Gov. Susana Martinez's nomination of Gregg Marcantel to be secretary of the Department of Corrections apparently hit a snag Monday when Sen. Linda Lopez, who chairs the committee responsible for investigating appointments, said a background check of Marcantel revealed potential problems.

Lopez, chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, said in a letter to Marcantel that the background check showed there were "three serious items related to misconduct," which occurred when Marcantel was a detective with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department and when he worked as a corrections officer in Louisiana before moving to New Mexico.

Lopez also said Marcantel failed to disclose these problems on a questionnaire for the background check.

A spokesman for Gov. Susana Martinez called Lopez's allegations a political smear job. Scott Darnell also said that Marcantel wants to have his confirmation hearing open to the public. However, Lopez said the meeting would be an executive session from which the public would be barred. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

Marcantel has been acting secretary of the Department of Corrections since November. He replaced Lupe Martinez, who resigned in August.

Documents sent with Lopez's news release Monday include a 1997 civil lawsuit in which Marcantel is named as a defendant. The suit centers on an informant who earned early release in exchange for information in a drug case; the man later pleaded guilty to raping two children.

The suit claims Marcantel, in 1995, was one of two detectives in charge of Michael Robinson, a confidential informant with a record of convictions for rape and kidnapping in Socorro and Albuquerque as well as a sex-crime conviction in Delaware. Robinson was released from custody in a marijuana case in exchange for informing about others in the drug case. A federal prosecutor, according to the suit, said Robinson would be no danger to the community because he would be in frequent contact with Marcantel and his partner.

But Robinson, after his release, raped two children. In 1997, he pleaded guilty to three charges of raping a child under 13, two charges of kidnapping and other felonies.

A 1998 court deposition by Marcantel in the Robinson case quotes Marcantel as saying that while he was working as a corrections officer in Louisiana, he was suspended twice for separate infractions.

In her letter to Marcantel, Lopez said these suspensions were not disclosed on Marcantel's background questionnaire.

"These items are in themselves very disconcerting," Lopez wrote. "Your failure to disclose them ... is also quite troubling and brings into question your ability to serve in the official capacity to which you have been appointed."

Darnell argued that Marcantel had done no wrong.

"The case Senator Lopez is using to smear Gregg Marcantel is the same case in which he was given the nation's 'Top Cop' award by the National Association of Police Organizations. In fact, Marcantel's actions were deemed so exemplary that he was invited to the White House as a result of the award by President Bill Clinton."

Darnell, in an email, also supplied a quote from Jim and Rita McGrane, the parents of slain Bernalillo County Sheriff's Deputy James McGrane Jr.

"Gregg Marcantel is a man of impeccable integrity who has dedicated his life to protecting our community," the McGranes said. "When our son was murdered in the line of duty, then Lt. Marcantel spearheaded the murder investigation and personally went to Mexico to take custody of Michael Paul Astorga. We know Gregg's character and are sad to learn that someone would personally attack him."

Marcantel is one of several Martinez Cabinet appointees waiting to be confirmed by the Senate. The Rules Committee on Monday recommended confirmation of Retta Ward as secretary of the Aging and Long-Term Services Department.

But hearings for other nominees have not been scheduled, even though the 30-day session is almost half over.

The other Cabinet nominees include Public Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera, Economic Development Secretary-designate Jon Barela; Tom Clifford at the Department of Finance and Administration; Arthur Allison at the Department of Indian Affairs; and John Bemis of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.

"We're trying to get things lined up," Lopez told a reporter. "Maybe next week."

Skandera and Barela both were nominated at the outset of Martinez's administration last year. Neither was given a hearing by the Rules Committee last year. Skandera is publicly opposed by The Independent Source PAC, a liberal political-action committee.

Lopez said the main holdup for the hearings has been the required background checks on the nominees.

But didn't Skandera and Barela get background checks last year?

"Yes, but those are only good for one year," Lopez said.

Before Lopez made public her concerns about Marcantel, Darnell, when asked about the fact that hearings for most of the appointees hadn't been scheduled, replied, "The governor's central concerns lie with reforming our education system and making New Mexico more competitive so that we can create jobs. Of course, the governor certainly believes it's important for the committee to hear these confirmations as soon as possible, and I think the people of New Mexico would expect that as well."

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