New Mexicans Sign Up As Organ Donors

Turns out that New Mexican's have big hearts, and lungs......and even eyes.

Over 20,000 New Mexicans have signed up as organ donors in less than two weeks since Governor Bill Richardson publicly registered himself as an organ donor. Of that, nearly 200 New Mexicans utilized the new online donor registry website that the Governor announced earlier this month.

“Governor Richardson’s leadership on this issue and his very public pronouncement as a registered organ donor has certainly helped raise awareness about the importance of organ donations,” State Taxation & Revenue Secretary Rick Homans said. “I also want to commend the efforts of New Mexico Donor Services for their relentless campaign to bring attention to this life-saving issue.”

More than 35,000 New Mexicans have registered as organ donors in August, compared to over 26,000 in July, a 35 percent increase. This increase comes on the heels of Governor Richardson holding a public event to unveil a new website and signing up as an organ donor on August 18, along with a public awareness campaign undertaken by the New Mexico Donor Services.

A vast majority of new organ donors have registered while renewing or getting a new driver’s license or an identification card at the motor vehicle divisions’ offices across New Mexico .

But with the launch of a new website and registry earlier this month, New Mexicans now have another way to sign up as an organ donor. The site and registry were created through an $115,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and is a collaborative effort between the Motor Vehicle Division, New Mexico Donor Services and New Mexico Lions Eye Bank.

The Donate Life Donor Registry Website can be found at www.nmdonor.org or www.nmdonor.com.

Foreign Nationals Get NM Ids with Forged Documents.

Yesterday, the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau and the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department’s Tax Fraud Investigations Division, in an ongoing joint investigation, arrested a fourth person, in less than a week, for providing and making fraudulent documents that investigators believe were helping foreign nationals to obtain NM Driver's licenses.

Agents arrested 36-year-old Martha M. Zamora of Albuquerque in connection with her involvement in the fraudulent scheme on Tuesday.

Zamora was arrested and charged on six (6) Felony Forgery counts. She's is the fourth individual arrested in the last week as a result of a joint investigation by the State Police and New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department’s Tax Fraud Investigations Division.

Rosa Pardo, Luis Delgado-Valdez and Jorge Alvarez were arrested on April 21. Pardo had been under investigation for several weeks by Tax Fraud Investigations Division agents prior to her arrest.

The scheme consists of individuals providing fraudulent proof of residency documents in the form of rental agreements and affidavits of residency to foreign nationals, which they in turn use to obtain New Mexico Driver’s Licenses.

Taxation and Revenue Department Cabinet Secretary Rick Homans stated,

This is an ongoing investigation that may result in more arrests. Our Department and the New Mexico State Police are aggressively pursuing additional leads and looking, high and low, throughout New Mexico for these types of schemes. The department’s goal is to bring an end to this type of criminal activity; we are dedicating as much staff as necessary to fully investigate these types of cases.

So, I wonder if anyone is getting voter registrations from these folks?