Latest news with #GiglioList
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Yahoo
Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputy pleads guilty in DWI Unit scandal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The first Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputy named in the DWI Unit scandal has pled guilty to federal extortion and bribery charges. Jeff Hammerel was placed on leave in January after he was implicated after the first person in the scandal, Rick Mendez, pled guilty. Hammerel resigned from BCSO on Tuesday. Related Coverage: APD chief talks DWI officers convicted by feds, explains impact on internal investigation Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputy pleads guilty in DWI Unit scandal BCSO undersheriff resigns amid DWI dismissal scandal New Mexico State Police Chief addresses federal probe of DWI Sgt. DWI Advocate Reacts To Corruption Scheme Hammerel joined BCSO in February 2010 and served in the DWI Unit from January 2013 to November 2024. After going through court records, KRQE Investigates found that he had 24 cases with former attorney Thomas Clear III, and 15 of those cases were dismissed. Earlier this month, Clear III admitted to running the scheme. Former APD officers Honorio Alba Jr., Joshua Montaño, and Neill Elsman all pled guilty to charges relating to the scandal. New Mexico State Police Officer Toby Lafave has been placed on leave relating to the scandal. Former BCSO Undersheriff Johann Jareno resigned on Monday. Jareno has been placed on the Giglio List which means his credibility in court has been questioned. The Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office said it is reviewing Jareno's cases to determine if any need to be dismissed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Yahoo
Bernalillo County DA's Office dismisses 22 DWI cases involving NMSP officer
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Editor's Note: This story originally said the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office dismissed 23 cases related to the DWI Unit scandal. One of those cases was duplicated making the count 22 dismissed cases. The Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office said it was forced to dismiss 22 pending DWI cases connected to a New Mexico State Police officer who was recently placed on leave. NMSP Officer Toby Lafave was placed on leave last week and put on the Giglio List which means he's not a credible witness. Related Coverage: DWI Advocate Reacts To Corruption Scheme First New Mexico State Police officer placed on leave in connection to 'DWI Enterprise' scandal 'Punished before a fair trial': Victims of DWI scheme file class action lawsuit Bernalillo County sheriff vows to cooperate; doesn't trust feds' DWI investigation Who is the Albuquerque defense attorney at center of 'DWI Enterprise' scandal? This follows a federal investigation into attorney Thomas Clear III and officers taking large cash bribes in exchange for dropping people's DWI charges. So far, Clear III, his paralegal Rick Mendez, and three Albuquerque police officers, Honorio Alba Jr., Joshua Montaño, and Neill Elsman, admitted taking bribes. This brings the total number of pending cases dismissed because of the scandal to 252. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Yahoo
KRQE Investigates looks into former APD officer's connection to DWI scheme
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – On Friday former Albuquerque Police Department officers Honorio Alba Jr. and Joshua Montaño, involved in the DWI dismissal scandal, pleaded guilty. In federal court, the former officers pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy, bribery, and conspiracy to commit extortion. Honorio Alba Jr. was one of the first members of the Albuquerque Police Department's (APD) DWI unit put on administrative leave in January 2024. He quit about a month later and the paperwork has already been filed to revoke his police certification. APD began internally investigating its longtime DWI officer after the feds served a search warrant on his home one year ago. That same day the US attorney asked his name be added to the Giglio List, deeming Alba no longer a credible witness in court. With that, the Bernalillo County District Attorney had to dismiss 99 of his pending drunk driving cases dating back to 2015. Former APD officers charged, plead guilty in DWI Unit scandal Back in July 2023, Albuquerque police proudly shared that Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) named Honorio Alba Jr. their officer of the year for the state of New Mexico. Just a few months later in November 2023, APD would learn from a citizen complaint that Alba is suspected of being a major player in a public corruption scandal – what the feds have dubbed the DWI Enterprise – and how it worked. Related Coverage: How tipster claims APD DWI corruption scheme worked APD DWI officer under federal probe let suspected drunk driver go home ABQ Police Dept. provides timeline, names leader for DWI Unit investigation More cases dismissed in connection to Albuquerque police DWI scandal How far could the Albuquerque police DWI scandal reach? Albuquerque Police Chief discusses DWI case scandal Albuquerque city councilors grill APD over transparency in federal investigation Albuquerque Police Department officers placed on leave following federal raid This letter to the Civilian Police Oversight Agency accuses Alba of offering the scheme to a man he'd arrested for driving drunk by putting him 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 internal affairs investigation in December 2023. One month later, the FBI raided Alba's Edgewood home. The feds had already been investigating his role in the conspiracy and relationship with that attorney, Thomas Clear III, and Clear's paralegal Rick Mendez. KRQE previously looked through six years of Clear's DWI cases and found from 2018 through 2023, 25 of his clients pulled over by Alba all had their cases dismissed. In a majority of those, court records show Alba failed to appear at court hearings, prompting the judge to drop the case. Mendez already confessed. That was one way the law firm worked with officers to make DWI cases disappear. He also paid them not to file charges for clients funneled their way. This can be seen viewing body camera footage of Alba's other arrests. Governor, state's top cop respond to DWI corruption scheme Alba would tell the person he'd just detained that the prisoner transport center, which they were currently inside, was closed, so he couldn't book them into jail that night. Even in the case of a repeat drunk driver, who was pulled over driving down Central with his car on fire, and at least two open containers of alcohol inside, and according to the police report, later blew three times the legal limit on an alcohol breath test. Alba would let both of these suspected drunk drivers go and wait, in the woman's case two days, and in the other's, two weeks before filing charges. KRQE Investigates stopped by Alba's house to try to speak with him and found it empty with a For Sale sign. Court records show the bank went after him for not paying his mortgage. Where the money Alba received in the scheme went is still unknown. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
CYFD places two former APD officers under federal investigation on leave
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department said they have placed two workers on administrative leave after KRQE News 13 uncovered they were both former Albuquerque police officers connected to the federal DWI investigation. Harvey Johnson and Nelson Ortiz resigned from APD last year giving up their badges rather than be interviewed by Internal Affairs. They are among the officers who retired or resigned amid a scandal involving APD officers taking bribes to get DWI cases dropped. None of the officers have been charged. Related Coverage: Former U.S. Attorney speaks out on DWI Unit scandal 2 Albuquerque police officers who resigned amid DWI Unit scandal now working for CYFD Governor, state's top cop respond to DWI corruption scheme APD officer retires ahead of interview in connection to DWI Unit scandal Top federal prosecutor vows corruption scheme 'won't happen again' The Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office placed Johnson and Ortiz on the Giglio List which classifies potential court testimony as unreliable. On Thursday, CYFD confirmed Harvey Johnson was a specialist dealing with Native American children. They say Oritz was an investigations caseworker. CYFD said at the time of their hiring, no rules would have prevented their employment. Several foster parents reached out to KRQE News 13 saying they were concerned the officer could negatively impact their court cases since the officers were deemed unreliable. Senator Joseph Cervantes (D-Las Cruces) also blasted the hiring in a committee hearing on Wednesday saying it shows a lack of leadership. 'It's inconceivable to me that as hard as things may be at CYFD to recruit, that law enforcement officers can be part of corruption and the consequence is not being fired or their bosses not being fired,' said Sen. Cervantes. CYFD placed both ex-cops on leave Wednesday. KRQE News 13 wanted to know if CYFD knew they were under federal investigation when they hired both of them. They have not replied. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
