Prosecutor: Richardson not charged, not exonerated (AP)

[Yahoo!_news]

AP - New Mexico's top federal prosecutor confirmed Friday that no charges will be brought against Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson and his former top aides after a probe of an alleged pay-to-play scheme prompted him to withdraw his nomination as U.S. commerce secretary.

But U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt said the decision not to bring charges "is not to be interpreted as an exoneration of any party's conduct."

In a letter sent to defense attorneys, Fouratt said a yearlong federal investigation "revealed that pressure from the governor's office resulted in the corruption of the procurement process" so that state bond deal work went to a Richardson political donor in 2004.

At a news conference in Havana, where he was wrapping up a weeklong trade mission, Richardson refused to comment on the Justice Department investigation, saying only "I'm not talking about that."

Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said in a statement Friday that Fouratt's letter "is wrong on the facts and appears to be nothing more than sour grapes."

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