On May27, former APD Sargeant Lucas Perez, who was in charge of the DWI Unit, plead guilty to the single federal charge “conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by extortion under color of official right” for his involvement with the largest corruption and bribery scandal in the history of the Albuquerque Police Department and involving the state’s 3 largest law enforcement agencies of APD, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico State Police. Perez was among the officers who conspired to take bribes and dismiss DWI cases with criminal defense attorney Thomas Clear and his investigator Ricardo Mendez.  It was Clear and Mendez who were the ring leaders and who orchestrated a massive scheme to pay officers to fail to appear in court in order to get DWI cases dismissed.

In his plea agreement, Perez admits to having been paid cash bribes. Perez says this in his plea agreement:

“I further admit that I was aware that other conspiring officers similarly coordinated with Clear and Mendez to intentionally fail to appear as required at DWI-related settings.  … [I] understood that Clear and Mendez also provided non-cash rewards to DWI officers, such as Christmas gifts and free legal services. … I understand and admit that this generational participation, particularly within APD, allowed the conspiracy to take root among almost the entire APD DWI unit over a lengthy period of time. ”

According to the  Perez plea agreement, it was former APD Officer Nelson Ortiz  who recruited Perez to participate in the bribery  scheme. On March 24, former APD officer Nelson Ortiz admitted to his role in the DWI Enterprise bribery scandal and pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Interference With Commerce By Extortion Under Color of Official Right. He faces 20 years in prison.

It has been reported that the DWI bribery and corruption scheme lasted 30 years and involved much of the DWI Unit and over the years officers were recruited to join in on the scheme to accept bribes.

Perez joined APD  in 2016. He served in the DWI Unit from 2018 until March 24 when APD placed him on leave after he was implicated in the corruption scandal. Perez  was the sergeant in charge of the division.

Links to quoted or relied upon news sources are here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/former-apd-officer-pleads-guilty-in-dwi-deception-scandal/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=onsite&utm_campaign=recommended

https://www.krqe.com/news/crime/former-apd-officer-pleads-guilty-to-his-role-in-dwi-dismissal-scandal/

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-police-sergeant-federal-charges-dwi/64896562

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_71675280-3188-41de-99dc-453da4eb745c.html

HOW DWI ENTERPRISE WORKED

According to criminal complaints, indictments and plea agreements filed in Federal District Court by the New Mexico United States Attorney and the US Department of Justice, the DWI Enterprise scheme was very simple and straight forward. Arresting officers would give contact information on motorists they arrested to Mendez and Clear. In exchange, the officers would receive cash, gifts and legal services and intentionally fail to show up to required pretrial interviews, court hearings. They would also withhold evidence in cases where the suspects hired Clear. Clear would then file motions to dismiss the charges, and judges had no choice but to dismiss the cases for “lack of prosecution” as a sanction against the prosecution.

Clients whose cases were dismissed would typically pay more in legal fees of between $5,000 and $10,000 depending on if the charges were DWI, aggravated DWI other charges in addition to DWI. Law enforcement officers would be recruited by Clear and Mendez to participate in the scheme over many years. The conspirators would also profile people as to their ability to pay higher fees. Defense attorneys customarily charge between $3,000 and $6,000 to defend DWI cases depending on if the case is a person’s first, second, third or even fourth offense, misdemeanor or felony DWI. There is no charge if a defendant  qualifies and is defended by the Public Defender’s Office.

DWI CORRUPTION AND BRIBERY SCORE CARD

A total of nineteen (19) law enforcement officers have resigned, retired, been terminated or federally charged or indicted since the FBI executed five searches in January 2024 at three APD  officers’ residences, the home of a private investigator, and the law office of prominent DWI attorney Thomas Clear III. Fifteen APD Officers, three  Bernalillo County Sherriff Officers and one New Mexico State Police Sergeant thus far have been implicated in the corruption, bribery and racketeering enterprise. Following is the score card thus far:

SIX APD COPS AND ONE BERNALILLO COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFF PLEAD GUILTY AS CHARGED

Six APD officers and one Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Deputy have now plead guilty to taking bribes and they are:

1. On February 7, 2025 former APD Officer Honorio Alba plead guilty to racketeering, bribery, extortion and conspiracy.(Article link: Took a plea deal on February 7, 2025.)
2. On February 7,  former APD Officer Joshua Montaño plead guilty as charge to  racketeering, bribery, extortion and conspiracy.(Article link: Took a plea deal on February 7, 2025.)
3. On February 12, former APD Officer Neill Elsman plead guilty as charged  to 5  counts of  conspiracy, extortion, and bribery.  ( February 12, 2025.)
4. On March 24, former APD officer Nelson Ortiz admitted to his role in the DWI Enterprise bribery scandal and pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Interference With Commerce By Extortion Under Color of Official Right. He faces 20 years in prison.
5. On April 29, former APD Police Officer Harvey Johnson plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit “Interference With Commerce By Extortion Under Color Of Official Right”. He is facing 20 years in jail.
6. On May 27, Lucas Perez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by extortion under color of official right. It was on March 24, that APD announced it  has  placed Lucas Perez  on leave as a part of its internal investigation into its DWI unit and the federal investigation. Perez has been with the department since 2016 and served in the DWI unit to become the unit sergeant.
7. On February 25, 2025  BCSO Deputy Jeff Hammerel resigned from BCSO and  plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, two counts of extortion and two counts of bribery. (Took a plea deal on February 25, 2025.)

TWO RING LEADERS PLEAD GUILTY AS CHARGED

Former DWI Criminal defense attorney Thomas Clear III and his investigator Ricardo “Rick” Mendez have  plead guilty as charged to paying bribes to law enforcement to get their client’s DWI cases get dismissed.

On January 24, Ricardo “Rick” Mendez, 53, the investigator for attorney Thomas Clear III, plead guilty to all the charges contained in the criminal Information including racketeering, bribery of an agent receiving federal funds, aiding and abetting, interference with commerce by extortion under color of official right and to conspiracy. Mendez is facing 110 years in prison on the charges. On April 29  Ricardo “Rick” Mendez was scheduled to be sentenced connection with the DWI scandal. In a surprise move on the day of his sentencing it was simply vacated by the federal court. The  likely reason for the delay is that Mendez is likely providing new information about the DWI scandal and identifying more suspects to be charge.

On February 12, DWI defense attorney Thomas Clear III, 67 plead guilty as charged to nine federal charges including racketeering (RICO) conspiracy, bribery, and extortion. Clear faces up to 130 years in prison and $2 million in fines. Clear admits in his Plea Agreement that for nearly 30 years he led a criminal racketeering enterprise that paid off generations of law enforcement officers to get his clients’ DWI cases thrown out. Clear admits to running the “DWI Enterprise” since at least 1995. The DWI Enterprise scheme was run out of Clear’s law office.

According to Clear’s plea agreement, prior to 2022, Clear and his investigator Ricardo “Rick” Mendez would arrange for officers to intentionally fail to appear at required pretrial interviews involving DWI offenders the officers arrested. Clear would file motions to dismiss the proceedings, claiming the officers were necessary witnesses who didn’t show up as required. The courts would dismiss the cases as a sanction against the prosecution.  Clear has been permanently disbarred from the practice of law by the New Mexico Supreme Court and the Federal Court and a forfeiture action against a home Clear used as his offices has been taken as an asset and as part of the racketeering charge

NINETEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FROM 3 AGENCIES IMPLICATED

A total of nineteen (19) law enforcement officers have resigned, retired, been terminated or federally charged or indicted since the FBI executed five searches in January 2024 at three APD  officers’ residences, the home of a private investigator, and the law office of prominent DWI attorney Thomas Clear III. Fifteen APD Officers, three  Bernalillo County Sherriff Officers and one New Mexico State Police Sergeant thus far have been implicated in the bribery racketeering enterprise.

15 APD OFFICERS IMPLICATED, CHARGED OR PLEAD GUILTY

During the past year, a total of 15 APD Police officers have been implicated in the largest corruption scandal in APD’s history. APD Commander Kyle Hartsock is overseeing the Internal Affairs  investigations. One by one, the accused APD officers have been turning in their badges and resigning or retiring  rather than talking to Internal Affairs investigators about an alleged public corruption scheme involving DWI cases. The names and dates of the 15 officers who have resigned, placed on leave, who have been terminated, retired, charged or plead guilty are:

1. On February 7, 2024 Justin Hunt, who started at APD in 2000, resigned.
2. On February 29, 2024, Honorio Alba, who started at APD in 2014, resigned. On February 7, 2025 he plead guilty to racketeering, bribery, extortion and conspiracy.(Article link: Took a plea deal on February 7, 2025.)
3. On March 13, 2024, Harvey Johnson, who started at APD in 2014, resigned.
4. On March 15, 2024, Nelson Ortiz, who started at APD in 2016, resigned. On March 24, Nelson Ortiz  admitted to his role in the DWI Enterprise bribery scandal and  plead guilty in federal court to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Interference With Commerce By Extortion Under Color of Official Right. He faces 20 years in prison.
5. On March 20, 2024 Joshua Montaño, who started at APD January 2005, resigned. On Friday, February 8, Montaño plead guilty as charge to  racketeering, bribery, extortion and conspiracy. (Article link: Took a plea deal on February 7, 2025.)
6. On May 2, 2024 Daren DeAguero, who started with APD in 2009, resigned.
7. On May 9, 2024, Matthew Trahan was placed on paid leave as the investigation played out. Trahan has been with APD since 2006, was with the DWI unit from 2014-16 and recently worked as a detective.
8. On July 30, 2024 APD Officer Neill Elsman, who had worked in the DWI unit within the past several years, resigned before returning to work from military leave. On February 12, Elsman plead guilty as charged  to 5  counts of  conspiracy, extortion, and bribery. (Article: February 12, 2025.)
9. On August 1, APD announced that it fired Mark Landavazo, the APD Commander of Internal Affairs for Professional Standards, who started with APD in  2007 and was with the DWI unit from 2008 through 2013.
10. October 16, Deputy Commander Gustavo Gomez placed on paid administrative leave. Gomez was with the DWI unit from 2010 to 2013.
11. On January 24, 2025 APD announced they placed officers Matthew Chavez on leave.
12. On February 28, Kyle Curtis announced his retirement after he was placed on leave on February 24 amid being targeted in the Internal investigation involving DWI arrests.
13. In 2022, Timothy McCarson retired from the Albuquerque Police Department  and he has been implicated in the DWI scandal. The last week of January, 2025,  the FBI asked that he be added to the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office‘s Giglio list, which classifies potential court testimony as unreliable.
14. On May 12, former APD officer Steve Hindi was placed on the Giglio list of officers whose credibility is compromised after being implicated in the scandal.
15. On May 27, Lucas Perez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by extortion under color of official right. On March 24, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) announce it  has  placed Lucas Perez on leave as a part of its internal investigation into its DWI unit and the federal investigation. Perez has been with the department since 2016 and served in the DWI unit to become the unit sergeant.

THREE BERNALILLO COUNTY SHERRIFF DEPUTIES IMPLICATED

The names and dates of the 3 BCSO  officers who have resigned or placed on leave by Sherriff John Allen or who have plead guilty to charges are:

1. On February 25, 2025  BCSO Deputy Jeff Hammerel resigned from BCSO and  plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, two counts of extortion and two counts of bribery.
2. On February 24, 2025, BCSO Undersheriff Johann Jareno was asked to resign by  Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen.
3. March 7^th, Deputy Jeffry Bartram was placed on leave on after early findings that he may have been involved in the scheme. He has been with BCSO since February 2010 and was on the BCSO DWI Unit from July 2014 to August 2020.

 ONE MEXICO STATE POLICE OFFICER

On February 14, 2025 the New Mexico State Police announced it placed Sgt. Toby LaFave on administrative leave after he was implicated by the FBI as accepting bribes in the DWI Enterprise to dismiss cases.  Sgt. Toby LaFave is on paid leave as the agency does its own internal investigation into allegations. LaFave was featured for years in state ENDWI campaigns and was referred to as the DWI King.

LaFave, who joined State Police in 2012, said in an online public service promotion video that he has made 3,000 arrests during his 20 years in law enforcement. Court records show LaFave has filed at least 1,300 felony and misdemeanor DWI cases from 2009 to February, 2025. Of the 31 DWI cases where LaFave was the arresting officer and Clear was the defense attorney, 17, or 57%, were dismissed by the courts.

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_97483524-eb17-11ef-9c15-8320a7b16191.htm/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

There is absolutely no doubt that APD’s reputation has been trashed to a major extent because of this scandal. APD is viewed by many as again having just another bastion of “dirty and corrupt cops” who have brought dishonor to their department and their badge and to the department’s professed values of “Pride, Integrity, Fairness and Respect”.  There is little doubt that this whole DWI dismissal bribery scandal has shaken the public’s faith in our criminal justice system and APD to its core especially with the involvement of the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office BCSO and New Mexico State Police Officers.

The only way that any semblance of faith can be restored and for people to begin trusting APD and law enforcement in general again is if all the police officers involved in this scandal are held accountable and the lawyers involved are held accountable. That will only happen with aggressive prosecutions, convictions, and lengthy prison sentences for the law enforcement officers and attorneys involved in the “DWI Enterprise” scheme. Justice will not be served until all are charged and sentenced.