Demesia Padilla’s sudden resignation as Taxation and Revenue Department secretary last week sent a jolt through state government. It was also a blow to Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, who had stood by Padilla, one of her longest-serving Cabinet members, as the Attorney General’s Office carried out a monthslong investigation into Padilla’s personal finances and allegations that she tried to thwart a state audit into one of her former tax clients.
That changed last week as the contours of the investigation came into focus with the release of a stunning search warrant affidavit. The document, released a day after agents raided Padilla’s state offices, revealed that investigators were looking into a host of possible criminal activities, including tax evasion and embezzlement.
Martinez, who had once challenged the investigation as a politically motivated attack, accepted Padilla’s resignation and said she had ordered the tax department to fully cooperate with investigators.
