{
  "id": 5664064,
  "title": "Former New Mexico lawmaker pleads guilty to diverting public school funds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/former-new-mexico-lawmaker-pleads-guilty-to-diverting-public-school-5664064",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-04T22:53:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Associated Press",
    "slug": "associated-press",
    "url": "https://apnews.com/article/new-mexico-williams-stapleton-education-fraud-charges-527206565a8b63244166512d9361f5be"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former New Mexico House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton has pleaded guilty to charges of diverting public school funds, according to prosecutors. The former Democratic legislator allegedly misused millions of dollars designated for vocational education in Albuquerque Public Schools. Williams Stapleton, who had been in office since 1994, entered her guilty plea during a hearing on Friday, following a federal conviction just three weeks prior. State prosecutors had charged her with fraud, money laundering, racketeering, and other offenses in 2021. A plea agreement dropped all but four of the charges, with the defendant facing a 10.5-year prison sentence and over $1.8 million in restitution. The New Mexico Department of Justice expressed satisfaction with the federal sentencing range, stating it would result in a more substantial prison term than could be imposed in the state system.",
  "summary": "ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A former high-ranking Democratic legislator in New Mexico accused of diverting millions of dollars meant for vocational education in the state’s largest school…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "Smuggler who used tunnel under U.S.-Mexico border pleads guilty",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/smuggler-who-used-tunnel-under-u-s-mexico-border-pleads-guilty",
        "published": "2026-09-04T17:40:06.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Former New Mexico lawmaker pleads guilty to diverting public school funds",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/former-new-mexico-lawmaker-pleads-guilty-to-diverting-public-school",
        "published": "2026-09-04T22:26:33.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}