The state Supreme Court on Monday suspended Las Cruces District Judge Michael Murphy, who was indicted on bribery charges last week after telling other judges he'd gotten his job by making a $4,000 contribution to then-Gov. Bill Richardson.

The court issued an order Monday that suspends Murphy immediately and without pay. The suspension remains in effect until further action by the court. The high court last month refused the state Judicial Standards Commission's request to suspend Murphy.

Murphy, who was appointed judge in 2006, was indicted Friday on charges of demanding or receiving a bribe by a public employee; bribery of a public officer or employee; bribery, intimidation or retaliation against a witness; and criminal solicitation. He faces more than 10 years in prison.

According to a written report on the case by special prosecutor Matt Chandler, the district attorney of Clovis, Murphy told fellow Judge Lisa Schultz that applicants who wanted to be appointed to a judgeship should make weekly payments of cash in envelopes to Dona Aña County political fixer Edgar Lopez.

The report says Murphy told Schultz that Lopez would hand-deliver the envelopes to Richardson.

"That's how business is done nowadays," Murphy allegedly told another Las Cruces judge when discussing the alleged scheme.

Murphy was the only one indicted. Neither Richardson, who left office at the end of last year, nor Lopez have been charged with any crime. Efforts to reach Richardson and Lopez by both The New Mexican and The Associated Press were not successful.

Allegations of a pay-to-play system for judges raises the question of whether the practice extended beyond Doña Ana County. Chandler said Monday that he couldn't comment on that, but he added, "Law enforcement will continue to investigate no matter where it may lead."

"It's extremely disturbing to see the fabric of the judicial system to be penetrated the way it was with corruption," Gov. Susana Martinez, who was district attorney in Doña Ana County at the time the bribes allegedly took place, told reporters at a news conference Monday.

"The problem is that it appears that this process has been tampered with for quite some time, at least in Doña Ana County," Martinez said.

Martinez said there would have been a conflict with her office conducting an investigation of judges who hear her office's cases. So she brought in Chandler as a special prosecutor. Like Martinez, Chandler was on last year's state Republican ticket, running unsuccessfully for attorney general.

Martinez said she contacted the U.S. Department of Justice about the Murphy allegations. "They came into (Las Cruces) a couple of times and then were never heard from again," she said.

According to Chandler's report:

The case began after Beverly Singleman, a Las Cruces lawyer interested in a judgeship, met with Murphy and District Judge Jim Martin in September 2007 to see what she should do to be considered. Murphy did most of the talking. He told her she should join the Dennis Chavez Club — a Las Cruces Democratic Party organization named after the late U.S. senator. (According to the group's website, memberships cost between $120 and $1,200.)

Murphy also asked if Singleman could afford to make a "substantial contribution." When Singleman said she couldn't, Murphy advised her to make weekly payments to Lopez.

Singleman was bothered by the conversation. The next day, she told Schultz about it, and Schultz confronted Murphy. Schultz said Murphy confirmed what Singleman had said, and Schultz quoted Murphy saying, "Look, I'm not joking. You tell Beverly she had better make weekly payments to Edgar Lopez if she wants the next judgeship."

The report says, "Judge Murphy then said the best advice he could give Ms. Singleman was to tell her to put cash in an envelope and give it to Edgar Lopez."

Both Murphy and Martin told investigators they didn't remember the meeting with Singleman. Murphy denied telling her to give money to Lopez.

Lopez told investigators that he had "gained the appointments" for all the district judges. But he said usually judges don't give many campaign contributions because "they don't have money and they don't like giving."

Lopez was appointed by Richardson to the state Border Commission. Martinez removed him earlier this year, but she said Monday that was not connected to the Murphy investigation.

The governor on Monday said that one of the most shocking aspects of the case was that "many judges knew about it and did nothing. There is a judicial responsibility by law that if you know of unethical conduct or criminal conduct by another judge or a lawyer, you must report it."

Chandler's report mentions several judges with whom Schultz discussed the matter. One was Appeals Court Judge James Weschler, who told her that "too much time had passed since the selection and nothing could be done at this point."

Asked about that on Monday, Weschler told The New Mexican, "I can't comment on it."

Schultz said she also discussed it with retired Court of Appeals Judge Rudy Apodaca, who told her that's how the system worked and advised her to drop the matter or risk ruining her career, according to Chandler's report.

In statement emailed to The Associated Press, Apodaca said: "There are definitely express and implied inaccuracies in the investigative report's accounts of my conversations with Judge Schultz back in 2007. If called upon at any proceeding, I will tell what transpired based on my best recollection, which differs from what was reported."

Trip Jennings and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.

ON THE WEB

• The indictment of Judge Michael Murphy and prosecutor Matt Chandler's report can be found at www.scribd.com/doc/55557796/Murphy-Indictment-Report