On June 23, Former APD officer Louis Henckel pleaded guilty in federal court, admitting to his role in the conspiracy with criminal defense attorney Thomas Clear and his paralegal Ricardo Mendez to accept bribes to get DWI cases dismissed. Henckel plead guilty to one count of “conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by extortion under color of official right.” The maximum penalty is up to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.
Henckel’s involvement occurred over a six-month period in 2020. Henckel said he was paid the equivalent of the overtime he would have made in court to not show up and the case was dismissed. In one case, Henckel said he accepted money to skip the trial of DWI offender who was the girlfriend of another DWI officer involved in the bribery and extortion scheme.
According to Henckel’s plea agreement, the amount he received was at least the “equivalent of my overtime I missed out on for not attending, which would have been $90 per hearing at which I intentionally failed to appear.” The woman’s DWI case was ultimately dismissed after Henckel failed to appear at her trial. Henckel said that when he didn’t appear as required, he knew the case would likely be dismissed
Henckel’s plea agreement states that beginning in January 2020, and continuing until July 2, 2020, he joined other officers in Clear’s scheme. As an arresting officer in DWI cases, he was a necessary witness in court hearings and interviews. DWI offenders he arrested would be solicited by Clear and Mendez as clients. The clients would be both aware and unaware of the scheme.
Henckel admitted he would be paid in cash to agree not to perform his duties on the DWI cases and was also provided non-cash rewards such as restaurant gift cards and free legal advice. In his plea agreement he states:
“I understood that these gifts, while not tied to a particular case, were given to DWI officers to develop goodwill.”
Court records show Clear was the defense attorney on seven of Henckel’s cases, and at least five of those were dismissed by a Metro Court judge as a sanction against the state.
The case is 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.
A total of nineteen (19) law enforcement officers have resigned, retired, been terminated or federally charged or indicted since the FBI executed five search warrants 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.
Henckel was terminated by APD in April 2021 and prior to the investigation into DWI officers. He was hired by APD in 2008 and worked in the DWI unit from 2017 to 2019. He was later terminated by APD in 2021 for violating policies related to truthfulness. The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office added Henckel to the Brady-Giglio disclosure list which red flags sworn police as not being credible witnesses in court.
Seven former APD officers who have left or been terminated from the department have plead guilty to federal charges for their roles in the DWI conspiracy. They are Neill Elsman, Honorio Alba, Joshua Montaño, Nelson Ortiz, Harvey Johnson, Lucas Perez and Louis Henckel. Former BCSO deputy Jeff Hammerel also pleaded guilty to federal charges. In total, eight law enforcement officers have pleaded guilty.
The links to relied upon or quoted news sources are here:
https://abqraw.com/post/seventh-former-apd-dwi-officer-pleads-guilty-in-dwi-case-dismissal-scheme/
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_05c64ccf-3d93-4b9f-803a-f57075a39106.html
FORMER COP JOSHUA MONTANO STRIPPED OF LAW ENFORCMEMENT LICENSE
On Thursday, June 12, former Albuquerque Police Officer Joshua Montano agreed to relinquish his right to be a certified police officer in New Mexico and he was officially stripped of his law enforcement certificate by the NM Law Enforcement Certification Board (LECB ). Joshua Montaño was one of the first officers to admit his own guilt in federal court back in February to RICO conspiracy, bribery, and conspiracy to commit extortion.
The LECB formally accepted a proposed settlement with Montaño. They voted unanimously to accept Montaño’s relinquishment of his law enforcement certification, rather than revoking it. The LECB went into a closed session for three hours during the meeting to discuss officer discipline matters, including Montaño’s.
Members of the media and of the public were initially allowed to be present to hear part of the meeting. The LECB then went into “closed session” for three hours to discuss officer discipline matters, including Montaño’s, where the news media and the public were not allowed to attend in that personnel matters and disciplinary matters were the subject of the meeting and a final vote. When the board members returned to the open meeting, it was a short vote with neither Montaño nor his attorney there for the formality.
Montaño started working for the City of Albuquerque as a Police Service Aide in 2005 before becoming a sworn officer in 2007. He worked in APD’s DWI unit from 2015 through 2024.
Joshua Montano was highlighted in a case where Montaño was shown using a DWI suspect’s bracelet to connect the driver with a defense attorney’s office who then offered a guaranteed case dismissal for a price.
Montaño is the first officer connected to the scheme to be officially stripped of his certification. So far, there are seven law enforcement officers who’ve taken plea deals in federal court for their roles in the DWI corruption scheme.
https://www.krqe.com/news/investigations/former-officer-in-dwi-scheme-relinquishes-certification/
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.