The Journal Has Perfected Art of Political Cover

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The Albuquerque Journal wrote a scathing editorial about District Attorney Elect Raul Torrez asking other prosecutors from around the state review the Boyd shooting case and make recommendations regarding another trial.

(See https://www.abqjournal.com/917950/new-das-first-move-is-to-get-some-political-cover.html)

The Albuquerque Journal editors are the very last one’s to talk about providing “political cover” to anyone.

All that the Albuquerque Journal has ever done for Mayor Berry and Chief Gordon Eden is provide “political cover” for them as well as Governor Martinez with its biased reporting.

The Albuquerque Journal’s “political cover” has especially been egregious in the shooting aftermath of homeless camper James Boyd and the prosecution of former police officer’s Dominique Perez and Keith Sandy. (For more thoughts, please see my December 22, 2016 blog article “DA Oversight of APD Critical” on my blog PeteDinelli.com)

The day after the James Boyd shooting, Chief Gordon Eden in a press conference called the shooting “justified” and Berry was out of town for a week rumored to be on a camping trip.

The Albuquerque Journal never pressed Berry or demand answers as to Berry’s whereabouts.

The City of Albuquerque paid the Boyd family $5 million dollars to settle the case and the Albuquerque Journal never questioned the settlement nor asked Berry and Eden their thoughts on the settlement.

The Albuquerque Journal then went after District Attorney Kari Brandenburg when she was accused of alleged witness tampering by APD in a criminal case involving her son.

The Albuquerque Journal sided with Chief Eden when he said “no one is above the law” with their investigation of Brandenburg, even though it was apparent that the investigation was politically motivated because Brandenburg was about to charge the two APD officers for the James Boyd shooting.

When Chief Gordon Eden took the stand to testify in the Perez – Sandy preliminary hearing and said he had not even read the reports on the shooting, the Albuquerque Journal editors had no comment.

The New Mexico Attorney General reviewed the APD criminal investigation of Brandenburg, found no criminal conduct by her and issued an opinion that APD’s investigation of the Brandenburg was politically motivated.

The adverse publicity by the Albuquerque Journal and other news outlets about APD’s bogus investigation of Brandenburg was used by the defense to have the DA’s office removed from the case.

The Albuquerque Journal has perfected the art of “political cover” to promote its political agenda.

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About

Pete Dinelli was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is of Italian and Hispanic descent. He is a 1970 graduate of Del Norte High School, a 1974 graduate of Eastern New Mexico University with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and a 1977 graduate of St. Mary's School of Law, San Antonio, Texas. Pete has a 40 year history of community involvement and service as an elected and appointed official and as a practicing attorney in Albuquerque. Pete and his wife Betty Case Dinelli have been married since 1984 and they have two adult sons, Mark, who is an attorney and George, who is an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Pete has been a licensed New Mexico attorney since 1978. Pete has over 27 years of municipal and state government service. Pete’s service to Albuquerque has been extensive. He has been an elected Albuquerque City Councilor, serving as Vice President. He has served as a Worker’s Compensation Judge with Statewide jurisdiction. Pete has been a prosecutor for 15 years and has served as a Bernalillo County Chief Deputy District Attorney, as an Assistant Attorney General and Assistant District Attorney and as a Deputy City Attorney. For eight years, Pete was employed with the City of Albuquerque both as a Deputy City Attorney and Chief Public Safety Officer overseeing the city departments of police, fire, 911 emergency call center and the emergency operations center. While with the City of Albuquerque Legal Department, Pete served as Director of the Safe City Strike Force and Interim Director of the 911 Emergency Operations Center. Pete’s community involvement includes being a past President of the Albuquerque Kiwanis Club, past President of the Our Lady of Fatima School Board, and Board of Directors of the Albuquerque Museum Foundation.