahead of the sentencing that Duran was undergoing treatment for gambling addiction. Duran spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in casinos, a small portion of which came from her campaign funds.
Duran will need to give four public appearances a month, at least one of which will need to be in an education setting. Duran will be required to speak to the students about government as well as her crimes.
In addition, Duran will need to complete 2,000 hours of community service over the next four years.
Since she was charged with the crimes in late August, Duran has largely kept out of the public eye. However, others have continued talking about her.
Much of the push on ethics legislation in the upcoming legislative session is being attributed to Duran’s downfall. One piece of legislation seeks to bar public officials convicted of corruption from receiving their pensions.
Duran will keep her pension.
