This article explores the topic of how former US Attorney Alexander Uballez prosecuted the largest bribery and conspiracy case in APD’s history to his political benefit. It highlights and analyzes how a letter Uballez wrote to District Attorney Sam Bregman was released to the media and “outed” the covert federal investigation placing the investigation in jeopardy. The article explores the 5 federal plea agreements Uballez negotiated in the case and explores the politcal rational for his rush job to bring the case to fruition. On April 19, Alexander Uballez announced he is running for Mayor of Albuquerque emphasizing his credentials as a prosecutor and for that reason a review of how Uballez handled the case is in order.

BRIBERY AND CONSPIRACY CASE TO DISMISS DWI CASES

It was on Friday January 19, 2024 that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed search warrants and raided the homes of 3 Albuquerque Police officers and the home and law offices of prominent DWI criminal defense attorney Thomas Clear, III and his investigator Ricardo “Rick” Mendez. All those targeted with a search warrant are accused of being involved in a bribery and conspiracy scheme to dismiss hundreds of DWI cases that preyed on citizens and essentially extorted money from them.

Over the last year and four months, the investigation has evolved into the single largest law enforcement corruption case in the city’s history involving APD, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico State Police.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman has had to dismiss more than 272 DWI cases involving law enforcement officers linked to the federal case and due to police officer credibility being called into question in the cases where they made the DWI arrests and would be witnesses in the cases.

More than a year into their investigation, the FBI continues to seek out those who participated in the near 30-year criminal enterprise in which law enforcement officers coordinated with defense attorney Thomas Clear, III and his investigator Ricardo “Rick” Mendez to get drunken driving cases thrown out of court by paying bribes to arresting officers.

A total of twenty-two (22) suspects have been implicated. Three (3) are attorneys Thomas Clear and Rudy Chavez, and Clear’s investigator Rick Mendez.  Nineteen (19) are law enforcement officers who resigned, retired, been terminated or federally charged or indicted since the FBI executed five searches in January 2024.  Fifteen (15) APD Officers, three (3) Bernalillo County Sherriff Officers and one (1) New Mexico State Police Sergeant thus far have been implicated in the bribery racketeering enterprise.

US Attorney Alexander Uballez for the District of New Mexico was responsible for the bringing of all charges based upon the federal case investigation by the FBI and the evidence gathered. He only charged five.

OUTING A COVERT FEDERAL INVESTIGATION

On January 25, 2024 the online news agency ABQ Raw erroneously reported:

“We received a letter from U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez, who serves as the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, addressed to Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman.  …”

The language underlined is to emphasize the erroneous report that it was Uballez who sent the letter to ABQ Raw. (A screen shot of the original article has been taken.) ABQ Raw published the image of the Uballez January 25, 2024 letter to Bregman written on United States Attorney letter head. The Uballez letter to Bregman  does not have any disclaimer from Uballez that his letter is “confidential/not for distribution to public or media.”

On April 22, 2025, after over a full year, ABQ Raw ran a three-word correction to its original story after it received a complaint from a confidential source. The correction to the original article reads “We received from a source a letter from U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez, who serves as the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, addressed to Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman”.  The correction addition is under lined for clarity.

The link to the ABQ Raw corrected article publishing the Uballez letter to DA Bregman is here:

https://abqraw.com/post/u-s-attorney-of-new-mexico-sends-letter-to-da-bregman-regarding-dwi-scandal/

THE UBALLEZ LETTER TO BREGMAN

The letter Uballez sent to Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman is dated January 25, 2024, it bears the Seal of the Department of Justice and  the letter head reads “Office of the United States for the District of New Mexico”.  The letter written states in full as follows:

January 25, 2024

Sam Bregman

District Attorney

Second Judicial District Attorney’ Office

520 Lomas Boulevard Northwest

Albuquerque, New Mexico   87102

delivered via email to sam.bregman@da2nd.state.nm.us

Dear District Attorney Bregman,

I want to thank you for your continued cooperation with the pending federal investigation into the alleged wrongdoing by certain Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officers and others. The insight and knowledge provided by you and your staff have been invaluable to my office and will continue to be critical to the success of our ongoing efforts.

On January 2,  2024, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District Of New Mexico, informed your office that an ongoing and covert, federal  investigation involving the APD had identified information which would implicate your office’s responsibilities pursuant to Giglio vs. United States.  On that date, we also provided the names of four affected officers to your office.  Given that this investigation is ongoing, I appreciate your understanding that the US Attorney’s Office is unable to share with you  — or any other person who is not a part of the federal investigation – any further details.

I well understand the criminal justice equities at stake in [a] system that relies upon the credibility of witnesses. Know that we will continue to inform you when we uncover information which would implicate your office’s Constitutional responsibilities.

Our current secrecy on this matter, however, protects the integrity of the ongoing investigation and ensures that we hold accountable all those who have done wrong while wearing a badge. I know that you and the community share this goal. I appreciate your continued cooperation and patience as we continue to move this important investigation forward.

                                                                Respectfully,                                                                                                                      alexander m.m. uballez  (All lower caps)

ABQ Raw was not the only news outlet that an unidentified source sent the Uballez letter to. On January 25, 2024 KOB 4 staff reporter Feliz Romero reported on the letter, but did not publish it and only referred to it when he reported in part as follows:

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office told KOB 4 they cannot confirm or deny that other agencies are involved.  But in his letter to Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez left the door open to other agencies or officers being involved, saying ‘know that we will continue to inform you when we uncover information.’ ”

The link to the full KOB report is here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/are-other-agencies-involved-in-the-alleged-dwi-corruption-scandal/

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY OF THE UBALLEZ LETTER TO BREGMAN RELEASED TO MEDIA

The reason why the January 25, 2024 letter is so critical is that it leaves no doubt that the letter outed the FBI federal DWI Enterprise investigation. The letter placed into jeopardy the federal investigation of APD when the letter was distributed to the media and made public. It is more likely than not that the letter tipped off more than a few defendants.

In the letter Uballez sent to Bregman, Uballez states clearly the investigation is a “covert, federal investigation.” The Uballez letter to Bregman  does not have any disclaimer from Uballez that his letter is “confidential/not for distribution to public or media.”  The Uballez letter sent to Bregman and then released to the media and published by ABQ Raw undermined the confidentiality of the criminal investigation for publicity sake and for political purposes.

Uballez sending the letter to Bregman with the letter subsequently published by ABQ Raw was a serious breach of strict Department of Justice (DOJ) protocol of not commenting on pending investigations and prosecutions. At the time of publication of the letter, Bregman was running for District Attorney in the Democratic primary against former United States Attorney Damon Martinez. The purpose of the letter appears to be a violation of established Department Of Justice (DOJ) ethical standards and guidelines which would be determined by the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) or the DOJ Office of Inspector General if a complaint were filed.

Bregman was also under severe criticism by APD Chief Harold Medina for the DA’s office failure to advise APD of scheduled hearings thereby facilitating the dismissal of DWI cases and the bribery scheme. APD Chief Harold Medina accused DA Bregman’s office for being responsible for the dismissal of DWI cases.The Uballez letter to Bregman effectively diffused the criticism APD made against DA Bregman.

The Uballez letter to Bregman and then sent to the media resulted in the insertion of the United States Attorney office into political activity which is strictly prohibited by the Federal Hatch Act. (5 U.S. Code § 7323 (a) and 7324 (a) – Political activity authorized; prohibitions).  The Federal Hatch Act restricts the political activity of federal employees. It prohibits them from using their official authority or influence to interfere with elections, engage in partisan political activity on duty, or “use government resources for political purposes.” The law aims to ensure a non-partisan federal workforce.

A link to review the Hatch Act is here:

https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-5-government-organization-and-employees/5-usc-sect-7323.html

The DOJ’s Justice Management Division considers all United States Attorneys to be “restricted” employees for Hatch Act purposes and they may not use government resources for political purposes or their official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of an election.

A guide to the Hatch Act for federal employees on who it applies to is here:

Click to access A%20Guide%20to%20the%20Hatch%20Act%20for%20Federal%20Employees.pdf

The media will not disclose who released the letter to them because it would be considered revealing a confidential news source.

UBALLEZ NEGOTIATES 5 PLEA AGREEMENTS DAYS AFTER TRUMP SWORN IN AS PRESIDRNT AND BEFORE TRUMP FIRES HIM

Uballez’s biggest claim to fame as US Attorney was bringing federal charges against three former APD officers and the two ring leaders involved in the DWI bribery and conspiracy scandal to dismiss hundreds of DWI cases and securing five plea agreements in the case. It’s unknown just how long the FBI investigation went on before the search warrants were executed on January 19, 2024. The investigation became very public on January 19, 2024 when the FBI executed search warrants and raided the homes of 3 Albuquerque Police officers and the home and law offices of prominent DWI criminal defense attorney Thomas Clear, III and his investigator Ricardo “Rick” Mendez.

During the  entire year after the search warrants were executed on January 19, 2024, the public and the 3 law enforcement agencies implicated were very confused or left in the dark as to how the investigation was progressing, so much so that Bernalillo County Sherriff John Allen complained about the investigation and said this:

“I don’t agree with how the investigation is going. There’s too many leaks, too many conversations, too many interviews, and too much stuff coming out.”

https://www.krqe.com/news/crime/albuquerque-police-department-dwi-investigation/bernalillo-cou

The public wondered what was taking so long to bring charges and why the FBI and the United States Attorney were dragging their feet on bringing charges. That all changed when Donald Trump was elected President on November 4, 2024 and sworn into office on January 20, 2025.

A year after the search warrants were executed, the FBI finally turned over evidence in the case to U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez that allowed him to bring charges before Uballez was fired by Trump.

RICARDO “RICK” MENDEZ PLEA AGREEMENT

It was on January 24, 2025, a mere 5 days after Trump was sworn in as President, and after over a full year of investigation by the FBI and the Department of Justice, a federal Criminal Information charging document was filed against Ricardo “Rick” Mendez, 53, the private investigator for attorney Thomas Clear III. The 8 count criminal Information contains 1 count of a RICO Conspiracy, 5 counts of Bribery of an Agent of an Organization Receiving Federal Funds, 1 Count of Interference With Commerce by Extortion Under Color of Official Action; Aiding and Abetting and 1 Count of Conspiracy To Commit Interference With Commerce By Extortion Under Color of Official Right

A spokeswoman for the New Mexico United States Attorney’s Office issued a statement on the Mendez case and said this:

“The investigation remains active and ongoing. At this time, we are not in a position to comment on potential future legal proceedings or individuals who may be involved.”

For the entire year of the investigation, United States Attorney Alexander Uballez remained stone silent on the investigation. On January 24 Uballez broke his silence in an interview with KRQE and he said this:

“…This is just the beginning of publicly holding people accountable. …  This is proof first of all, that it happened. And it’s an opportunity for those … who are involved, those who are witnesses, those who are victims to come forward, come to the table. It really is never too late to do the right thing. So our call today is to those who are still out there to pick up the phone and to come in.” 

https://www.krqe.com/news/crime/this-is-clearly-just-the-beginning-new-mexicos-u-s-attorney-on-dwi-scandal-charges/

FORMER APD OFFICERS HONORIO ALBA JR. AND JOSHUA MONTAÑO PLEAD GUILTY AS CHARGED

On Friday, February 8, 2025, a mere six days before Trump fired Uballez, former APD Officers Honorio Alba Jr. and Joshua Montaño were arraigned in U.S. District Court on federal charges and entered guilty pleas of guilty. Both Montaño and Alba plead guilty to racketeering, bribery, extortion and conspiracy-related charges and face potentially 130 years in prison.

Alba and Montaño plead guilty to the charges two weeks after a Ricardo “Rick” Mendez plead guilty to 1 count of racketeering, 5 counts of bribery, 1 count of extortion, aiding and abetting and 1 count of conspiracy. The APD officers allegedly took kickbacks to help local criminal DWI defense attorney Thomas Clear, III to dismiss DWI cases.

Alba and Montaño were the first of 15 APD police officers to be charged in the FBI’s ongoing investigation into what prosecutors call the “DWI Enterprise.” Both admit that they took thousands in cash and gifts from Mendez and Clear. Both admitted recruiting other police officers into the scheme, and asked supervisors to help keep the criminal enterprise under wraps.

Alba and Montaño were identified as among the most prominent targets in the FBI corruption investigation. News source have determined Alba was responsible for dismissal of 67 DWI cases while Montaño had 41 DWI dismissals.

U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez said this at the time to news media outlets about the Alba Jr. and Montaño charges:

“This is neither the end of the investigation nor the end of the case. This is not how we normally do things. 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. … What we are seeing is falling dominoes of people accepting responsibility and being connected with the facts, not just the allegations. … There’s been calls from the beginning from the community from the beginning for accountability from APD itself and from all of our law enforcement partners. One of our highest missions in the Department of Justice and one of our biggest focuses over the past three years was making sure the public had a reason to trust in its institutions.”

 FORMER APD OFFICER NEILL ELSMAN AND ATTORNEY CLEAR PLEAD GUILTY

On February 12, 2025, a mere 2 days before Uballez was fired, former APD Officer Neill Elsman and DWI defense attorney Thomas Clear III, 67, were arraigned in U.S Magistrate Court and plead guilty as charged to bribery of Albuquerque Police Department officers, racketeering conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and interference with commerce by extortion. They admitted to their involvement in the bribery and conspiracy “DWI Enterprise” scheme to dismiss DWI cases. The two pleas occurred a mere 2 days before Uballez was fired by Trump.

APD officer Neill Elsman plead guilty to 5 counts in federal court. Elsman pleaded to conspiracy, extortion, and bribery. Elsman, who started working for APD in 2014 and joined the DWI Unit in 2019 resigned last August ahead of an Internal Affairs Interview. Elsman resigned from the Albuquerque Police Department after returning from military leave. He is one of 12 officers placed on leave after the allegations came to light.  In his plea agreement, Elsman admits to working with Clear since 2021 to get drunk driving cases dismissed in exchange for cash and other gifts. He is the third APD officer involved in the DWI dismissal scandal to plea guilty.

Clear plead guilty to nine federal charges including racketeering (RICO) conspiracy, bribery, and extortion. Clear faces up to 130 years in prison and $2 million in fines. The criminal charges and the guilty plea came one day after Clear was suspended from practicing law by the New Mexico Supreme Court over allegations that he paid officers bribes to get his clients’ DWI cases dropped. In his Plea Agreement, Clear admits 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. The federal and state courts have disbarred Clear and forfeiture actions have been brought against a home he owns and his law offices.

On February 12, 2025, two days before Trump terminated him, Alexander Uballez said this in a statement issued to the Albuquerque Journal:

“Today, Thomas J. Clear III admitted to leading a decades-old criminal enterprise wherein he abandoned his own ethical duties as a lawyer, corrupted generations of law enforcement officers, and perverted the criminal justice system in order to feed his own greed. With this conviction, we end this ignominious scheme that has shaken the faith of all New Mexicans. But we are not done digging. Now is the time to come clean.  If you were ever involved in this deceit, now is the time to come to the table.”

 https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_a2bffa0a-e981-11ef-8544-9fcfffcaf2e9.html#tncms-source=home-featured-7-block

TRUMP’S FIRING  OF UBALLEZ

It was on February 14, Valentines Day, the New Mexico Department of Justice announced U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez had resigned at the request of President Donald Trump. The Trump firing of Uballez was expected in that it is customary for newly elected Presidents to ask for the resignations of all appointed United States Attorney’s.

Uballez said he received notice of his firing by the Trump administration in his personal email account on President’s Day, Monday, February 17 in the afternoon. His firing came after he was stripped of his government cellphone and computer access on February 14 without prior notice nor explanation. He alerted the U.S. Department of Justice of the lock out but received “no guidance.” Speaking on the lockout, Uballez said he had “never heard of this happening before.” Uballez is among more than 20 other U.S. Attorneys who were asked to step down and who were appointed by President Joe Biden.

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_bbb7be32-ed67-11ef-9faf-afe3c73eeb01.html#tncms-source=home-featured-7-block

On April 18, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced that Ryan Ellison was appointed as the new United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to replace former US Attorney Alexander Uballez.

On April 19, former US Attorney Alexander Uballez announced his candidacy for Mayor of Albuquerque.

UBALLEZ RUNS FOR MAYOR

On April 19,  Alexander Uballez announced his candidacy for Albuquerque Mayor with a video on YOUTUBE  to announce his candidacy. The video can be viewed here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRjrJ4hVCFU.

https://www.abqjournal.com/election/article_32b726a6-b9fa-421d-922e-8409a752c826.html#tncms-source=home-featured-7-block

In  his video announcement, Uballez is attempting to portray himself as the “Progressive Prosecutor”  by taking credit for a diversion court when he said this:

“I know public safety is more than locking people up. That’s why I started New Mexico’s first federal reentry court to shut the revolving door and provide a pathway for people to return to our community.”

Over the summer of 2023, Albuquerque community groups met with then US Attorney Alexander Uballez who was spearheading discussions to learn what problems are at the heart of the city’s violence and what can be done to address them. Uballez said this in an interview with KRQE:

“The fact is: there is no single solution that fixes all violence all at once. [We are] stepping out of our traditional roles in the courtroom, stepping out of our traditional roles of kicking in doors and putting on handcuffs, and approaching them with care and with love.”  

https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/attorney-for-district-of-new-mexico-looks-to-help-with-albuquerques-crime-problem/

There is no doubt as the campaign for Mayor heats up, the far more conservative candidates of Republican Former Sherriff Darren White and Conservative Democrat and retired APD Officer Councilor Louie Sanchez, assuming they make the ballot,  will attack Uballez as being soft on violent crime offenders especially when he says violent criminals must be approached “with care and love”.

THE “PROGRESSIVE PROSECUTOR” VERSUS THE “PROGRESSIVE MAYOR”

Political analysts, city hall watchers and Democratic Party insiders are saying Uballez is picking up the early backing of younger progressive Democrats who have become disillusioned and dissatisfied with progressive Democrat Tim Keller. It is being presumed by many that Uballez has the ability to qualify for $756,000 in public financing and that he will get additional financial support from national progressive groups that will put Uballez in the top tier of candidates to take on Mayor Tim Keller.

Uballez asserts for his part he “has been fighting” for ABQ for 15 years as a prosecutor. The problem for  Uballez is that he is a blank slate, a virtual unknown to voters with his “15 minutes of fame” for his prosecution of the APD bribery scandal to dismiss DWI cases now in the rear-view mirror.

The progressive wing of the Democratic Party for years has nominated and elected progressive candidates to serve at the exclusion of moderate to conservative candidates. Progressive Democrats were instrumental in getting Mayor Tim Keller elected twice as he brandished his progressive credentials. Keller is doing so again today campaigning against President Trump’s cuts to federal funding to the city calling it “DEFEND ABQ, Standing Strong For Families”.  Keller went so far to have a city sponsored event on March 24 calling it “DEFEND ABQ, Standing Strong For Families” where over 1,200 were in attendance as he spoke for over an hour on the evils of Trump’s cuts to city federal funding.  Uballez was in attendance no doubt taking notes in anticipation of running against Keller.

Progressive Democrats tend to be “politcal purists” when it comes to ethics in government and they are viewed as soft on crime, suspicious of prosecutors and law enforcement in general, and not very supportive of increased penalties for crimes. For these reasons it would be prudent not to assume Uballez will get the progressive Democrat vote.

DEMOCRAT ENDORSEMENTS

Alex Uballez has yet to announce any major Democrat endorsements for his candidacy for Mayor.

Mayor Tim Keller for his part has been endorsed for a third term by older Progressive Democrats, including former Lt. Governor Diane Denish, Former State Treasurer James Lewis, and former state Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, former State Senator Richard Romero and former U.S. Ambassador Edward L. Romero and civil rights leader Delores Huerta. Mayor Keller has also been endorsed by current Democrat elected officials including 3 Democrat State Senators and 8 State Representatives from the Albuquerque area as well as all 3 elected Progressive Democrats on the City Council and the 4 Progressive Bernalillo County Commissioners.

The full list of Mayor Keller current  endorsements is here:

https://www.mayortimkeller.com/endorsements

Mayor Keller and Alez Uballez have not announced endorsements from the three former Mayors of Albuquerque who are Progressive Democrat  David Rusk, Jim Baca and moderate Democrat Marty Chavez. No endorsement for Mayor has been made by Democrat Senior Senator Martin Heinrich, Congress Woman Melanie Stansbury, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Attorney General Raul Torrez and District Attorney Sam Bregman nor former Interior Secretary Deb Halaand all of who are from the Albuquerque area.

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

Uballez admitted this when it came to prosecuting the FBI federal DWI Enterprise case:

“This is neither the end of the investigation nor the end of the case. This is not how we normally do things. 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. … ”

The truth is, Uballez and the public do not know for a fact if the investigation is continuing or if it has come to an end. The last announcement on the case was over two and a half months ago on February 12 when Clear and Elsman plead guilty.

There is really nothing “very unique” about the case as Uballez claims. It is a straight forward 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 is able to 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. Normally, prosecutors start from the bottom up to charge suspects to reach the top of the racketeering ladder in order to ensure all are prosecuted.

“ASS-BACKWARD”, “CHERRY PICKING” APPOACH TO PROSECUTION

Uballez said “Typically, defendants are charged all at once and the resolution of their cases in court can take months.”  Bluntly put, Uballez approach to prosecuting the case was “ass-backward” in a rush to charge and secure pleas. He did not charge all the 22 implicated and accused at once but  simply “cherry picked” the five biggest, most culpable targets. Uballez knew full well he did not have months to indict and bring charges but a matter of days with his termination pending.

It does not take a legal genius to figure out why United States Attorney Alexander Uballez went forward and rushed to secure plea agreements from Thomas Clear, Ricardo “Rick” Mendez and former APD Officers Honorio Alba Jr., Joshua Montaño and Neill Elsman before any other charges were filed against all the others. Uballez knew he was on his way out the door and was prepared to do anything to generate press to hold onto his job and not get fired by newly elected President Donald Trump. We know now that Uballez likely had his sights on running for Albuquerque Mayor.

Newly appointed United States Attorney Ryan Ellison made absolutely no mention nor commitment when he was appointed if his office will continue with the aggressive prosecution of the Federal DWI Enterprise Bribery.  A total of 22 people have been implicated when you include Clear, his paralegal and a second attorney. A total of twenty-two (22) have been implicated, but Uballez only charged five (5).

Uballez failed to indict  at once all 22 implicated, which would have been the normal thing to do. Uballez has never said why he did not let his successor make the decision on charging all 22 suspects. He still could have charged all 22 at once, negotiated the 5 plea deals and the prosecution of the case would be going forward against the seventeen (17) 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 declare victory.

Personal political gain should never be the guiding force for prosecutors in bring criminal charges. Serving justice should always be the guiding light to prosecutors in brining charges.  Now that Uballez is running for Mayor, voters must decide if Uballez is deserving of their vote because of the way he handled the largest APD corruption case in history and if he acted in the case for his own political gain and if it really matters to them.

FINAL COMMENTARY

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. Now the public is learning that BCSO and New Mexico State Police Officers may also be involved.

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 all the law enforcement officers and attorneys involved in the “DWI Enterprise” scheme.

US Attorney Alexander Uballez did the citizens of Albuquerque a major disservice with the handling of the largest, corruption case in the city’s history when he brought charges against only 5 out of 22 implicated when he should have charged all.

On April 1, it was reported that the City of Albuquerque is paying out $2,5 million in a settlement to a family whose lives were forever changed when an officer shot their son  leaving him with life-altering injuries. It all started with a 911 call when the parents pleaded for help as their son was going through a schizoaffective episode crisis. But it quickly got out of control when officers arrived on scene.

On June 4, 2020,  Max Mitnik, then age is 26 years old, was living with his parents Wanda and Michael Mitnik in their home in the Tanoan gated community. Max Mitnik suffers from mental illness, he has been under psychiatric medical care for some time and was on medication. He has a history of mental health care at the University of New Mexico Mental Health Hospital. At the time of the incident, Max Mitnik had no criminal history, had no prior contacts with APD’s Crisis Intervention Unit.

On June 4, Mitnik had not been taking his medication and told his parents he was worried he would hurt them. The Mitnik’s call APD 911 and two APD Police Officers were dispatched to handle the call for service to deal with Max Mitnik who was having a severe psychotic episode. It was APD Officer Jose Ruiz who shot Mitnik in the head as Mitnik held a knife to his own neck but advanced forward despite warning from Officer Ruiz. Mitnik was transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital and underwent neurosurgery. He then spent two years doing physical therapy and rehabilitation. The shooting left Mitnik, now 31, largely paralyzed on his left side, and it has taken years for him to walk with the help of a cane.

An APD Internal Affairs investigation found the use of force by APD Officer Ruiz was “appropriate” when he shot Mitnik, but that his “lack of command and control” escalated the situation to where force was necessary. Office Ruiz is still employed with APD.

LAWSUITE FILED, CASE SETTLES

In 2022, Max Mitnik’s parents, on his behalf, sued the city and APD Officer Jose Ruiz, seeking damages and alleging the city negligently dispatched police to respond to a mental health crisis without assistance from a health care professional.

The city’s decision to settle the federal laws suite came mid-March when a stay on the lawsuit was placed after an appeal was filed on a qualified immunity ruling from the federal judge in the case.

The June 4 Mitnik APD police officer involved shooting predates the creation of the Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACS) that is now dispatched to deal with calls relating to the mentally ill  and the APD reforms  under the Federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) mandating 271 reforms to deal with use of force and deadly force cases.

Private Attorney Ryan Villa, who represents the family, said that since the lawsuit was filed, Mitnik’s mother, his primary caretaker, has died.  He also said the father retired to help care for Mitnik, who has made progress but will never have full use of his extremities.

Attorney Villa said this:

“[Max] can walk, but he can’t do some of the things he liked to do, like hiking in the mountains or playing basketball, skiing. …  [His] left eye was damaged by the shooting, and he can no longer drive as a result. … Those things will never get any better.”

Max Mitnik’s father, Michael Mitnik, said the bullet “took away hope” of his son living a normal life. He has found medication to help stabilize his schizoaffective disorder, but the brain injury has left him reliant on others. Michael Mitnik said this:

“His life and my life have totally changed since this happened. [What happened to my son broke my wife’s heart] both physically and emotionally.”

Michael Mitnik said the settlement from the city was “hopefully some admission that they have to do better.” He said he is rooting for the Albuquerque Community Safety Department to prevent similar tragedies, but when his son had a more recent crisis, police showed up instead. Michael Mitnik added, “Those police, actually, they did good, those particular officers.”

Private Attorney Ryan Villa said this about the settlement:

“I think we were pleased that the city was willing to come to the table and negotiate.”

The city issued the following statement on the settlement:

“The City continues to improve our emergency response, adding resources for the Community Safety department, which sends trained behavioral health responders to calls in our community 24/7.”

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/albuquerque-settles-2-5-million-lawsuit-after-officer-shot-man-in-mental-health-crisis/

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_27832522-fac2-4fdb-b928-e3495e5c91c5.html#tncms-source=home-featured-7-block

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inIGOYGQ8wM

ALBUQUERQUE COMMUNITY SAFETY DEPARTMENT  REACHES MILESTONE

Within a few months following the shooting of Max Mitnik,  Mayor Tim Keller announced the creation of the Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACS),  a project his office had been working on for some months prior to the Mitnick shooting.  The Albuquerque Community Safety Department has social workers, housing and homelessness specialists and violence prevention and diversion program experts who are dispatched to homelessness and “down-and-out” calls as well as other behavioral health crises calls that were normally handled by APD. The ACS connects people in need with services to help address any underlying issues. The intent is to free up the first responders who typically have to deal with down-and-out and behavioral health calls. The ACS has now been operational for the last 4 years.

On April 2, 2025, ACS announced it had reached the milestone of taking 100,000 calls for service since opening in 2021. In recent years, ACS has gone from handling 900 calls a month to handling 3,000 a month, becoming a 24/7 service and opening a standalone headquarters in 2024. Officials believe the surge is partly due to growing awareness of the department’s services and the diminishing stigma surrounding mental health support.

Despite thousands of calls being rerouted to ACS during that time, fatal confrontations between officers and those in crisis have continued. In recent years, APD officers have shot and killed several people, a fair number of whom were armed, during a behavioral health crisis. In February, an ACS worker called 911 after not being able to make contact with a man who was threatening suicide. When officers showed up, the man pointed an unloaded handgun at them and was fatally shot, according to police.

John Dodd, the clinical supervisor for ACS, explained that many individuals contacting their team are at a breaking point, unsure where to turn for help. He emphasized the department’s holistic and empathetic approach, which connects individuals to essential resources such as counseling, therapy, and psychiatric care. In response to this increased demand, ACS plans to hire more responders and has extended its training program from six weeks to three months. This adjustment ensures that responders are more experienced before engaging with individuals in crisis.

Links to relied upon or quoted news sources are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_27832522-fac2-4fdb-b928-e3495e5c91c5.html#tncms-source=home-featured-7-block

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-community-safety-seeing-increased-calls/64364711

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The June 4, 2020 police officer involved shooting of Max Mitnick has turned out to be a major milestone on how the city would deal with calls for service involving the mentally ill. Some would say the shooting was in fact a contributing factor for the creation of the Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACS)  and the city’s efforts to cease relying on APD to handle calls for service to deal with people suffering from mental illness crisis. For that reason, review of the Max Mitnick shooting by APD is in order.

MAX MITNICK CALL FOR SERVICE

It was on June 4, 2020, at 1:56 p.m., that APD received a 911 call from Michael Mitnik who said his son, later identified as Max Mitnik, was diagnosed as having a mental illness, and wanted to be transported to the hospital. Michael Mitnik said his son expressed fear that he would “hurt his parents” APD Officers received additional information that Max had mental health episodes in the past and had “cut himself” representing a danger to himself and others.

Officers learned that Max Mitnik was diagnosed as having schizoaffective disorder and had stopped taking his medication the week this incident occurred. Max Mitnik had not slept in two days. Officers contacted Max and his father in the front yard and explained they could take him to the University of New Mexico Hospital for mental health care or another hospital. Max was asked which hospital he preferred and was advised that it was his choice.

APD Officers Jose Ruiz and a female officer were dispatched to the seen. Upon arrival, Officer Jose Ruiz turned on his lapel camera and a 26 minute 38 second video was recorded.  On Friday, July 10, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) released the entire lapel camera video to the news media. A YOUTUBE link to the lapel camera recording can be viewed here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=a0mTXSwtafs&feature=emb_title

EDITOR’S CAUTIONARY NOTE: THE VIDEO IS VERY GRAPHIC, DIFFICULT TO WATCH AND UPSETTING IN THAT IT RECORDS AN ACTUAL SHOOTING. FOR THESE REASONS THE FOLLOWING SUMMARY IS OFFERED FOR READERS:

The first few minutes of the lapel camera video shows two APD police officers talking first with Michael Mitnik, the father, over a fence gate. Soon Max Mitnik walks out to talk with the two police officers. Michael Mitnik opens the gate, and a female Police Officer talks with Max Mitnik. She attempts to reason with Max to allow her to put handcuffs on him in order to follow APD procedures to take him to the hospital for mental health care.

The officers explain to Max he will have to wait at least an hour in the car before he can be admitted because of a backlog at the hospital. The mother Wanda Mitnik soon joins her husband outside talking with the officers. The officers emphasize to Max he was not under arrest nor in custody. Soon Max becomes upset and wants the handcuffs off and they are taken off. After the handcuffs are taken off, Max Mitnik begins to pace in front of the house, down the street and then back appearing and acting agitated.

The video reflects the fact that the father and the officers continually talked with Max Mitnik as he tried to decide whether he wanted to go with them or be taken to the hospital by his parents. The officers again emphasize to Max that he is an adult, that he was not accused of any crime, and they cannot force him to go with them to the hospital and he could go with his parents.

Max Mitnik finally agrees for a second time to go to the hospital with APD, he is again handcuffed but with his hands in front of him. The officers begin to walk Max to marked SUV unit. Max Mitnik again changes his mind as he is being escorted to the APD unit, he turns suddenly and starts to walk towards his parents and the officers ask him what’s wrong.

At this point, Michael Mitnik and Officer Jose Ruiz again try to reason with Max to go to the hospital. Michael Mitnik offers to ride with Max in the police car while Wanda Mitnik follows in the family car. The father tells Max if he does not go, they will only wind up calling APD again. Max says “What happens if I get violent there?… at the hospital.” Officer Ruiz then tells Max that the hospital has its own security. Max tells them he does not want to go the hospital and asks that the handcuffs be removed and the cuffs are removed once again.

Once the handcuffs are removed, Max Mitnik walks back to the house and  goes inside the home. He is not followed by the APD Officers who lose sight of him. This turned out to be a major stake. The officers call APD dispatch and request that a Mobile Crisis Team (CIT) unit be dispatched. CIT Units are made up of a behavioral health clinician and a police officer who responds to mental health calls.

Before the Mobile Crisis Team (CIT) has a chance to be dispatched and arrive, Wanda Mitnik is heard screaming inside the house. Officer Ruiz runs inside, guided by Max Mitnik’s father to a bathroom where Max Mitnik has locked himself inside. Wanda Mitnik shows up with a key to open the bathroom and she said her son was inside the bathroom and was stabbing himself in the neck.

The shooting occurs at 15 minutes and 1 second into the lapel camera video when Officer Ruiz has Wanda Mitnik unlock the bathroom door, the door slowly opens to the dark bathroom and seconds later, Max Mitnik emerges from the bathroom, he is bleeding from the neck and  starts to walk slowly towards Officer Ruiz and says calmly, but as if begging, in a low tone of voice:

“I’m going to suffer a lot if I don’t kill myself, will you please kill me, sir. Kill me.”

The video shows Max Mitnik approaching Officer Ruiz with something in his hand, which is later identified as a paring knife. Two shots are fired by Officer Ruiz. One shot hits Max Mitnik in the hip and the other shot hits him in the head and Max Mitnik falls to the floor unconscious.

Both Wanda and Michael Mitnik reacted in shock to the shooting of their son they had just witnessed.

On the lapel camera video Wanda Mitnik says to Officer Ruiz before going to the aide of her son to try to revive him and stop the bleeding:

“Did you really? Did you really? … Why did you do that?”

The video reflects that Officer Ruiz bends down appearing to pick up something later identified as the paring knife. As soon as Wanda Mitnik goes into the bedroom to help her son, you can hear officer Ruiz call in “shots fired” and he begins to heavily pant as if emotionally upset, start walking down a hallway panting and turning back around after regaining his composure.

Michael Mitnik, sitting down in obvious grief watching his wife and a female police officer giving Max aide had the following exchange with Officer Ruiz:

Michael Mitnik: “We asked for help. … Where did you shoot him? … back of head?

Officer Ruiz: “… No, he was coming toward me, so I don’t think in back of the head.”

Michaele Mitnik: “Why did you do that? … He asked you to kill him.”

Paramedics arrived and Max Mitnik was taken to the emergency room. Remarkably Max Mitnik survived the close-range shooting.

Media reports reflect that Max Mitnik was critically injured and spent a month at the hospital before returning home.

The link to review the APD Release of Details of the shooting is here:

Click to access ois-media-briefing-news-release-10jul2020.pdf

Links to relied upon or quoted news coverage is  here:

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/apd-releases-video-of-police-shooting-in-tanoan/5788708/

https://www.abqjournal.com/1474759/video-shows-tanoan-shooting-during-mental-health-call.html

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/police-involved-in-shooting-in-northeast-albuquerque/

COMPLICATING FACTORS

There were two police officers initially dispatched to the Mitnik residence on June 4 and who interacted with Max Mitnik. Each officer placed handcuffs on him on two separate times as they explained to him APD’s Standard Operating Procedures and why the handcuffs were needed as they attempted to reason with him to allow them to take him to the hospital.

What really complicates the Max Mitnik shooting case is the fact the call out to the Mitnik residence was not to make an arrest or to investigate a crime. The call out was a “welfare check” to assist a mother and father dealing with a son who was having a psychotic episode, a son who was threatening to get violent and who wanted to go to the hospital. The police could not force Max to go to the hospital, he had not committed any crime nor did they have probable cause to arrest him for a crime. The only thing the officers could do was attempt to reason with him.

Demanding that Max wear handcuffs was to conform with APD Standard Operating Procedures. Any reasonable lay person would no doubt ask
“Was it necessary to cuff Max if he was  just being transported to the hospital?” The answer is YES because there was no guarantee Max would NOT become resistant and act out once inside the police vehicle. The biggest mistake was the officers and his parents did not attempt to reason with him not to go back into the house.  The officers did attempt to reason with  Max and call for the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT). The officers lost control of the scene when they allowed Max to go back into the home and allowing Max to escalate the interactions with the police.

What happened on June 4 reflects the “real world” of policing. It became “a no-win situation” for the police officers who were conducting a “welfare check call” to provide assistance. It became a total tragedy for a family who reach out to APD for help. No crime was reported nor investigated. The family was asking for help, and it escalated to a police officer shooting. The two Police Officers were clearly acting courteous at first, but once they allowed Max Mitnik out of their site and allowed him to go back into the home, they lost complete control of the scene and endangered themselves and the Mitniks as well. The “no win situation” was that had the officers been far more aggressive with Max Mitnik and used force at any level where no arrest was being made they would have been condemned of escalating the situation contributing to the shooting.

APD RANKED #1 IN CIVILIAN KILLINGS OUT OF THE 50 LARGEST CITY POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN THE COUNTRY

On April 10, 2024  the on line news publication Searchlight New Mexico published a remarkable story researched and written by its staff reporter Josh Bowling.  The article is entitled “Can the Albuquerque Police Department ever be reformed?”  The article goes into great detail explaining the Court Approved Settlement Agreement, what has been done to reform APD and the role of the Federal Monitor. The article also mentions the Max Metnick shooting. The link to read the full, unedited Searchlight New Mexico article with photos and graphs is here:

https://searchlightnm.org/can-the-albuquerque-police-department-ever-be-reformed/?utm_source=Searchlight+New+Mexico&utm_campaign=ca4e266790-4%2F10%2F2024+-+Albuquerque+Police+Department+Reform&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8e05fb0467-ca4e266790-362667516&mc_cid=ca4e266790&mc_eid=ccd9412715

The Search Light New Mexico article reported that in 2014, the Albuquerque Police Department killed 10.6 people per million residents,  more than any other sizable police department in the nation, according to data tracked by the national nonprofit Mapping Police Violence.

Following are the relevant excerpts from the Search Light New Mexico article

In 2022, the department set a record for police shootings with 18, 10 of which were fatal. That year, a Searchlight analysis found, only the police departments in Los Angeles, New York and Houston killed more people than APD.

Law enforcement officials, including police leaders and district attorneys, say such figures are nuanced. They point to the acute dearth of mental health resources in New Mexico and, anecdotally, stories of people who draw guns on police officers as explanations for why the problem of police violence is so outsized locally.”

…

“In the past four years, Albuquerque police repeatedly shot people who were suffering visible mental health crises. They shot 26-year-old Max Mitnik in the head during a “schizoaffective episode” in which he asked officers to fire their weapons at him; they shot and killed 52-year-old Valente Acosta-Bustillos who swung a shovel at officers and told them to shoot him; they shot and killed 33-year-old Collin Neztsosie while he was on his cell phone, pleading for help with a 911 dispatcher.

These grim numbers have led reform advocates, critics and law enforcement leaders themselves to question what it means to be “in compliance.”

“You can improve things on paper or comply with the terms of a consent decree and still have these things happening. … Albuquerque is a prime place to be asking the questions…about what impact consent decrees have. The city should be ground zero for the national conversation on police reform” said UCLA law professor Joanna Schwartz, author of the 2023 book “Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable.”

This is not to say that the consent decree has been without merit. The 2014 Court-Approved Settlement Agreement between the DOJ and Albuquerque laid out nearly 300 mandated reforms.  Since its launch, APD has fulfilled hundreds of reform requirements, including overhauling scores of policies and training procedures.”

The Search Light New Mexico article contains a horizontal graph listing the 50 largest cities in the United States. According to the graph, among the 50 largest cities, Albuquerque Police killed people at the highest rate than all the other city police departments in 2023  at the rate of  10.6 per 1 Million population. It is worth comparing Albuquerque’s 10.6 kill rate to the largest cities in the surrounding border states of Texas, Colorado, Arizona and also including Oklahoma and Nevada:

• Albuquerque, NM: 10.6
• San Antonio, Texas:  9.8
• Phoenix, Arizona: 8.7
• Austin, Texas: 7.3
• Denver, Colorado: 5.6
• Tucson, Arizona: 5.5
• Fort Worth, Texas: 5.4
• Houston, Texas: 5.2
• Colorado Springs, Colorado: 4.2
• Dallas, Texas: 3.1
• El Paso, Texas: 2.9
• Las Vegas, Nevada: 2.6
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: 2.0

REVISITING THE DOJ USE OF FORCE AND DEADLY FORCE INVESTIGATION Of APD

On April 10, 2014, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Rights Division, submitted a scathing 46-page investigation report on an 18-month civil rights investigation of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). The investigation was conducted jointly by the DOJ’s Washington Office Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico.

You can read the entire report here.

https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2014/04/10/apd_findings_4-10-14.pdf

The DOJ investigation included a comprehensive review of APD’s operations and the City’s oversight systems of APD. The DOJ investigation “determined that structural and systemic deficiencies — including insufficient oversight, inadequate training, and ineffective policies — contribute to the use of unreasonable force.” Based on the investigation and the review of excessive use of force and deadly force cases, the DOJ found “reasonable cause to believe that APD engage[d] in a pattern or practice of use of excessive force, including deadly force, in violation of the Fourth Amendment … . and [the] investigation included a comprehensive review of APD’s operations and the City’s oversight systems.”

What differentiates the DOJ’s investigation of APD from the other federal investigations of police departments and consent decrees is that the other consent decrees involve in one form or another the finding of “racial profiling” and use of excessive force or deadly force against minorities. The DOJ’s finding of a “culture of aggression” within APD dealt with APD’s interactions and responses to suspects that were mentally ill and that were having psychotic episodes.

 A significant number of the APD “use of force cases” reviewed involved persons suffering from acute mental illness and who were in crisis. The investigation found APD’s policies, training, and supervision were insufficient to ensure that officers encountering people with mental illness or in distress do so in a manner that respected their rights and in a manner that was safe for all involved

The investigative report found a pattern or practice of use of “deadly force” or “excessive use of force”. The DOJ reviewed all fatal shootings by officers between 2009 and 2012 and found that officers were not justified under federal law in using deadly force in the majority of those incidents. Albuquerque police officers too often used deadly force in an unconstitutional manner in their use of firearms. Officers used deadly force against people who posed a minimal threat, including individuals who posed a threat only to themselves or who were unarmed. Officers also used deadly force in situations where the conduct of the officers heightened the danger and contributed to the need to use force.

The lapel camera video involving the Max Mitnick shooting shows the difficulty it is for trained police officers to implement use of force and deadly force written policy and apply those policies with real life events in police work. Much of police work when police are engaging with a criminal offender, especially when they are involved in the immediate commission of a crime or a fleeing suspect, is reactionary. Being reactionary during an incident, the time to make a decision to use force or deadly force, and to what extent, is literally one or two seconds. Such was the incident with Max Mitnik.

FINAL COMMENTARY

The lapel video of the Tanoan shooting of Max Mitnik was no doubt reviewed over and over again and again by not only by APD Internal Affairs Unit, but the Force Investigation Division, the Force Review Board and the Federal Court Approved Monitor overseeing APD. It is likely the lapel camera video will also wind up being used at the APD academy for training purposes.

The Tanoan lapel camera video is a case study of the “heartbeat” decisions that police officers are required to make, especially when dealing with the mentally ill. When you review the video, no one can say with absolute certainty what was going through the mind of Officer Ruiz, what extent he felt his life was in danger and why he decided to fire his gun, except for Officer Ruiz himself.

The most important factor to consider in deciding if the use of deadly force was legally justified is the extent of a threat faced by an officer using the force or the threat to others at the scene. Ultimately, APD Internal Affairs decided  APD Police Officer Ruiz acted in a way that an “objectively reasonable” officer would have acted in the same circumstances.  That is the rub when deciding to discipline or prosecute any police officer for shooting anyone. APD Internal Affairs investigation found the use of  force by APD Officer Ruiz was appropriate when he shot Max Mitnik, but that his “lack of command and control” escalated the situation to where force was necessary.

Links to related blog articles are here:

APD Lapel Cam Video Of Shooting Reflects APD’s Interaction With Mentally ILL Still Problematic; Effectiveness Of DOJ Reform Training In Doubt; What Needs To Be Done

The Tale Of Two APDs: Shootings Of Citizens By APD Alarmingly High As APD Comes Into Compliance With DOJ Mandated Reforms; Analysis And Commentary

 

 

On March 31, the city’s Inspector General Melissa R. Santistevan released a public notice entitled “Update to Citizens of Albuquerque”directed squarely at the  Accountability in Government Oversight Committee. At issue at the time was  the committee’s failure to make public nine finished internal investigations into alleged misconduct at City Hall. Inspector General Melissa R. Santistevan wrote that the pending reports “deal with fraud, waste, or abuse that impact our City. Some of these reports have been completed for months without citizen awareness.” Santistevan did not disclose fully the topics of the reports. Santistevan’s four-year contract is up for renewal in June, but the city is soliciting applicants for the job.

For Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports to become public, city ordinance requires they be presented to the city’s Accountability in Government Oversight Committee, whose members are appointed by the mayor and City Council. City Councilors also serve on the committee. The five-member volunteer committee had not had a meeting since November 14, 2024 until April 14 . Inspector General Melissa R. Santistevan wrote this in her public notice:

“Unfortunately, a meeting was to be held March 26, after which the reports would have been released to the public. But the meeting was canceled after it began before the reports could be presented.”

Under the city ordinance, the OIG  reports become public whether the committee approves them or not.

EDITOR’S NOTE:  You can learn more about the duties and responsibilities of the Office of Inspector General and the Accountability in Government Oversight Committee in the postscript below.

The chairperson of the OIG oversight committee is Victor Griego who is a certified public accountant.  Griego posted an online response to Inspector General Santistevan which stated in part “in the short time the AGO [accountability in government committee] had available to review these reports, AGO members identified multiple concerns regarding the quality of the reports and the underlying investigations. … [The committee wants to]  ensure the accuracy and the quality of published reports. ”

The National Association of Inspectors General stepped in and urged the release of the pending reports “without further delay.” Will Fletcher, president of the New York-based association, wrote this

“For the [oversight committee] not even to hold meetings sends a clear but unfortunate signal that it’s not interested in learning of misconduct within the City of Albuquerque, let alone in formulating solutions to make its government operate more efficiently. … This reluctance holds back the mission of government oversight and inevitably raises questions about the commitment to transparency.  An OIG’s ability to present the results of its work to government stakeholders and the public is a cornerstone of effective government oversight. When an oversight committee can essentially block the publication of OIG reports by failing to meet, it fundamentally undermines the very principles that Offices of Inspectors General are designed to uphold and the public ultimately suffers as a result.”

Edward Hollington, the attorney who represents Inspector General Santistevan said that the inspector general’s staff turned over the reports to the administrative assistant for the committee on March 16 for review prior to the meeting. But at a Zoom meeting of the committee on March 26, OIG staff wasn’t  even admitted to the meeting.

Hollington said if there were issues with the quality or concerns, the meeting with the inspector general would be the place to express that. At its last meeting in November, the committee voted not to approve the OIG’s report on improper bonuses. The committee contended that the OIG lacked sufficient jurisdiction under the inspector general ordinance to investigate the allegations. The OIG had recommended the city consider recouping the money, but a spokeswoman for the city said that the expenditures were previously approved by the state and “no further action is required.”

Santistevan’s four-year term is up in June, at which time she would be eligible for re-confirmation. The Keller Administration is seeking applicants for the job to replace Santistevan. It will  be up to the committee to decide whether to recommend her reconfirmation to the City Council or forward a list of the top three finalists for appointment.

The link to the quoted or relied upon news source is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_107b6f83-deb2-4505-ad9c-ed403466ac4d.html

THREE OUT OF NINE OIG REPORTS RELEASED

On Sunday, April 20, it was  reported that the city’s Accountability in Government Oversight Committee  approved three of nine completed OIG investigative reports, deferring until May six others that have been reportedly ready for public release for months.  For the second time in the past month, the volunteer citizens committee put off the public release of investigations into allegations of misconduct or malfeasance completed by the city of Albuquerque Office of Inspector General.

The three investigations released on  April 14 after approval by the city Accountability in Government Oversight Committee dealt with an employee’s parking validation; $18,587 in misplaced or lost city property; and an allegation that waste occurred when the city paid for three separate designs for the third-floor renovation of the old City Hall involving three different city managers. If the third design is used, the cost of the first two designs totaling $55,827 was a waste of taxpayers’ dollars, the OIG report stated.

The link to the relied upon or quoted news source is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_65d8aad1-3ec9-41ae-8189-85f1f3b32d2e.html

TWO SCATHING REPORTS

There have been two scathing reports issued by the Inspector General that have been highly critical of the Keller Administration and that have raised the ire of the Mayor Keller Administration.

IMPROPER USE OF CHILD CARE STABILIZATION GRANT FUNDS

On November 24, 2024  the  Office of Inspector General issued a final Investigation Report with the entitled subject matter “Alleged Improper Use of the Child Care Stabilization Grant Funds by Inappropriately Compensating City Employees Through Bonuses.”  The program was supposed to help childcare providers defray unexpected business costs associated with the COVID pandemic.

The grant money was supposed to assist in keeping child care providers’ doors open during the pandemic. The Family & Community Services Department now operates under the umbrella of the city’s Youth and Family Services and Health, Housing and Homelessness departments.

The city of Albuquerque’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigation concluded that a group of city employees, including top administrators in Mayor Tim Keller’s Family & Community Services Department, received more than $280,000 in improper bonuses using money intended to sustain “childcare providers” during the COVID pandemic.

The OIG investigation report states in part as follows:

“Twenty-three out of the 27 employees who received premium pay had annual salaries greater than Preschool staff. Five of those salaries were more than double the Preschool staff’s highest paid salary with one almost tripling the salary of the highest-paid Preschool staff.”

In total, $287,972.77 was distributed to 27 city employees, a majority who worked outside the Family and Community Development Department, which oversees childcare in the city. According to the report, pay ranges for preschool are $32,469 to $42,162 annually.

Twenty-three of the 27 employees received a July 2022 bonus of either $8,533 or $3,878, then in December of the same year, 14 employees received bonuses ranging from $5,400 to $13,000.  More than 10 recipients, including top managers, received nearly $20,000 each. Among its findings, the OIG reported bonuses, called premium payments, of up to that $22,498 were paid to employees who earned $32,469 to $123,490 annually. The highest bonus of $22,498 went to the Child and Family Development division manager. The position made $88,000 annually before the “premium pay.”

On January 2, 2025 the Accountability in Government Oversight Committee took the unusual action of voting NO to approve the OIG report released. The Accountability in Accountability In Government Oversight Committee, which is comprised of community members appointed by the mayor and City Council, met on November 14 to review and consider the investigative report. The committee  found the OIG “lacked sufficient jurisdiction under the city’s Inspector General ordinance to investigate one or more of the allegations.” 

In response to the OIG report, the Keller Administration responded it did not intentionally misuse the federal grant  funds and did not have direction from the federal government on where to appropriate the funds.

Associate Chief Administrative Officer Carla Martinez released the following statement:

“These were employees that kept childcare centers open during the COVID crisis, these were not bonuses, and these were not inappropriate.  … Once again the OIG is submitting subjective opinions that were unanimously rejected by her own oversight committee comprised of legal and accounting professionals. This grant provided necessary overtime funding for critical early childhood caregiver programs and management during the Covid crisis.”

City Council President Dan Lewis issued the following statement in response to the OIG report saying this:

My office is referring this investigation to the U.S. Attorney due to allegations of federal crimes involving the abuse, misuse, and theft of federal funds allocated to high-ranking members of the Keller administration. These funds, approved by the Council, were intended exclusively for early childhood programs as outlined in the grant’s description. However, they appear to have been unlawfully redirected as cash bonuses for the Mayor’s staff.

 Alex Bukoski, spokesperson for Mayor Tim Keller’s office,  responded to City Council President Dan Lewis:

“Dan’s comments are at best, a grossly inaccurate overreaction; and worst another in a long line of bitter rants against the Administration since losing his own election bid.”

This is simply a false finding in that according to City Ordinance 2-17-2 in that the Inspector General’s goals includes “to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in city activities.”  The committee voted 5-0 against approval, stating in a “cautionary statement” attached to the investigative report that “readers are advised to review this published report and its content with the understanding that the Committee did not approve this report.”

You can read the entire 24 page Inspector General Report here:

https://www.cabq.gov/inspectorgeneral/documents/23-0013-c-_23-0014-c-_23-0019-c_investigative_report-final.pdf/view

MONEY SPENT ON POLITICAL PROPAGANDA BOOK

On October 30, 2023, the Albuquerque Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a scathing 27 page report that found the Mayor Tim Keller Administration had misused taxpayer money to the tune of more than $97,000 to write, edit, print and publish 598 copies of a book entitled  “City at the Crossroads: The Pandemic, Protests, and Public Service in Albuquerque”. The book became controversial when released as critics charged that it was nothing more than political propaganda paid for by taxpayers to promote Mayor Tim Keller and his administration. The book includes a chapter dedicated to Keller called “the Metal Mayor”, several dozen photos of Keller, and an introduction written by Mayor Keller and a foreword written by his wife Elizabeth J. Kistin Keller as first lady of the city.

The Office of inspector General went to far as to label the book “a waste” of taxpayer funds and said this:

“The OIG considered whether it is reasonable to believe, that in the event of another pandemic, someone would seek out and read a book of anecdotal stories as a guide of how to navigate such a crisis. …  Obligating the taxpayer’s monies to fund a book that promoted the administrative achievements during the pandemic and where a calculated value may never be known appears to be a waste.”

The report did not find enough evidence supporting claims the city violated its purchasing ordinance or the state’s anti-donation clause producing the book. However, the OIG report suggested evidence of possible favoritism and conflict of interest.

The Albuquerque Journal took special interest in the story and suffered an embarrassment when it was revealed that the book was written by none other than longtime Albuquerque Journal columnist Joline Gutierrez Krueger. It turns out Gutierrez Krueger was paid $44,700, or $60 per hour, by the city of Albuquerque to write the book without her informing the Journal editors nor getting the papers permission. Gutierrez Krueger contracted with the city while still employed by the Albuquerque Journal which was a violation of the papers policy that prohibits moonlighting for government entities to avoid conflicts of interest. The Journal issued the following statement:

“Gutierrez Krueger contracted with the city while still employed by the Journal, a violation of company policy that prohibits moonlighting for government entities to avoid conflicts of interest.”

But for the fact that Gutierrez Krueger was about to retire, her authorship of the book could have likely been used as grounds for termination by the paper.

You can read the entire 27 page OIG report at this link:

https://www.cabq.gov/inspectorgeneral/documents/22-0189-c-report-of-investigation.pdf/view

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

It was the City Council that created the Office of Inspector General to combat waste, fraud and abuse. There is no getting around it. The city’s Accountability in Government Oversight Committee failure to release  reports by the Office the Inspector General is nothing short of “political pettiness and vindictiveness”. It is evidence of retaliation against the Inspector General they are seeking to remove. Republican City Councilors Brook Bassaan and Dan Champine are on the Accountability in Government Oversight Committee and they should demand that all of the Inspector General’s report’s  be released immediately and without further delay.

Links to related articles are here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2025/01/03/city-inspector-general-finds-keller-administration-paid-out-280000-in-covid-grant-funds-intended-for-child-care-to-pay-bonuses-to-28-keller-city-officials-referral-made-to-us-attorney-keller/

https://www.petedinelli.com/2023/11/16/citys-office-of-inspector-general-finds-mayor-tim-kellers-pandemic-book-city-at-the-crossroads-the-pandemic-protests-and-public-service-a-waste-of-97000/

On April 18, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced that Ryan Ellison has been appointed as the new United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to replace former US Attorney Alexander Uballez. Mr. Ellison was sworn in by United States District Judge Margaret Strickland on April 18, 2025.

Elison said this of his appointment in a statement:

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of New Mexico in this role. For however long I serve as United States Attorney, my primary objective will be to keep New Mexicans safe through the vigorous enforcement of Federal law. Under my leadership, the United States Attorney’s Office will do its part to stem the unlawful flow of people and drugs into our country. We will also not lose sight of our responsibility to combat violent crime, gang activity, child predators, and to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States’ civil interests. Together with our federal, tribal, state, and local law enforcement partners, the United States Attorney’s Office will work tirelessly to make New Mexico a safer place to live, work, raise a family, and run a business. And we will make New Mexico a far less attractive place to commit a crime.”

BIOGRAPHY OF RYAN ELLISON 

Ryan Ellison was born and raised in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Mr. Ellison graduated from the University of Arizona with a business degree in 2010. He earned his Juris Doctor and MBA from Texas Tech University in 2013. Since 2018, Mr. Ellison has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico in the Las Cruces Branch Office, most recently as Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney of the Violent and General Crimes Section.

As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mr. Ellison prosecuted members of the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico (“SNM”) prison gang. To date, more than 175 SNM gang members and associates have been charged with serious federal crimes, making the ongoing SNM prosecution the largest criminal case ever brought in the District of New Mexico. He has also investigated and prosecuted other violent crimes, including VICAR murder, RICO conspiracy, carjacking resulting in death, kidnapping resulting in death, murder-for-hire, and various firearms, immigration, and national security offenses.

Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Ellison worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the 47th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Texas and as an associate attorney in private practice.

As U.S. Attorney, Mr. Ellison will be responsible for overseeing federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation involving the United States in the District of New Mexico. Ellison leads a dedicated team of over 150 prosecutors and support professionals with offices located in Albuquerque and Las Cruces. The District of New Mexico encompasses 33 counties and shares a 180-mile international border with Mexico. It is home to five National Forests, four major military installations, two National Laboratories, 19 pueblos, two Apache tribes, and one-third of the Navajo Nation.

Tessa DuBerry, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said this:

“[Mr. Ellison] will spend a significant amount of time working in the Las Cruces Branch Office to coordinate the USAO’s prioritization of immigration and border-related offenses.”

DuBerry said the USAO headquarters will remain in Albuquerque.

The appointment of Ellison and prioritization of immigration come as border crossings in New Mexico have plummeted since Trump took office, from around 34,000 people in December to 1,627 in March, a 95% decrease.

Links to quoted or relied upon or quoted  news sources are here:

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

https://sourcenm.com/briefs/gang-prosecutor-appointed-as-new-u-s-attorney-for-the-district-of-new-mexico/

FORMER US ATTORNEY ALEXANDER UBALLEZ

US Attorney Ryan Ellison replaces former US Attorney Alexander Uballez. It was on February 14, Valentines Day, the New Mexico Department of Justice announced U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez had resigned at the request of President Donald Trump. Uballez said he received notice of his firing by the Trump administration in his personal email account on President’s Day, Monday, February 17 in the afternoon. His firing came after he was stripped of his government cellphone and computer access on February 14 without prior notice nor explanation. He alerted the U.S. Department of Justice of the lock out but received “no guidance.” Speaking on the lockout, Uballez said he had “never heard of this happening before.” Uballez is among more than 20 other U.S. Attorneys who were asked to step down and who were appointed by Presidnt Joe Biden.

Uballez singular biggest claim to fame was bringing federal charges against APD officers and Bernalillo County  Deputy Sherriffs and the ring leaders involved in the DWI bribery and conspiracy scandal to dismiss hundreds of DWI cases. The Bernalillo County District Attorney has dismissed 272 DWI cases which were brought by APD Officers who accepted bribes and whose credibility became an issue.  During the past year, a total of 15 APD Police officers, including a Deputy Commander and Commander of Internal Affairs, have been implicated in the scandal with four APD officers pleading  guilty as charged. The former APD officers face up to 130 years in prison.

On April 19, former US Attorney Alexander Uballez announced he is running for Mayor of Albuquerque.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

It is extremely disappointing that newly appointed United State Attorney Ryan Ellison made absolutely no mention if his office will continue with the aggressive prosecution of the Federal DWI Enterprise Bribery Case to dismiss DWI cases and the Largest corruption case in APD’s history. Ellison also failed to make any mention of the 10 year old Department of Justice Federal  Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) mandating implementation of 271 reforms of the Albuquerque Police Department and his office’s continued support of the CASA.

If Ellson is truly committed to “keeping New Mexicans safe through the vigorous enforcement of Federal law” as he claims, he would be wise to state clearly that his office will continue with the aggressive prosecution of the DWI Enterprise case prosecuting former law enforcement who have accepted bribes and preyed upon the general public and protect citizens of the largest city in the state from corrupt police officers and corrupt attorneys.

 

The Exploratory Period for Mayor began on March 3, 2025 and ended on April 19, 2025. It was during this time that all candidates for Mayor were required to notify and register with the City Clerk as a candidate for Mayor. Candidates were also required to declare if they would seek “public financing” or would seek “private financing” for their candidacy.  One candidate has declared as a “private finance” candidate. Eight candidates have declared as “public finance” candidates. Two Measured Finance Committees have been formed, one to promote the candidacy of Mayling Armijo and one to promote the candidacy of Mayor Tim Keller.

This article is an in depth report on all nine candidates, their biographies with politcal commentary. It reports on the amount of money that they have raised in “seed money” as well what has been raised by the two measured finance committees.

NINE CANDIDATES AND THEIR  BIOGRAPHIES

The following are the Nine candidates for Mayor who have registered with the City Clerk:

1. MAYLING ARMIJO

BIOGRAPHY WITH COMMENTARY

Democrat Mayling Armijo is a former Deputy County Manager for Sandoval County. She is an  Albuquerque native and  was the first to announce.  On her campaign website, she lists her priorities as crime, housing and homelessness, substance abuse, job growth, and setting term limits for the mayor’s office.  She proclaims that she is not a politician and offers very little specifics on how she will bring down crime. Her experience includes working as economic development director for Bernalillo County, the deputy County Manager for Sandoval County and work with the New Mexico Economic Development Department. Armijo is the only privately financed candidate.

A link to a news source on Mayling Armijo’s  announcement is here:

https://abq.news/2025/02/former-county-economic-development-manager-first-to-announce-run-for-mayor/

CITY CLERK’S CANDIDATE WEB PAGE

The following is the candidate information provided on the City Clerk’s candidate web page:

DATE REGISTERED: February 3, 2025

• Privately Financed
• Campaign address: 9633 Seligman Avenue NE Albuquerque, NM 87109
• Campaign phone number: 505-401-2767
• Campaign email: contact@armijo4mayor.com
• Campaign website: armijo4mayor.com
• Campaign Finances: View Candidate Disclosure

No campaign chairperson listed.

Treasurer: Sulema Lenz

COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS FROM CANDIDATE DISCLOSURE

• Total Contributions:       $19,606.00
• Total Expenditures:         $1,393.56
• In-Kind Contributions:     $1,508.58
• In-Kind Expenditure:         $0
• Current Cash Balance:  $18,212.44
• Current Debt Balance:       $0

TOP CONTRIBUTORS

• Chauling Armijo                        $6,000.00
• Katrina Tracy                             $6,000.00
• Four Winds Menchanical, Inc  $6,000.00
• Green Castle Media                  $1,508.58
• David F. Poe                               $1,000.00

SAFER ALBUQUERQUE COMMITTEE (SAFER ABQ)

According to the City Clerk’s candidate website, the following Measured Finance Committee has been created to advocate Mayling Armijo for Mayor: SAFER ALBUQUERQUE COMMITTEE (SAFER ABQ)

Purpose: To advocate for Mayling Armijo’s candidacy for mayor during the Albuquerque 2025 mayoral race and align with values that reduce crime, reduce homelessness, and promote job growth

• Chairperson: Charles M. Rolison
• Address: P.O. Box 4004 Albuquerque, NM 87196
• Phone number: 505-975-4899
• Email: info@saferabq.com
• Website: saferabq.com

The Measured Finance Campaign Disclosure Statement for Safer Albuquerque Committee (Safer ABQ) reports as follows:

Combined Financial Totals

• Total Contributions:     $120,080.00
• Total Expenditures:        $31,651.57
• In-Kind Contributions:       $0
• In-Kind Expenditures:        $0
• Current Cash Balance:  $88,428.43
• Current Debt Balance:       $0

Top Contributors listed:

• Mary Chauling Armijo                             $40,000
• Katrina Tracy                                            $40,000
• Four Winds Mechanical HTC/AC, Inc     $40,000
• Charles Rolison                                          $80.00 

https://campaignfinance.cabq.gov/#/exploreCommitteeDetail/M3FjOgNU2Z3h9u5VXBTrEgpRrh19RviUIoO4CmCWDAE1/null/null/2/2025

EDITORS NOTE: Chauling Mary Armijo is the owner of Four Winds Mechanical HTC/AC INC and she is the sister of  Mayling Armijo. The fact that $80,000 has been contributed by Mayling Armijo’s family and business ownership raises a red flag of a potential coordination of her campaign with the Measured Finance Committee which is strictly prohibited under city ordinance.

2. EDDIE VARELA

BIOGRAPHY WITH COMMENTARY

Eddie Varela is a Republican and is a retired Albuquerque firefighter and former California fire chief. Varela’s campaign website lists six issues, including safety, homelessness, transparency, seniors, youth and small businesses. Varela said he wants to restore public safety, rebuild trust in the government and revitalize the economy.

Varela told politcal blogger Pete Dinelli he did not vote for Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris for President, but now that Trump has been elected, he feels that Trump is doing a “great job” as President. Varela has said that he agrees with President Trump’s and Elon Musk’s severe cuts to government and reducing the size of the federal government.

Varela admitted he attended Mayor Tim Keller’s March 12 “DEFEND ABQ, Standing Strong For Families” program where Keller spoke well over an hour and outlined the Trump Administration’s major cuts that will affect city services. The Trump cuts include federal affordable housing funding, cutting vouchers for the unhoused, and cutting funding for homeless shelters. Cuts to transportation include cutting federal funding for road improvements, bike lanes and trails, bus routes and for the city’s multimillion dollar “rail trail” development. Varela ostensibly is in 100% in agreement with the Trump Administration of cutting of federal funding to the city which will be in the millions of dollars.

A link to a news source on Eddie Varela’s announcement is here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/eddie-varela-joins-race-for-albuquerque-mayor/

CITY CLERK’S CANDIDATE WEB PAGE

The following is the candidate information provided on the City Clerk’s candidate web page:

DATE REGISTERED: February 21, 2025

• Publicly Financed
• Campaign address: 6539 Lamy Street NW Albuquerque, NM 87121
• Campaign phone number: 505-249-2422
• Campaign email: eddierayvarela26@gmail.com
• Campaign website: eddievarelaformayor.com
• Campaign Finances: View Candidate Disclosure

Campaign Chairperson: Audra L Salinas

Treasurer: Audra L Salinas

 COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS FROM CANDIDATE DISCLOSURE

• Total Contributions:         $2,344.40
• Total Expenditures:            $858.67
• In-Kind Contributions:       $500.00
• In-Kind Expenditures:        $0
• Current Cash Balance:    $1,485.73
• Current Debt Balance:        $0

TOP CONTRIBUTORS

• Eddie Varela             $2,009.30
• The Grill                        $500.00
• Russell Bennett          $239.40
• Denise Foor                   $95.70

      3. PATRICK SAIS

BIOGRAPHY WITH COMMENTARY

Republican Patrick Sais ran for election to the New Mexico House of Representatives to represent District 26 in 2024 and lost in the general election on November 5, 2024. He ran for Mayor in 2021 and has no experience working in municipal government. He is a small business owner, retired truck driver and school bus driver and he went to Albuquerque High School. His campaign website (Sais4mayor@yahoo.com)  states that he’s focused on “enhancing public safety, improving educational opportunities and promoting sustainable economic growth” yet he provides no specifics.

CITY CLERK’S CANDIDATE WEB PAGE

Following is the candidate information provided on the City Clerk’s candidate web page:

DATE REGISTERED: February 27, 2025

• Publicly Financed
• Campaign address: 11012 Suffolk Avenue SW Albuquerque, NM 87121
• Campaign phone number: 505-584-9075
• Campaign email: Sais4mayor@yahoo.com
• Campaign website: Not provided.
• Campaign Finances: View Candidate Disclosure

No campaign chairperson listed.

Treasurer: Gina Padilla

 COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS FROM CANDIDATE DISCLOSURE

• Total Contributions:    $103.00
• Total Expenditures:       N/A
• In-Kind Contributions:   $0
• In-Kind Expenditures:   $0
• Current Cash Balance:  $103.00
• Current Debt Balance:   $0

TOP CONTRIBUTORS

Gina Padilla $103.00

4. DARREN WHITE

BIOGRAPHY WITH COMMENTARY

Republican Darren White is the controversial former Cabinet Secretary of the Department of Public Safety for then Republican Governor Gary Johnson. White is a former two term Bernalillo County Sheriff and former Albuquerque Chief Public Safety Officer under Republican Mayor Richard Berry. In 2008, White was the Republican nominee for US Congress in New Mexico’s 1st congressional district facing then Albuquerque City Councilman Martin Heinrich. Heinrich defeated White in a landslide with Heinrich elected with 55.5% to Whites 44.5%.

When Darren White was Albuquerque Chief Public Safety Officer,  he “retired” from the city after he interfered with an APD investigation of his wife involved in an accident. Following his career in law enforcement, White changed his strong opposition to the legalization of marijuana. He started his own cannabis dispensary company called PurLife when then Republican Governor Susana Martinez Administration awarded him a license to sell medical marijuana. He recently held a private event for his candidacy for Mayor with former Republican Congresswoman Heather Wilson flown in for attendance. Confidential sources have confirmed that Republican former Mayor Richard Berry is also in support of Darren White.

It is more likely than not that Republican Darren White has been encouraged to run by the Republican Party and his close personal friend Republican Political Consultant Jay McClusky with the ultimate goal to end the political career of Democrat Mayor Tim Keller. The goal also is to allow the Republican Party to exert greater influence over City Hall and the appointments to well-paying jobs as they did before with Republican Mayor Richard Berry.

Republican Mayor Richard Berry appointed influential Republicans Darren White as Chief Public Safety Officer, Rob Perry as City Attorney and then CAO after they forced out  Democrat  David Campbell as CAO, Gordon Eden as APD Chief, Jessica Hernandez as City Attorney and Republican politcal operative Tito Madrid. Jessica Hernandez was Republican Governor Susana Martinez’s general counsel first before Mayor Berry appointed her City Attorney. Gordon Eden was Governor Martinez’s Public Safety Cabinet Secretary before Mayor Berry appointed Gordon Eden APD Chief and Eden had absolutely no experience managing any law enforcement department. A Republican source has said that Darren White intends to appoint former Republican State Senator and retired APD police officer and former APD Union President Paul Pacheco APD Chief should White win.

The link to a news source for Darren White announcing for Mayor is here:

https://www.kob.com/news/top-news/darren-white-to-run-for-albuquerque-mayor/

CITY CLERK’S CANDIDATE WEB PAGE

The following is the candidate information provided on the City Clerk’s candidate  web page:

DATE REGISTERED: March 6, 2025

• Publicly Financed
• Campaign address: 6701 Tennyson Street NE Apt. 7004 Albuquerque, NM 87122
• Campaign phone number: 505-400-4437
• Campaign email: info@darrenwhiteformayor.com
• Campaign email:dwhiteformayor@gmail.com
• Campaign website: darrenwhiteformayor.com
• Campaign Finances: View Candidate Disclosure

No campaign chairperson listed.

Treasurer: Sal Baragiola

COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS FROM CANDIDATE DISCLOSURE

• Total Contributions:       $29,801.29
• Total Expenditures:           N/A
• In-Kind Contributions:    $2,311.24
• In-Kind Expenditures:        $25.00
• Current Cash Balance:  $29,801.29
• Current Debt Balance:       $0 

TOP CONTRIBUTORS

• Doug Peterson                   $1,700.00
• Caitlin Lardner                        $611.24
• GH & AW Tegtmeyer               $500.00
• James and Cynthia McCory    $500.00
• Bill and Alison Cox                  $500.00

5. TIM KELLER

BIOGRAPHY WITH COMMENTARY

Democrat Tim Mayor Keller is seeking a third 4 year term as Mayor and if successful would be the first to serve three consecutive terms. Voters elected Keller the first time in 2017 and then 2021. Keller is a former NM State Senator for the International District and a former New Mexico State Auditor. Keller says he is seeking a third term to complete the work on projects and programs he has started. Keller has said that his next term will focus on combating crime and homelessness while prioritizing redevelopment and housing, which is virtually identical to his last 4 years in office.

KELLER’S RECORD ON CRIME

Seven years ago when Keller ran the first time for Mayor, he proclaimed  violent crime was out of control saying this:

“It’s unfortunate, but crime is absolutely out of control. It’s the mayor’s job to actually address crime in Albuquerque, and that’s what I want to do as the next mayor.”

Today, murders are at historical highs and violent crime continues to spike and is out of control. Mayor Keller and APD Chief Harold Medina have seriously mismanaged the ongoing train wreck known as APD with the department dangerously understaffed with about 850 sworn cops despite seven years of increased budgets, salary increases, and lucrative bonus pay.

APD is very top heavy with mid to upper management with only about 250 officers out of 850 actually patrolling the streets. Keller has literally thrown money at the problem, yet the department continues to languish. This coming from the Mayor who promised 1,200 cops during his first term. During a recent APD Academy graduation, Keller promised 1,000 cops by the end of the year which is not at all likely given expected retirements.

KELLER’S RECORD ON DEALING WITH A CORRUPT APD

The city is dealing with the largest corruption case in the city’s history involving the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). The DA has had to dismiss more than 272 DWI cases which were brought by APD Officers who accepted bribes and whose credibility became an issue. During the past year, a total of 15 APD Police officers, including a Deputy Commander and Commander of Internal Affairs, have been implicated in the scandal with four APD officers pleading guilty as charged. The former APD officers face up to 130 years in prison.

Both Keller and Chief Medina have acknowledged that the nefarious conduct by APD police officers occurred the entire time they have been in charge of APD and that they never detected the conduct until the FBI brought it to their attention. They have failed to take any responsibility for what happened under their watch as they deflect and blame others. They both have blamed the Court’s, the DAs Office and the Public Defenders for the DWI dismissals.

KELLER’S RECORD ON THE HOMELESS

Keller has allowed the unhoused to proliferate city streets, parks and open space declining to aggressively enforce city and state vagrant laws and make arrests as allowed by a landmark United States Supreme Court ruling. Keller allowed Coronado Park to become the city’s de facto city sanction homeless encampment before he declared it to be the most dangerous place in the state forgetting it was he who sanctioned it and then he was forced to close it down because of out-of-control violent crime and illicit drug use.

Keller has spent over $300 million in the last 4 years on homeless shelters, programs, and the city purchasing and remodeling motels for low-income housing. Notwithstanding, the homeless crisis continues to surge and it has spiked by 18% as Keller allows the unhoused to proliferate city streets, parks and open space declining to aggressively enforce city and state vagrancy laws. The problem is 75% of the chronic unhoused refuse to accept city services yet Keller continues to throw city resources at the crisis.

Keller has taken an “all the above approach” to deal with the city’s homeless crisis. Keller has established a total of 5 shelters to deal with the homeless that should be operating as an integrated system:

• The Gibson Gateway shelter
• The Gateway West shelter
• The Family Gateway shelter
• The Youth Homeless shelter
• The Recovery Shelter

The blunt reality is that Mayor Keller has essentially proclaimed the unhoused as “wards of the city” when such a responsibility should be undertaken by the state or federal government.

The recent annual Point-In-Time homeless survey count found an 18% increase in the homeless with upwards of 3,000 chronic homeless in the city. It was reported 75% refuse city services preferring to be left alone to continue living on the streets. Despite Keller’s spending efforts to assist the unhoused, the city’s homeless numbers continue to spike as the crisis worsens and as the unhoused refuse services and as they take over our streets and parks.

The $300 million spent to help 3,000 to 5,000 homeless with 75% refusing services would have gone a long way to finance community centers, senior citizen centers, police and fire substations, preschool or after school programs, senior citizen programs, and police and fire programs.

A viable solution to deal with the mentally ill and drug addicted homeless who refuse city services is the initiation of civil mental health commitments by the state to mandate mental health care or drug addiction counseling in a hospital setting after a court hearing that determines a person is a danger to themselves or others. Such approach would in fact get the mentally ill and drug addicted the health care they desperately need and off the streets.

The link to a news source for Mayor Keller announcing for third term is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_c4a7a8c8-0035-11f0-a187-6f113c184756.html

KELLER’S FAILURE TO HOLD CHIEF MEDINA ACCOUNTABLE

Keller has also refused to hold Chief Medina accountable for a vehicle crash where Medina negligently plowed into another driver putting the driver in the hospital in critical condition. Medina admitted to violating state law when he failed to have his body camera on during the incident that preceded the crash where he and his wife were shot at and he fled the scene and drove into on coming traffic after running a red light.

After the crash, Keller called Medina “arguably the most important person right now in these times in our city.” Medina’s appointed crash review board declared the crash as “non avoidable” even after Medina admitted to causing the crash. Medina was given a “slap on the wrist” with letters of reprimand and no demotion nor suspension. The City and Medina have been sued by the other driver and the case is still pending and will likely result in a significant judgement being paid for Medina’s negligent driving and his running of a red light.

Chief Medina’s numerous violations of standard operating procedures involving the car crash  and his intentional violation of state law by not activating his lapel camera constituted grounds for Medina’s termination, but Keller refused to terminate Chief Medina for cause but instead defended his actions. 

CITY CLERK’S CANDIDATE WEB PAGE

The following is the candidate information is provided on the City Clerk’s candidate web page:

DATE REGISTERED: March 12, 2025

• Publicly Financed
• Campaign address: P.O. Box 7208 Albuquerque, NM 87194
• Campaign phone number: 505-400-0415
• Campaign email: info@mayortimkeller.com
• Campaign website: mayortimkeller.com
• Campaign Finances: View Candidate Disclosure

No campaign chairperson listed.

Treasurer: Clara Hardgrave

 COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS FROM CANDIDATE DISCLOSURE

• Total Contributions:        $15,621.12
• Total Expenditures:           $2,500.00
• In-Kind Contributions:        $0
• In-Kind Expenditures:         $0
• Current Cash Balance:   $13,121.12
• Current Debt Balance:         $0

 TOP CONTRIBUTORS

• Tim Keller                    $2,500.00
• Theodore Martinez         $250.00
• Edward Romero             $250.00
• Harold Gershen             $250.00
• Karen Raff                      $250.00

ASCEND ALBUQUERQUE

According to the City Clerks Candidate website, the following Measured finance committee has been created to promote  Mayor Tim Keller: ASCEND ALBUQUERQUE

Purpose: To support the election of Tim Keller as Mayor of Albuquerque

• Chairperson: Michelle Mayorga
• Address: 300 Tijeras Avenue NE Apt. 100 Albuquerque, NM 87102
• Phone number: 505-270-4079
• Email: sfitzer139@gmail.com
• Website: N/A
• Campaign Finances: View MFC Disclosure

Combined Financial Totals

• Total Contributions:        N/A
• Total Expenditures:         N/A
• In-Kind Contributions:    $0
• In-Kind Expenditures:     $0
• Current Cash Balance:    $0
• Current Debt Balance:     $0

https://campaignfinance.cabq.gov/#/exploreCommitteeDetail/VMQvJiHXaP1z-Iz2eL_papP4048PFnxLXRUfdOLcQk01/null/null/2/2025

6. LOUIE SANCHEZ

BIOGRAPHY WITH COMMENTARY

Democrat Louie Sanchez is a first term District 1 City Councilor for the West side.  He is a retired APD Police Officer and was head of former Mayor Marty Chevez’s security detail.  He is the owner of the Louie Sanchez All State Insurance Agency.  Sanchez is up for re-election to the city council and is giving up his council seat to run for Mayor. Sanchez’s campaign website calls for “safer communities,” “a stronger community” and “solutions for homelessness.”

Sanchez was elected to represent the Westside district in 2021, defeating incumbent Lan Sena, who Mayor Keller appointed after the death of long time City Councilor Ken Sanchez. When Louie Sanchez was first  elected to city council, he immediately demanded the resignation of his predecessor City Councilor Lan Sena before her term ended demanding that he be sworn in immediately by the City Clerk Nathan Watts  and proclaiming “the law is the law” and that it was he, and not Sena, who was the duly elected city councilor. City Clerk Nathan Watts ignored Sanchez’s demands to be sworn in to replace Sena resulting in political retaliation by Sanchez demanding council confirmation of City Clerk Nathan Watts by the new council so he could vote no on the Watts confirmation.

Sanchez, along with Republican City Council President Dan Lewis, demanded that Mayor Keller re submit appointments he made for Chief Administrative Officer, City Clerk, City Attorney and APD Chief, who already had been confirmed by the previous city council so they could conduct their own confirmation hearings and so they could vote NO on Keller the appointments.

Sanchez and Lewis both had a “bone to pick” with City Clerk Nathan Watts and CAO Sarita Nair and the City Attorney over the way their election to the City Council in 2021 was handled. Lewis in particular berated Watson’s handling of the election asking him “How can we trust you?”  during his confirmation hearing. CAO Sarita Nair resigned after Keller essentially abandoned her efforts to get reconfirmed and she realized she did not have the support of the new city council.

Sanchez is considered by politcal observers to be a conservative Democrat. Many Democrats accuse Sanchez of being a Democrat in Name Only (DINO). Sanchez is considered the swing vote on the City Council and he has shown it by repeatedly voting with all 4 of the Republicans on the  City Council to repeal ordinances enacted by the previous progressive city council.

It was on December 6, 2021, the then progressive City Council voted 6-3 to amend the city’s “Public Purchases Ordinance” to require Project Labor Agreements (PLA’s) on all future city construction projects that cost at least $10 million and that employ workers from at least three crafts according to the ordinance. On April 4, 2022 Councilor Sanchez voted with the 4 Republicans to repeal “City Project Labor Agreement” requirement. City Council Louie Sanchez offended all city unions when he said this about his vote to repeal the Project Labor agreement ordinance:

“I know the competition is good. … I really feel everybody has to have a piece of the pie. … Another thing I know, because I was a union member for so long, is that, there is a lot of slugs in the union. I know that for a fact.”

Sanchez is known to support ordinances sponsored by Republicans and oppose ordinances sponsored by Democrats. Sanchez supported the abolishment of the current strong Mayor form of government falsely proclaiming it does not work and he advocated it be replaced with a City Manager appointed by the Council, yet now he wants to be Mayor. Go figure!

During his term as city councilor, Sanchez has been a very vocal critic of Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Harold Medina.  Sanchez sought the firing of Chief Harold Medina by the City Council with the introduction of a Resolution of “No Confidence” that he later withdrew knowing he did not have the votes on the City Council to remove Medina.

The link to a news source on Councilor Louie Sanchez announcing for Mayor is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_92e5ea94-a46d-424a-9823-3602cda945e3.html

CITY CLERK’S CANDIDATE WEB PAGE

The following is the candidate information provided on the City Clerk’s candidate  web page:

DATE REGISTERED: April 7, 2025

• Publicly Financed
• Campaign address: 7905 Marigold Drive NW Albuquerque, NM 87120
• Campaign phone number: 505-506-7864
• Campaign email: candidate@louie4abq.com
• Campaign website: louie4abq.com
• Campaign Finances: View Candidate Disclosure

No campaign chairperson listed

Treasurer:  Rob Mangone

 COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS FROM CANDIDATE DISCLOSURE

• Total Contributions:     $11,750.00
• Total Expenditures:        $9,975.29
• In-Kind Contributions:     $0
• In-Kind Expenditures:      $0
• Current Cash Balance:   $1,774.71
• Current Debt Balance:   $10,000.00

TOP CONTRIBUTORS

• Louie Sanchez     $10,000.00
• Frances Lujan           $250.00
• Yolanda Pickup         $250.00
• Richard Pickup         $250.00
• Robert Martinez        $250.00

7. ALPANA ADAIR

BIOGRAPHY WITH COMMENTARY

According to Alpana Adair’s “Link In resume”  (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alpana-adair-a1b8602b7), she has been in Albuquerque since May 2023.  Her party affiliation is listed as “other / DTs” and she first registered to vote in March, 2023. She has voted one time in the 2024 general election. She previously worked for a hospitality consulting firm before moving to Albuquerque. She is a Human Resources Consultant, a Communications Strategist and a Screenwriter.

Alpana Adair is has been the Chief Executive Officer for Bindie Productions, a film and wedding production company. She states her current  job is as a hotel business and Human Resources consultant for Hotel Profitability Advisors (HPA).  On her campaign website, she states that she wants to reduce juvenile crime, create more jobs, and improve residents’ quality of life.  Her Campaign highlights a campaign platform of lofty goals and platitudes including  “Raise the Bar”, “Unite Our Communities For a Common Goal”, “Set Higher Standards for Excellence in Albuquerque”, “Empower Citizens To Actively Participate in Change” with no specifics.  (https://votemayoradair.com/about-me/ )

The link to a quoted or relied upon news source is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/election/article_bef2d1a8-a6c9-4eb9-b3b7-1af214d9d37e.html

The following is the candidate information provided on the City Clerk’s candidate web page:

DATE REGISTERED: April 14, 2015

• Publicly Financed
• Campaign address: 408 Grove Street SE Albuquerque, NM 87108
• Campaign phone number: 505-304-0064
• Campaign email: info@votemayoradair.com
• Campaign website: votemayoradair.com
• Campaign Finances: View Candidate Disclosure

No campaign chairperson listed.

Treasurer: John Vieira

 CITY CLERK’S CANDIDATE WEB PAGE

Following is the candidate information provided on the City Clerk’s candidate  web page:

COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS FROM CANDIDATE DISCLOSURE

• Total Expenditures:        N/A
• In-Kind Contributions:   $0
• In-Kind Expenditures:    $0
• Current Cash Balance:   $0
• Current Debt Balance:    $0

8. BRIAN FEJER

BIOGRAPHY WITH COMMENTARY

Brian Fejer, party affiliation unknown, is an Albuquerque resident, and does not have a campaign website. Instead, he has a Substack blog entitled “La Politica” with a post called “Brian Fejer for ABQ Mayor 2025,” which has the subheading “This is satire.” He has  a FACEBOOK page (https://www.facebook.com/brianfejer/).  According to his FACEBOOK profile he is a “Digital Creator”, he is from Albuquerque and went to Manzano High School, and his FACEBOOK page shows no work history. On his blog, Fejer says he would declare a “public mental health emergency,” focusing on the fentanyl crisis. He also calls for the creation of an Albuquerque subway system without any mention of how it would be financed with the cost likely to be in the billions of dollars.

CITY CLERK’S CANDIDATE WEB PAGE

DATE REGISTERED: April 6, 2025

• Privately Financed
• Campaign address: 520 Coal Avenue SW Albuquerque, NM 87102
• Campaign phone number: 505-712-9342
• Campaign email: brianfejer4abq@gmail.com
• Campaign website:
• Campaign Finances: View Candidate Disclosure

No campaign chairperson listed.

Treasurer: John Reiser

The following is the candidate information provided on the City Clerk’s candidate web page:

 COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS FROM CANDIDATE DISCLOSURE

• Total Contributions:       N/A
• Total Expenditures:        N/A
• In-Kind Contributions:    $0
• In-Kind Expenditures:    $0
• Current Cash Balance:   $0
• Current Debt Balance:    $0

9. ALEXANDER M. M. UBALLEZ

BIOGRAPHY WITH COMMENTARY

Democrat Alexander M. M. Uballez is the Former New Mexico U.S. Attorney who was fired by President Trump on Valentines Day February 14. Uballez is among more than 20 other U.S. Attorneys who were asked to step down and who were appointed by President Joe Biden. “Before leading the office, Uballez served as an assistant U.S. Attorney for six years. He also worked as a prosecutor in New Mexico’s 2nd Judicial District Court for three and a half years. He received a law degree from Columbia Law School in 2011. Although he has no experience as an elected official, Uballez [proclaims] his experience as a prosecutor, combined with his two years at the helm of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, would play a key role in addressing Albuquerque’s crime and public safety issues.”

Uballez singular biggest claim to fame is bringing federal charges against law enforcement officers and the ring leaders involved in the DWI bribery and conspiracy scandal to dismiss hundreds of DWI cases. Informed, confidential sources, report  that Uballez pressured the FBI to turn over evidence in the case to his office so that his office could bring charges in January, 2025 before he was fired by Trump in an effort to get publicity and take credit for the prosecution and to hold on to his job as United Stated Attorney.

On January 25, 2024 United State Attorney Alexander Uballez wrote District Attorney Sam Bregman that outed the “ongoing covert investigation” of the Federal DWI Enterprise investigation. The letter placed into jeopardy the federal investigation of APD when the letter was made public and distributed to the media.

On January 25, 2024  the online news agency ABQ Raw erroneously reported “We received a letter from U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez, who serves as the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, addressed to Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman”.  The language underlined for clarity to  emphasize the erroneous report that it was Uballez who sent the letter to ABQ Raw.  A cell phone screen shot of the original ABQ Raw article has been taken. ABQ Raw published the image of the Uballez January 25, 2024 letter to Bregman written on United States Attorney letter head. The Uballez letter to Bregman  does not have any disclaimer from Uballez that his letter is “confidential/not for distribution to public or media.”

On April 22, 2025, after over a full year, ABQ Raw ran a three word correction to its original story after it received a complaint from the public. The correction reads “We received from a source a letter from U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez, who serves as the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, addressed to Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman”.  (The correction addition is under lined for clarity.)

Uballez sending the January 25, 2024 letter to DA Sam Bregman with the letter subsequently published by ABQ Raw was a serious breach of Department of Justice (DOJ) protocol of not commenting on pending investigations and prosecutions. It was  likely a violation of established DOJ ethical standards and guidelines. Uballez likely did not get permission from the DOJ main office in Washington, DC  to send his letter to DA Bregman and making the disclosures he made.

In the letter Uballez sent to Bregman, Uballez states the investigation is a covert federal investigation. The Uballez letter sent to Bregman and then released to the media and published by ABQ Raw undermined the confidentiality of the criminal investigation for publicity sake and for political purposes.

At the time of publication of the letter, DA Sam Bregman was running for DA and he was under severe criticism by APD Chief Harold Medina for the DA’s office failure to advise APD of scheduled hearings thereby facilitating the dismissal of DWI cases and the bribery scheme. APD essentially accused the DA’s office for being responsible for the scandal. The Uballez letter to Bregman effectively deflected the criticism of Bregman by APD.

The link to the ABQ Raw corrected article publishing the Uballez letter to Bregman is here:

https://abqraw.com/post/u-s-attorney-of-new-mexico-sends-letter-to-da-bregman-regarding-dwi-scandal/

ABQ Raw was not the only news outlet that an unidentified source sent the Uballez letter to. On January 25, 2024 KOB 4 staff reporter Feliz Romero reported on the letter, but did not publish it and only made reference to it when he reported in part as follows:

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office told KOB 4 they cannot confirm or deny that other agencies are involved.  But in his letter to Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez left the door open to other agencies or officers being involved, saying ‘know that we will continue to inform you when we uncover information.’ ”

The link to the full KOB report is here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/are-other-agencies-involved-in-the-alleged-dwi-corruption-scandal/

The link to the quoted news source on the Uballez announcement is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/election/article_32b726a6-b9fa-421d-922e-8409a752c826.html#tncms-source=home-featured-7-block

CITY CLERK’S CANDIDATE WEB PAGE

DATE REGISTERED: April 17, 2025

• Publicly Financed
• Campaign address: P.O. Box 26421, Albuquerque, NM 87102-2142
• Campaign phone number: 505-508-6423
• Campaign email: alexuballez@gmail.com
• Campaign website:
• Campaign Finances: View Candidate Disclosure

No Campaign manager listed.

Treasurer: Veronica Gonzales

The following is the candidate information provided on the City Clerk’s candidate web page:

COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS FROM CANDIDATE DISCLOSURE

• Total Contributions:        N/A
• Total Expenditures:        N/A
• In-Kind Contributions:    $0
• In-Kind Expenditures:     $0
• Current Cash Balance:    $0
• Current Debt Balance:     $0

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/2025-candidates-and-committees-1

CANDIDATE CALENDAR DEADLINES OUTLINED

March 3 was the first day of the “Public Financing Exploratory Period” for Mayoral Candidates. The  Exploratory Period began on March 3 and ended on April 18. March 3 was also the first day or Mayoral Candidates to submit Declaration of Intent to seek public financing.

The Seed Money Period for candidates for Mayor, or the time to begin collecting exploratory contributions, was from March 3, 2025 to April 18, 2025.

In order to File the Declaration of Intent, the applicant candidate for public finance had to schedule an appointment with the City Clerk at least one day prior to filing. The Clerk reviewed the public finance process with the applicant candidate and provided the Declaration of Intent for public financing.

The Qualifying Period for candidates for Mayor to collect 3,780 qualifying donations of $5.00 from Albuquerque registered voters  for public financing began on  April 19, 2025 and ends on  June 21, 2025.

The Petition Period for candidates for Mayor to collect 3,000 or more signatures from Albuquerque registered voters began on  April 19, 2025 and ends  June 21, 2025.

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/candidate-calendar-for-the-2025-regular-local-election

SEED MONEY CONTRIBUTION LIMITS

From March 3, to June 21, candidates for Mayor are  allowed to collect seed money contributions of $250 per person for an aggregate of $151,189.

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/publicly-financed-candidates

QUALIFYING PERIOD SIGNATURES AND QUALIFYING DONATIONS

The qualifying period for candidates for Mayor who are both publicly and privately finance candidates  to collect qualifying petition signatures is from April 19, at 8:00am to June 21, 2025 at 5:00pm.

The qualifying period for candidates for Mayor who are publicly financed candidates to collect  3,780 qualifying donations of  $5.00 each and to receive $755,946 in public finance from the city is  from April 19, at 8:00am to  June 21, 2025, at 5:00pm. In the event that a candidate does not collect the full 3,780 qualifying donations, those donations revert to the city and not to the candidates campaign. The candidate can  declare to be a privately finance candidate and solicit private campaign donation funding until election day November 5.

Privately financed candidates can commence collecting campaign donations on April 19 and do so up an until election day of November 5.

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/publicly-financed-candidates

QUALIFYING PETITION SIGNATURES

Candidates for Mayor must gather at least  3,000 signatures from registered voters who  only who reside within the Albuquerque City limits. Petitions are given to candidates and the qualifying signatures can only be collected from April 19, 2025, at 8:00am to  June 21, 2025, at 5:00pm to qualify to be placed on the November 4 ballot.

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/publicly-financed-candidates

PUBLIC FINANCED CANDIDATE

Candidates for Mayor who seek public financing must collect Qualifying Contributions of $5.00 each from 1% of the registered voters which in 2025 is 3,780 qualifying donations of $5.00 each. Upon collecting the 3,780 verified qualifying $5.00 donations, the qualifying candidate will be given $755,946.00 by the city in public financing. A candidate who qualifies for the public financing must agree in writing to a spending cap of $755,946 and failure to adhere to the spending cap mandates a full refund and removal from office if elected.

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/publicly-financed-candidates

NO FUNDRAISING OR SPENDING LIMITS FOR PRIVATELY FINANCE CANDATES

Unlike publicly financed candidates, who may only spend the funds given to them by the City and agree to a spending cap, privately financed candidates have no fundraising or spending limits. There are, however, limits on individual contributions. Specifically, Article XIII, Section 4(d) limits the total contributions, including in-kind contributions, from any one person (with the exception of the candidate himself or herself).

The following limits per individual or corporation or entity are  in effect:

“Limits to Contributions. No privately financed candidate shall, for any one election, allow total contributions, including in-kind contributions, from any one person with the exception of contributions from the candidate themselves of more $6,000 for Mayoral Candidates.”

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/publicly-financed-candidates

IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION LIMITS

Candidates for Mayor can accept individual in-kind contributions of up to $2,500 for a total aggregate of $75,594.60.

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/publicly-financed-candidates

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

With a total of nine candidates running for Mayor, now the real hard part begins for them to get on the ballot and collect nominating signature to be placed on the ballot  and to collect the $5.00 qualifying donations. Unless the candidate has a strong volunteer base or has set up on line system to collect both signatures and donations, its likely they will not succeed.

All nine candidates must collect at least 3,000 qualifying nominating petition signatures from  April 19, 2025 to June 21, 2025, a mere 4 weeks and 4 days. Each signature must come from registered voters in the Albuquerque area. The city clerks will go through each and every one of those signatures to confirm their registration and candidates can challenge each others signatures for disqualification. Those signatures of people who sign the nomination petitions and who are not actually registered voters are tossed and are not counted. It is expected that upwards 3  of the candidates running will no be able to secure the 3,000 qualifying signatures.

Eight of the nine candidates that are running for Mayor have declared themselves to be “public financed” candidates. The single most difficult task for candidates who are publicly financed candidates will be the collection of 3,780 qualifying donations of $5.00 each in order to secure $755,946 in city financing. The candidates are given from  April 19, 2025 to June 21, 2025, a mere 4 weeks and 4 days to collect the 3,780 qualifying donations from registered Albuquerque voters. The city clerks will go through each and every one of the donations to confirm their registration within the city limits. It is more likely than not that at least 3 of the candidates, will not be able to collect the necessary donations and will be forced to go with private financing.

Best wishes to all the candidates and thank you for undertaking the task for running for Mayor of Albuquerque. Good luck!

It was on Friday January 19, 2024 that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed search warrants and raided the homes of 3 Albuquerque Police officers and the home and law offices of prominent DWI criminal defense attorney Thomas Clear, III and his investigator Ricardo “Rick” Mendez. All those targeted with a search warrant are accused of being involved in a bribery and conspiracy scheme to dismiss DWI cases.

Over the last year and four months, the investigation has evolved into the single largest law enforcement corruption case in the city’s history involving APD, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico State Police with no end in sight.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman has had to dismiss more than 272 DWI cases involving law enforcement officers linked to the federal case and due to police officer credibility being called into question in the cases where they made the DWI arrests.

More than a year into their investigation, the FBI continues to seek out those who participated in the near 30-year criminal enterprise in which law enforcement officers coordinated with defense attorney Thomas Clear, III and his investigator Ricardo “Rick” Mendez to get drunken driving cases thrown out of court by paying bribes to arresting officers.

An alarming wrinkle in the investigation is determining to what extent were APD Internal Affairs officers involved with using their positions and influence to deflect or not investigate or disciplined APD Officers involved in the DWI scheme to dismiss cases for bribes.  

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL REPORT

On April 13, the Albuquerque Journal published a remarkable front page article with the banner headline “The tip that went nowhere” and sub headline “How a former DWI officer who rose to the highest levels of APD did ‘nothing’ with a tip targeting a deadeslong corruption sheme”. The article was written by Journal Staff reporters Matthew Reisen and Colleen Heild.

Following is a quoted an edited and condensed version of the article, with “subtitles” added to assist the reader, detailing the factual basis of how the tip was ignored by Commander of Internal Affairs Mark Landavazo:

“In June 2022, acting Commander of Internal Affairs Mark Landavazo was forwarded a civilian complaint from the FBI.  The  allegations, if true, were damning, explosive and specific to the DWI unit. Landavazo started in the DWI Unit before rising to the upper echelons of APD. Landavazo has not been criminally charged but was terminated by APD.

The subject line of the complaint read “Possible corruption involving an Albuquerque Police Department officer and Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque.”   The FBI complaint described bribery and extortion involving DWI officer Joshua Montaño, attorney Thomas Clear III and his right-hand man Rick Mendez,  all three familiar faces to Landavazo.

Recently obtained APD records state that Landavazo “had seemingly not done anything” with the complaint, which gave an account from a 21-year-old college student arrested by Montaño. Investigators say the tip, at the very least, should have gone to the desk of Police Chief Harold Medina and into an Internal Affairs (IA) file for open investigations. And, they say, Landavazo knew better. But the corruption, which had gone on for nearly three decades, would continue another 18 months until January 2024, when the FBI raided Clear’s office and the homes of Mendez and several officers, including Montaño.

Numerous policy violations uncovered during an internal APD probe into what happened with the FBI’s tip led to Landavazo being disciplined for mishandling the complaint and fired for violating confidentiality.  Landavazo was deemed to have been “untruthful” about a friendly relationship with Mendez, one that continued long after the FBI complaint came in.

Landavazo said he didn’t know the details or who was being accused and consulted his supervisor, Maj. Zak Cottrell, before telling an FBI agent to send the tip to the city’s Civilian Police Oversight Advisory Board. Investigators said during interviews with APD, Landavazo made it clear he was “aware of the details of the complaint.” Landavazo said he told Cottrell about the tip. Cottrell denied being made aware.

[Quoting one finding of the investigation]:

“The investigation found that Cmdr. Landavazo did not, truthfully nor fully, answer questions specifically directed at him … Landavazo’s answers were inconsistent from one interview to the next and even within the same interview.”

[TWO SEPARATE INTERNAL AFFAIRS INVESTIGATIONS]

There were two separate Internal Affairs Investigations involving former Commander of Internal Affairs Mark Landavazo. Following is a discussion of each:

[FIRST INVESTIGATION]

“A month after the FBI raids, on Feb. 12, an investigation was opened into Landavazo after the complaint resurfaced. He was placed on paid leave and IA investigators interviewed him about how the tip was handled.

Investigators had the FBI send the email chain between the agent and Landavazo, in which the agent reached out with “a referral from a citizen,” adding, “however, given the nature of the referral (I) want to confirm you are the correct individual to send it to.”   Landavazo responded that he would be “more than happy to assist” but told the agent that citizen complaints must go through the Civilian Police Oversight Advisory Board. He added, “feel free to give me a call.”

Investigators say Landavazo told them the agent did speak with him on the phone, and the email chain shows the agent sent the complaint minutes later. But when asked for the email chain, Landavazo turned over a printed copy that didn’t include the final email with the complaint attached.

The case report states:

“It’s clear that Landavazo chose to omit this email from his interview with IA as it was so clearly a possible policy violation that the DWI officers were involved in, and a criminal matter, that any other employee would have known to initiate a case and notify the Chief of Police immediately.”

Investigators say Landavazo told them he informed Cottrell of the complaint, but Cottrell said he was never informed. Superintendent of Police Reform Eric Garcia wrote this in his investigation report:

“This is a ‘he said/he said’ situation that cannot be verified to determine credibility for either party. … While Commander Landavazo’s actions do not rise to the level of untruthfulness, they do cast doubt on his integrity and honesty.”

Garcia imposed a 48-hour suspension for three policy violations related to mishandling the complaint.

The investigation uncovered messages and content on Landavazo’s phone that spurred a second investigation, one that focused on his relationship with Mendez. The revelations would ultimately get Commander Mark Landavazo fired.”

[SECOND INVESTIGATION]

“The second Internal Affairs investigation was opened before the first had wrapped up. The first investigation uncovered messages and content on Landavazo’s phone that spurred a second investigation, one that focused on his relationship with Mendez. The revelations would ultimately get him fired.

Through interviews, text messages and investigation, it was found that Landavazo discussed a confidential IA case with Mendez in 2023 and was dishonest about their relationship.

Garcia wrote in the IA filings:

“Upon reading the text exchanges that Commander Landavazo had with Mr. Mendez, it is clear that they had more than just a professional relationship.”

According to the investigation, Landavazo met Mendez outside police headquarters on Feb. 27, 2023. Mendez brought up a misconduct case against Sgt. Brian Johnson and called Johnson to tell him “the case had been settled.”

Johnson has not been tied to the corruption scheme or accused of any wrongdoing. It is unclear why Mendez wanted to be the one to tell Johnson the IA case, which had nothing to do with DWI corruption, had been settled.

When Mendez called, Johnson “expressed confusion, questioning why Mr. Mendez knew about his case and why he was calling.” Landavazo got on the phone “and confirmed the case, saying, ‘Everything’s good,’” the investigation found.

An hour later, Mendez texted Landavazo saying thanks and “you made me sound like the hero” with a superhero emoji. Landavazo replied, “only cuz it was you.”  According to the investigation

“Landavazo confirmed this conversation was regarding Cmdr. Landavazo, having made Mr. Mendez look good in front of Sgt. Johnson.”

Johnson turned over his phone to investigators, who found Mendez’s number saved as “APD Rick Lawyer Tom.”

Landavazo told investigators “it was inappropriate” to have discussed Johnson’s case with Mendez, according to the files. He “could not explain why he had done so, other than to say Mr. Mendez was the first to ever ask and that he was gullible and naïve.”

Landavazo told investigators he had not seen Mendez in eight to 10 years prior to that. He said he knew Mendez and Clear through going to Clear’s office for pretrial interviews as a DWI officer “and that they had no relationship outside of that.”

In other messages with Mendez, the pair set up lunch dates, wished each other happy holidays, and discussed their families.

Landavazo initially told investigators he had lunch with Mendez only once and did not mention a second occasion. Landavazo declined to provide a receipt from the second lunch with Mendez and wouldn’t cooperate further.  According to Internal Affairs investigative report files:

“Landavazo also was aware of the seriousness of the criminal allegations against Mr. Mendez at the time of his first interview, and his lack of candor raises questions about his motivations and relationship with Mr. Mendez.”

The messages between the two concluded with Mendez sending Landavazo a Happy New Year gift on Jan. 1, 2024. A few weeks later FBI agents would raid Mendez’s home and the homes of several officers with whom Landavazo once worked.

[FOUR MOVED TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS]

“Since 2015, four former DWI Unit officers were  moved to Internal Affairs:  Landavazo, Daren DeAguero, Zak Cottrell and Dominic Martinez. Only Landavazo and DeAguero have been tied to the decades-long bribery scheme.

DeAguero, who had previously served as an APD spokesperson, resigned before a planned interview with IA on the case.

Cottrell was responsible for promoting Landavazo to Acting Commander [of Internal Affairs] in early 2022 after Cottrell was elevated to major.

During the internal investigation, a group text from Landavazo’s phone revealed a conversation in which he, Cottrell and Martinez expressed frustration with the lead investigator in the DWI corruption case Cmdr. Kyle Hartsoc calling him ‘a pussy’ and another investigator a ‘knuckle draggin monkey’.”

[APD CHIEF HAROLD MEDINA REACTS]

“In a recent interview with  the  Albuquerque Journal, Chief Medina said this:

“Landavazo, we feel, protected the scheme … We know there’s a relationship to Mendez, and we have the complaint that died. … It makes you wonder, did they always have somebody in IA [Internal Affairs]? I don’t know that. … That is still stuff we’re trying to get through and to see who’s involved. I’ll be 100% honest.  I don’t think we’ve gotten everybody.”

It is unclear why the FBI waited a few months to pass the 2022 tip to APD and whether the federal agency did anything after the initial tip went nowhere. Albuquerque attorney Daymon Ely contacted the FBI on behalf of the tipster and took a sworn affidavit from him. The tipster told the Journal he received a phone call from an FBI agent seeking an interview more than a year later, in September 2023.

In response to Albuquerque  Journal questions, an FBI spokesperson from the Albuquerque office said this in an email:

“It’s common for the FBI to refer complaints to the appropriate tribal, state and local agencies. However, due to the ongoing nature of this investigation, at this time, we cannot comment on the factors that dictated the timeline.”

Medina said he couldn’t blame the agency for not doing more at the time. Medina said this:

“They gave it to a commander for God’s sake, that is a high rank. … You would assume, ‘Hey, this person is passing it off.’ I don’t think anyone could have imagined how big this truly was.”

The link to review the full unedited Albuquerque Journal report is here:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/tip-went-nowhere-high-ranking-140700002.html

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_cd57a98b-16cb-4a68-b5ba-621c0228ff97.html#tncms-source=home-featured-7-block

WHEN DID MEDINA FIRST KNOW ABOUT CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE AND WHAT DID HE DO ABOUT IT

On January 29, KRQE News published a revealing report on the  bribery scheme to dismiss DWI Cases. Chief Medina discussed what he knew and how the investigation unfolded.  Following is transcript of the entire KRQE news report:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It’s been a year since the public learned of the massive corruption scandal involving a scheme to make DWI cases disappear.  Federal documents last week, shed more light on the conspiracy involving police officers and attorneys that dates back more than two decades.

So when did the Albuquerque Police Department’s leadership start to get wise? KRQE Investigative Reporter Ann Pierret sat down with the chief about what he knew and when.

A conversation at a bar is what APD Chief Harold Medina said eventually led to the criminal investigation into the department’s DWI unit. In December of 2022, thirteen months before the community learned of the corruption scandal, a five-page “intel file” showed that APD received a tip from a concerned citizen who shared “DWI officers described how some members of the unit would get paid to get a case dismissed.”

The caller claimed workers at three bars in the northeast heights tipped off officers about customers leaving their establishments. “We did an analysis, and we looked at traffic stops, and we looked to see if we saw traffic stops that were condensed around certain liquor establishments. And we didn’t see that pattern,” said Chief Medina.

So what now? “I knew something was going on. I just didn’t know what. And that’s when the decision was made that we’re going to keep this as quiet as possible,” said Chief Medina.

Chief Medina said at that point only a handful of his staff knew. Without explaining, he asked to change his Monday meeting agenda to include an update from Internal Affairs. “Every week I get a case – a list of cases that came in and I would look through that list to see if there’s anything related to this DWI scheme because I knew that something was going to come in,” said Chief Medina.

But he said the FBI would call first, nearly a year later in October 2023 letting him know they’ve been investigating. KRQE News 13 learned at least one of their tips came from Albuquerque Attorney Daymon Ely. “I was outraged. I mean, I should be. We should all be outraged,” said Ely.

Ely told KRQE News 13 that two people contacted him separately sharing the details we now know made up the scheme. “The day they came in I let the FBI know. And I didn’t contact APD because they obviously have a conflict,” said Ely.

The chief later learned the FBI contacted APD’s Internal Affairs Unit in June of 2022. APD said IA Commander Mark Landavazo told the feds it wasn’t a case he’d handle, it was a citizen complaint. However, because there were criminal allegations, APD said Landavazo should have moved it up the chain. The department fired him over this in February of 2024.

A month after the FBI filled in Chief Medina, in November of 2023, more evidence. Another citizen complaint had been filed. This one to the Civilian Police Oversight Agency from a district court employee. In her letter, she shared a former coworker received a DWI and “there may be questionable conduct by the arresting/citation officer” who put the driver in contact with a specific attorney “who if hired, would ensure that no court case would be filed in court by APD.”

Since officers are informed about citizen complaints, the department jumped to quash that investigation which Chief Medina said prompted an “emergency meeting” with the FBI.

The link to the KRQE New report is here:

https://www.krqe.com/news/investigations/dwi-dismissal-scandal-what-the-albuquerque-police-chief-knew-when/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

ROLE OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS

APD’s Internal Affairs (IA) Unit investigates complaints against APD employees and officers. The IA unit’s purpose is to ensure professionalism and accountability within the department. The IA unit conducts administrative investigations into policy violations, misconduct, and use of force. The IA unit recommends discipline for policy, training, and equipment deficiencies. It’s damn disgusting when it is reported that at least two, if not more, APD Police officers were involved or implicated in the scandal to accept bribes to dismiss DWI cases and later assigned to APD Internal Affairs.

In one interview with the Journal for the article quoted above, Chief Medina said this:

“It makes you wonder, did they always have somebody in [Internal Affairs]? I don’t know that. … That is still stuff we’re trying to get through and to see who’s involved.”

The Journal now reports in its April 13 article “Since 2015, four former DWI Unit officers were  moved to Internal Affairs:  Landavazo, Daren DeAguero, Zak Cottrell and Dominic Martinez. Only Landavazo and DeAguero have been tied to the decades-long bribery scheme.

Attorney Thomas Clear and his investigator Ricardo “Rick” Mendez both admitted in their plea agreements asking senior members of the DWI  bribery scheme to “use their positions and influence within APD” to try to ensure that involved officers “were not investigated or disciplined in connection with their illegal activity.”

Chief Medina’s comments raises two red flag questions:

1. Who were the senior members of the DWI bribery scheme did Thomas Clear and his investigator Ricardo “Rick” Mendez ask to “use their positions and influence within APD” to try to ensure that involved officers “were not investigated or disciplined in connection with their illegal activity.”
2. How many APD supervisors and Internal Affairs officers knew of the corruption and how far up APD’s existing chain of command does the corruption really go?

MARK LANDAVAZO AND GUSTAVO GOMEZ

At least two former-DWI officers who were assigned and who worked in APD Internal Affairs were placed on leave in the case after being implicated in the bribery scandal. Their assignment to Internal Affairs raises the question as to what extent was the work of Internal Affairs compromised by them and for how long?

It was on August 1, 2024, APD announced that it had fired APD Commander of Internal Affairs for Professional Standards Mark Landavazo. He had been on administrative leave and under investigation since February 13, 2024. Landavazo started with APD in 2007 and was with the DWI unit from 2008 through 2013.  It was the online news outlet City Desk ABQ  that reported in the summer of 2024 it had obtained emails that showed the FBI had forwarded a tip in June of 2022 to Landavazo about an officer working with attorney Thomas Clear, III and his paralegal to guarantee a DWI charge would go away if the defendant paid $10,000. According to those emails, Landavazo suggested the FBI special agent contact the Civilian Police Oversight Agency and said that APD Internal Affairs did not handle such citizens complaints. Landavazo was terminated by APD over how he handled the FBI tip.

On October 16, 2024, APD Deputy Commander Gustavo Gomez, with APD’s Internal Affairs Force Division, was placed on paid administrative leave in relation to the DWI dismissal and bribery scandal. He had been with APD since 2008. Gomez was a DWI officer from 2010 to 2013. Gomez was named Deputy Commander of the Internal Affairs Force Division in January 2024.

Both Landavazo and Gomez, as employees of Internal Affairs, had access to all personnel files of police officers being investigated for nefarious conduct. That would  include cases where APD officers were accepting bribes for the dismissal of DWI cases. Both could have deflected investigations of officers involved with DWI Enterprise.

Landavazo’s and Gomez’s work history with Internal Affairs raises the serious question:

Did Mark Landavazo or Gustavo Gomez ever “use their positions and influence within APD” to try to ensure that implicated officers in the DWI scheme “were not investigated or disciplined in connection with their activity” and if so when and for what reasons?

JANUARY 19 KRQE NEWS STORY

The KRQE January 19 news story calls into question the ability of  APD Chief Medina  to manage APD. It  reveals a Chief of Police who was obsessed with trying  to keep under wraps a major scandal involving criminal activity by APD Officers in an effort to allow himself and APD to investigate their own, that he failed to quickly act, that his hand was forced to act by an FBI investigation and that he failed to turn the criminal  investigation over to federal authorities in a timely manner.

Medina revealed in his January 29 interview that he knew about the corruption back in December 2022, a full thirteen months before the community learned of the corruption scandal, when a five-page “intelligence file” showed that APD received a tip from a concerned citizen who shared “DWI officers described how some members of the unit would get paid to get a case dismissed.”   

The intelligence  report said “workers at three bars in the northeast heights tipped off officers about customers leaving their establishments.” The acting sergeant for the Criminal Intelligence Unit in his December 10, 2022 Intelligence memo to the Commander  of the Investigative Services Division specifically requested permission to gather intelligence on the  7 APD Officers then assigned to the DWI unit to identify further criminal activity or other parties involved.  Ostensibly, no effort was made by APD to contact the workers at the 3 bars to verify the information nor to try and identify the APD officers involved. Instead, Medina ordered an analysis of “traffic stops condensed around the  liquor establishments” to determine if there was a pattern of DWI arrests.

Medina said in his interview “I knew something was going on. I just didn’t know what. And that’s when the decision was made that we’re going to keep this as quiet as possible.” Medina said only a handful of his staff knew what was going on and that he wanted to keep it as quiet as possible. In other words, Medina did not want anyone outside of his department to know what was going on with the DWI unit and he had no intention of calling in another law enforcement agency to investigate to avoid  the appearance of a conflict.

Medina did not order the immediate suspension of the DWI unit nor order an immediate active Internal Affairs Investigation. Instead, he had Internal Affairs give him a weekly update on DWI arrests hoping a pattern would emerge on the DWI scheme.

In his January 29 KRQE interview, Medina admitted  that it was the FBI that called him first, nearly a year later in October 2023, letting him know they had been investigating the case and APD Officers. Medina also said he learned the FBI contacted APD’s Internal Affairs Commander Mark Landavazo in June of 2022.

Landavazo told the FBI it was not a case he would handle because it was a citizen complaint. Landavazo had to know what was going on for some time in that Medina had ordered updates of DWI cases to try and determine a pattern of arrests himself. Because there were criminal allegations involving police misconduct, APD said Landavazo should have moved it up the chain of command. The department fired Landavazo in February of 2024.

In November of 2023, a month after the FBI contacted Chief Medina about its investigation, more evidence of the bribery scheme was given to Medina in the form of a citizen complaint to the Civilian Police Oversight Agency from a district court employee. It was reported that a court employee was arrested for DWI by an APD cop and that  “there may be questionable conduct by the arresting/citation officer” who put the driver in contact with a specific attorney “who if hired, would ensure that no court case would be filed in court by APD.”

Since officers are informed about citizen complaints, the department jumped to quash that investigation which Chief Medina said prompted an “emergency meeting” with the FBI.

CONCLUSION

The DWI Enterprise scandal to dismiss DWI cases for bribes is  largest law enforcement corruption case in the city’s history involving the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), the Bernalillo County Sheriff’ Department (BCSO)  and the New Mexico State Police. It now appears that APD’s Internal Affairs credibility has also been seriously undermined or tainted by the scandal. Until all the questions are answered regarding the extent of interference by Thomas Clear, Ricardo “Rick” Mendez, Mark Landavazo and Gustavo Gomez with Internal Affairs investigations to deflect disciplinary action against those involved in the scheme, confidence in APD and Internal Affairs will not be fully restored.

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. Now the public is learning that BCSO and New Mexico State Police Officers may also be involved.

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.

The link to a related article is here:

KRQE News Reports: What APD Chief Harold Medina Knew And When About The APD Bribery And Conspiracy Scandal To Dismiss DWI Cases; Medina Says “We’re Going To Keep This As Quiet As Possible”; Medina Must Be Held Accountable