It's a scandal that's rocked the city of Sunland Park and caused state and federal involvement. KFOX14 has been covering the turmoil in Sunland Park from the very beginning.

The problems started when Sunland Park's former mayor, Martin Resendiz, stopped coming to the office, but kept collecting a paycheck. He abandoned his duties once it was revealed he allegedly signed city contracts while drunk.

Then Mayor Pro-Tem Daniel Salinas threw his hat into the mayoral race. His main opponent was Gerardo Hernandez, who was later videotaped getting a lap dance from a topless dancer.

KFOX14 was the very first to break this development in February when a member of Salinas' campaign staff gave KFOX14 a copy of the video. Salinas denied having anything to do with it when we spoke to him Feb. 22.

"It just fell into our hands," Salinas said.

Two days after our story aired, Salinas was arrested on extortion charges along with former city manager Jaime Aguilera and later the city's public information officer, Arturo Alba.

The state claims Salinas and other city workers hired a stripper from Mexico and then threatened Hernandez by saying they would release the tape if he didn't drop out of the race.

Dona Ana County District Attorney Amy Orlando said the state has video proof of Salinas' involvement.

"It shows Mr. Salinas taking a laptop in and then something being somewhat downloaded or transferred to Mr. Aguileras' computer and then the still picture that was ultimately delivered to Mr. Hernandez," Orlando said. "A small group of people are trying to control Sunland Park."

After bonding out and winning the election despite the charges against him, Salinas was arrested again -- this time on bribery charges.

Salinas is accused of giving former acting police chief Luis Monarez his job after Monarez convinced his sister not to run against a Salinas supporter in the city council race.

Salinas was also brought up on two different sets of charges for receiving illegal kickbacks and violating ethical principals as a public servant. In all, he now faces 33 counts and he has pleaded not guilty to all of them.

"I don't know that we've ever seen this before or experienced this before," Gov. Susana Martinez said.

Professor Greg Rocha teaches political science at UTEPand said that small towns like Sunland Park operate on a much more personal level than bigger cities like El Paso or Las Cruces.

Rocha said officials are often elected because they're well connected in the community, and while he believes most small town officials try their best to fulfill their duties, the corrupt ones tend to believe no one is watching.

"I think that's probably the symptom of what can take place when there's really not much oversight," Rocha said.

"There's just been a lot of allegations against me," Salinas said March 6 when he won the election. "I just want them to know I'm going to work for them to gain their trust."

Salinas ended up losing his seat as mayor because he wasn't allowed on city property and couldn't be sworn in. That left City Council responsible for appointing a new mayor, a task that proved to be easier said than done.

City Council had to cancel the first meeting to appoint a mayor because it couldn't fit everyone inside.

When council members held a new meeting and actually appointed 24-year-old Javier Perea, the New Mexico attorney general's office said they violated state law and had to do it all over again.

They even failed during a third attempt when Mayor Pro-Tem Isabel Santos abruptly left the meeting and fired the city clerk, Liz Gamez

Finally, there was a fourth try Monday when council members decided to postpone the appointment altogether.

"Frankly, local governments here just don't have the resources to monitor things to make sure procedures are followed properly," Rocha said.

But state involvement can help those leaders get back on track, and in an unprecedented move, the state will be supervising the city's finances.

Based on the recommendation of the state auditor's 80-page report, the Department of Finance and Administration has stepped in to help the city get back on track.

Still, Rocha admitted the scars from the unfolding controversy in the small town will likely make it hard for residents to fully gain trust back in their leaders.

"It's very easy to understand how somebody can be bitter and withdraw from even thinking about government and politics," Rocha said.