McKinley County District Attorney told to give up control of office's finances
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Defunded DA hangs onto control of office for now
'It's on her': Senator defunds DA citing attitude, staff shortage
Lawmakers gave Bernadine Martin's budget to the neighboring DA in San Juan County. Jack Fortner took control of it Tuesday when the fiscal year began. But when he showed up at her office, she requested he hold off for two more weeks, citing her pending request to the New Mexico Supreme Court to weigh in on the budget move.
The justices' decision on Wednesday means Martin must let Fortner take over. If she doesn't, she could be removed.
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New York Post
3 days ago
- New York Post
90 prosecutors quit Nassau County DA's Office over claims of incumbent's ‘dictator' leadership: ‘No longer about justice'
About 90 prosecutors have quit the Nassau County District Attorney's Office since Anne Donnelly took it over in 2022, says her political challenger — who left the job herself, citing a 'dictator'-like atmosphere. Nicole Aloise, a Democrat running against the GOP incumbent Donnelly for DA, called out her opponent Friday outside the county courthouse in Mineola, LI — accusing Donnelly of fostering a toxic work culture focused more on headlines than justice. 'I left the Nassau DAs office after truly believing I would be there for life,' said Aloise, who quit there in 2023. 'I loved serving the community, ensuring that victims were heard and perpetrators were brought to justice. 6 Nicole Aloise, a Democrat running against the GOP incumbent Anne Donnelly for DA, accused Donnelly of fostering a toxic work culture. Nicole Aloise/Instagram 'Once Anne Donnelly took office — the job changed — it was no longer about justice, it was about her own agenda.' Donnelly's camp fired back by calling her political foe and the other former assistant district attorneys 'ethically challenged, soft-on-crime prosecutors like Nicole Aloise.' Aloise said she was one of the roughly 90 prosecutors in the office pushed to quit their jobs under Donnelly, claiming one of the reasons she left is because she was denied the resources she requested to try to expand a murder prosecution into a larger conspiracy case. 6 'Once Anne Donnelly took office — the job changed — it was no longer about justice, it was about her own agenda,' Aloise said. Nicole Aloise/Instagram 6 Aloise said she was one of the roughly 90 prosecutors in the office pushed to quit their jobs under Donnelly. Dennis A. Clark Some of the other former prosecutors said the alleged internal dismal culture shift under Donnelly also drove them out. They wrote to Aloise sharing similar accounts, including breakdowns in collaboration, shrinking support for long-term investigations and what they saw as a growing focus on politics over prosecution. 'You can either treat us like s–t or pay us like s–t, you can't do both — Donnelly did,' a former prosecutor told The Post under the promise of anonymity. 6 'You can either treat us like s–t or pay us like s–t, you can't do both — Donnelly did,' a former prosecutor told The Post under the promise of anonymity. Dennis A. Clark Aloise also cited a 44% spike in basic crimes during Donnelly's first two years in office — the highest level since 2013 — and attacked the DA for having the office's lowest felony conviction rate since 2014. County officials have touted a 25% drop in major crimes at the start of 2025, but Aloise argued that short-term improvements don't erase what she called a breakdown in leadership and the long-term damage to the justice system. But some local authorities blame the previous jump in crime and drop in convictions on former President Joe Biden's border policies and New York's 'soft-on-crime' laws, even going as far as previously calling Dem Gov. Kathy Hochul and her political party 'pro-criminal.' 6 Donnelly's camp called Aloise and the other former assistant district attorneys 'ethically challenged, soft-on-crime prosecutors.' Dennis A. Clark Donnelly's office contended that the prosecutors who quit their assistant district attorney posts also fit that description — and it said good riddance, framing their departures as a purge. 'The only exodus of attorneys, thankfully, have been by ethically challenged, soft-on-crime prosecutors like Nicole Aloise,' DA spokesman Mike Deery told The Post. 'Under District Attorney Anne Donnelly's watch, Nassau has been recognized as the safest community in the USA,' he said. 'The only exodus of attorneys, thankfully, has been by ethically challenged, soft-on-crime prosecutors like Nicole Aloise.' 6 According to DA spokesman Mike Deery, Donnelly is focused on rebuilding the office with prosecutors who support her tough-on-crime approach. Dennis A. Clark Deery said his boss has been focused on rebuilding the office with prosecutors who support her tough-on-crime approach and restoring public trust. He said Aloise has been previously accused of 'unethical conduct, corruption and abuse of power' after a group of law professors filed a formal ethics complaint in 2021 accusing her of prosecutorial misconduct during her time as an ADA in Queens over her father, Justice Michael Aloise. The complaint was eventually dismissed, according to a state letter obtained by The Post. Aloise's camp told The Post in a statement, 'If Anne Donnelly was a competent District Attorney and actually believed she had that many unethical employees, she'd have fired them rather than watch them flee her office en masse. 'Facts matter,' the statement said, pointing out that the stats used to determine Nassau County as the safest in the country are from 2014 and 2016 — before Donnelly took office.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Jury convicts Albuquerque woman of stealing Civil War-era revolver, shooting it at owner
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A jury convicted an Albuquerque woman of stealing a Civil War-era revolver and shooting the gun at its owner, according to the Bernalillo County District Attorney. Janice Kowalchuk broke into a man's van near Coors Boulevard NW and Pheasant Avenue NW and stole the 1860 Colt revolver in July 2022. The man followed Kowalchuk, and when she saw him, she shot toward him at least five times, according to court documents. Story continues below News: UNM issues shelter in place as shooting leaves 1 dead, 1 injured on Albuquerque campus Trending: VIDEO: Albuquerque bus driver stabs passenger after fight on the bus Community: What's happening in New Mexico July 25-31? Lavender in the Village Festival and more The man said he went up to Kowalchuck, grabbed the barrel of the gun, and hit her in the face while Kowalchuck fired another shot, and it missed the man's waist but hit his flashlight holder, court documents state. Kowalchuck was later found at a Cracker Barrel restaurant on Redlands Road NW and arrested. A jury convicted her of aggravated assault (deadly weapon), aggravated burglary, larceny, and negligent use of a deadly weapon. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
VIDEO: Albuquerque bus driver stabs passenger after fight on the bus
Editor's Note: This video in this story contains graphic content that may be disturbing to some. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Newly released video from police shows a passenger starting a fight with a city bus driver in Albuquerque, which ultimately led to the driver facing murder charges. Story continues below News: UNM issues shelter in place as shooting leaves 1 dead, 1 injured on Albuquerque campus Trending: VIDEO: Albuquerque bus driver stabs passenger after fight on the bus Community: What's happening in New Mexico July 25-31? Lavender in the Village Festival and more The incident began on July 9 in the morning in northwest Albuquerque. A city bus driven by 41-year-old David Gabaldon was making its rounds around 6:30 AM when he picked up two passengers along Coors Boulevard. One of the passengers had complaints about the driver's punctuality. The older passenger continued to gripe about the service, prompting Gabaldon to stop the bus near Coors and Hanover. He demanded that the older man get off the bus or he wouldn't continue the route, causing annoyance among the other passengers. Raymond Coan then stepped into the argument: Coan: 'When you're saying the rest of us need to sit down and shut up, that's not the best f****** thing to say.'Gabaldon: 'So what do you want me to say?' The situation escalated quickly, with Coan throwing the first punch. A struggle broke out, and Gabaldon grabbed pepper spray, using it against Coan. The two eventually separated, with Coan retreating to the back of the bus while Gabaldon left in anger. Video footage from the bus shows Coan watching Gabaldon before exiting from the back. The fight continued outside, where Gabaldon was seen reaching for what appeared to be a knife and stabbing Coan at least twice on camera. Coan was seen backing away, cursing, but Gabaldon pursued him, even as Coan attempted to step back. According to court documents, the fight continued in front of a gas station until Coan went down. Officers arrived minutes later, and Coan was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital, but did not survive. Gabaldon was arrested and now faces first-degree murder charges. A judge has ordered that he be held in jail until his trial, and a grand jury has indicted him on Thursday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
