Outfitter to be sentenced next month

By Mike Marino
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — The sentencing phase of the case against hunting outfitter, Adrian Romero, will be April 13, in 13th District Judicial Court.

The original list of charges filed by the Cibola County Grand Jury on Jan. 25, 2006, included 52 felony counts against Romero. His wife, Henrietta, was charged with 14 felony counts.

The investigation into the Romero case was a coordinated investigation between numerous government agencies including New Mexico Game and Fish, the State Police and the New Mexico Department of Tax and Revenue, Fraud Department.

Sgt. Chris Chadwick, from New Mexico Game and Fish said, "I'll be there at the sentencing to testify, as will others in our department involved in this investigation including Craig Sanchez, the Grants District officer and Mike Robertson, who is a Game and Fish investigator. There are also victim impact statements showing that these people lost up to $160,000 total not to mention what the Department of Game and Fish lost in license revenue due to fraud."

Among the multiple counts against them that were charged in the original indictment was racketeering. It is alleged that on or about Jan. 1, 2002 to Dec. 31, 2004, Romero and his wife operated a hunting outfitting company called Non-Typical Outfitters and that they engaged in a pattern of racketeering with the intent of accomplishing multiple unlawful acts including but not limited to forgery, fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion.

Romero was also charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering along with his wife. There is also a count of fraud for an amount over $2,500 but less than $25,000 that occurred on or between Oct. 9 and 13, 2004 where the Romeros allegedly took money from Steve Burgei for a hunting license and also for an outfitted hunt. Burgei in his statement said he did not receive the license or the services promised by the Romeros.

Non-Typical Outfitters was a company that did business in five states, including the state of New Mexico, and records show that the company had customers from 27 other states and at least one foreign company, South Africa. The price for a hunt varied from $2,500 to up to $6,000 per hunter.

Romero pleaded guilty to seven of the charges and could receive up to 22 years in prison. Mrs. Romero pleaded guilty to 13 of the counts and received probation for five years along with the proviso that she not engage in the outfitting business and that she and her husband will have to make restitution. Any violation of her plea agreement could land her in prison. They pled out in the fall of 2006.