The federal bribery and conspiracy case to dismiss DWI cases is as corrupt and scandalous as it gets. 15 APD officers, 3 Sherriff Deputies, and 1 State Police Officer have been implicated accepting bribes to get cases dismissed in the largest bribery and conspiracy case in the city’s history. Six APD Cops, One Bernalillo County Deputy Sherriff and prominent criminal defense attorney Thomas Clear, III and his investigator Ricardo “Rick” Mendez, the 2 ring leaders in the federal DWI Enterprise scheme, have plead guilty as charged to bribery and racketeering involving our 3 largest law enforcement agencies. All nine who have plead guilty have yet to be sentenced. Depending on the charges they plead to, each are facing between 70 and 130 years in prison.
The prosecution approaches the FBI and the United States Attorney have taken has been very “piecemeal” over the last year. There was no single indictment nor series of indictments of the defendants. Because there have been no trials and no sentencings, the public and the media have essentially been kept in the dark and relegated to reviewing and reporting on the contents of plea agreements filed in the cases to figure out what has been going on.
TURNOVERS THAT COULD AFFECT CASE
There is no guarantee the prosecutions will in fact continue because of the turnover in the New Mexico United States Attorney’s Office as well as the FBI.
On February 14 U.S. Attorney for New Mexico Alexander Uballez resigned at the request of President Trump. Rather than charging all the those implicated in the case that the FBI had evidence on as he should have, Uballez “cherry picked” the 5 most egregious cases and negotiated plea agreements before he was fired by Trump. None of the defendants who plead guilty have been sentenced. Uballez himself said that the way the case has been handled was not normal. Uballez said this:
The way we are approaching this very unique case is very different. … Typically, defendants are charged all at once and the resolution of their cases in court can take months.
There is really nothing “very unique” about the case as Uballez claims. It is a straightforward bribery of law enforcement case. It is a very typical federal racketeering case involving multiple defendants, multiple victims, and relying on a paper trail and relying on whoever the FBI can identify as victims and securing their testimony.
Public corruption cases, even involving law enforcement, are still proven by following the money and the paper trail and identifying the victims. Because there was no single indictment of all defendants together as is usually the case with racketeering cases, there is a real chance that all those who have been implicated will not be charged.
Uballez has never said why he did not let his successor make the decision on charging all suspects. He still could have charged all defendants at once, negotiated the 5 plea deals and the prosecution of the case would be going forward against the remaining suspects assuring some sort of justice being served upon the entire bastion of corrupt cops. Instead Uballez rushed to plead the central figures in the case likely to preserve his own legacy in the case and so he could declare victory.
On April 19, Alexander Uballez announced he is running for Albuquerque Mayor leading to widespread speculation that the real motive for him to plead out the 5 cases was to protect his legacy on the case and to allow him to take a victory lap to generate publicity for his impending candidacy for Mayor.
On April 18, Ryan Ellison was appointed the new United States Attorney for New Mexico. Ellison made no mention when he was sworn in if he will continue with the aggressive prosecution of the Federal DWI Enterprise bribery Case. What Ellison did say was “the United States Attorney’s Office will do its part to stem the unlawful flow of people and drugs into our country”.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/ryan-ellison-appointed-united-states-attorney-district-new-mexico
https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/new-u-s-attorney-appointed-for-state-of-new-mexico/
https://www.koat.com/article/ryan-ellison-named-us-attorney-for-district-of-new-mexico/64542873
On May 23, Ellison announced the appointment of his new executive leadership team including his First Assistant and those who will be in charged of the Criminal, Civil, and Administrative Divisions of the office. Ellison again reiterated the office’s top two priorities of public safety and a secure U.S. border. The NM United States Attorney’s office has the highest case load of deportations in the country.
US Attorney Ellison is concentrating on Trump’s Executive Order to prosecute and deport people in the country illegally. Ellison when announcing his executive staff again made no mention if his office will continue with the aggressive prosecution of the Federal DWI Enterprise bribery Case and if the investigation is yielding additional defendants.
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_ad80efdc-2f72-403a-90f2-378f98c9ae79.html
On April 29, Raul Bujanda, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Albuquerque, left his position. The lead agency investigating the DWI bribery and corruption scandal is the FBI. No replacement has been announced. It’s unknown what his departure means for the DWI bribery and corruption case.
https://www.krqe.com/digital-shows/insiders/leader-of-albuquerque-fbi-steps-down/
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
President Trump’s Executive Orders mandate the Department of Justice to concentrate on prosecuting and deporting the undocumented in the country and closing the US-Mexican border.
The likely impact on the DWI Enterprise prosecutions with the appointment of a new US Attorney and departure of the FBI Special Agent can not be overemphasized given Trumps Executive Orders. No assurances have been made by either US Attorney Ellison nor the FBI what will now happen to the case or if even more defendants will be identified and charged. Both could decide the case has run its course. Both could decide to do nothing given the priorities of both offices have changed dramatically on a national level.
The NM United States Attorney and the FBI have no obligation to tell the public what will now happen to the largest bribery and corruption case in Albuquerque’s history, but the public should be told and the public has a right to know. Both the US Attorney and the FBI should not keep the public guessing and announce to the public that the case is going forward with more prosecutions expected and even more defendants to be identified.
There is no doubt that APD’s reputation has been trashed to a major extent because of the bribery 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 to their badges. 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 prison sentences for the law enforcement officers and attorneys involved in the “DWI Enterprise” scheme.
Links to two related blog articles are here: