A once powerful New Mexico politician, former Sen. Manny Aragon, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy and mail fraud in a corruption case centered on construction of a courthouse.
Aragon, 61, the former Senate president pro tem, faces 5½ years in prison in a plea deal, federal prosecutor Jonathon Gerson said.

Aragon, a Democrat, was accused of pocketing $650,000 in an alleged scheme with four other people to bilk the state out of $4.2 million during construction of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse.

Aragon told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Albuquerque that he's eager to get the matter behind him.

"It wasn't a very happy day for me," he said, refusing additional questions.

U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt said the case is a "staggering and devastating end to the legal and political career of a larger-than-life public figure."

"Whether he was motivated by greed, intoxicated by his influence or succumbed to a sense of being untouchable, only he knows," Fouratt said.

In exchange for his guilty plea to three felony counts of conspiracy and mail fraud, several other charges against Aragon were dropped.

Aragon was Senate president pro tem from 1988 until 2001, when he was ousted after three Democrats joined with Republicans to remove him from the chamber's top leadership post.

But Aragon reclaimed a leadership job 10 months later when Senate Democrats named him majority floor leader. He left the Senate in mid-2004 to become president of New Mexico Highlands University.

His tenure at the university — like his years as Senate leader — were marked by controversy because of his autocratic style. The school paid Aragon $200,000 to buy out his contract last year.

Three other defendants in the courthouse case — engineer Raul Parra, former court administrator Toby Martinez and his wife, Sandra — entered guilty pleas earlier this week.

That leaves only construction manager Michael Murphy still charged in the case. His trial is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Three other people — Marc Schiff, an architect; Ken Schultz, a lobbyist and former Albuquerque mayor; and subcontractor Manuel Guara — pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy and one count of mail fraud in the case.