In November, 2014, the City and the Department of Justice entered into the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) mandating the implementation of 271 reforms by the Albuquerque Police Department. The DOJ determined that although most force used by APD officers was reasonable, a significant amount of deadly and less lethal force was excessive, unconstitutional and constituted an ongoing risk to the public. Under the CASA, APD is required to prepare a “ Use of Force Report” each year as part of the CASA.

The link to the CASA is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/mental-health-response-advisory-committee/documents/court-approved-settlement-agreement-final.pdf

2020 USE OF FORCE REPORT

On July 30, it was reported the city and APD posted a “Preliminary Use Of Force Report”. According to the report, in March 2021, APD compiled the 2020 force data for the Independent Monitor for the monitor’s annual outcomes assessment report. The city link to the preliminary report is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/final-2020-preliminary-annual-use-of-force-report.pdf

APD is required to produce a use of force report each year as part of its settlement agreement with the Department of Justice. An extensive DOJ investigation concluded in 2014 that APD officers had a pattern and practice of using excessive use of force. For the past several years, APD has released the annual reports sporadically. The last Use of Force report was released in October 2020 but APD had failed to file others in timely manner and the October 2020 report covered the years 2016 through 2019.

USE OF FORCE LEVELS DEFINED

Before highlighting the major finding of the “Preliminary Use Of Force Report”, the terms use of force, show of force and the levels of force need to be defined as used in the report.

“Use of Force” is defined as simply “ physical effort to compel compliance by an unwilling individual above unresisted handcuffing.”

A “Show of Force” is defined as “Pointing a firearm, beanbag shotgun, 40 millimeter impact launcher, OC spray, or ECW at an individual, or using an ECW to “paint” an individual with the laser sight or utilizing a warning arc”

As of January 11, 2020, APD transitioned to a new classification of force cases, replacing the old classification of Show of Force (SOF) and Use of Force (UOF) with three levels. The new levels are:

LEVEL 1 USE OF FORCE: Use of force that is likely to cause only transitory pain, disorientation, or discomfort during its application as a means of gaining compliance. This includes techniques which are not reasonably expected to cause injury, do not result in actual injury, and are not likely to result in a complaint of injury. Pointing a firearm, beanbag shotgun, or 40-millimeter launcher at a subject, or using an Electronic Control Weapon (ECW) to “paint” a subject with the laser sight, as a show of force are reportable as Level 1 force. Level 1 force does not include interaction meant to guide, assist, or control a subject who is offering minimal resistance.

LEVEL 2 USE OF FORCE: Use of force that causes injury, could reasonably be expected to cause injury, or results in a complaint of injury. Level 2 force includes use of an Electronic Control Weapon (ECW), including where an ECW is fired at a subject but misses; use of a beanbag shotgun or 40-millimeter launcher, including where it is fired at a subject but misses; OC Spray application; empty hand techniques (i.e., strikes, kicks, takedowns, distraction techniques, or leg sweeps); and strikes with weapons, except strikes to the head, neck, or throat, which would be considered a Level 3 use of force.

LEVEL 3 USE OF FORCE: Use of force that results in, or could reasonably result in, serious physical injury, hospitalization, or death. Level 3 force includes all lethal force; critical firearms discharges; all head, neck, and throat strikes with an object; neck holds; canine bites; three or more uses of an ECW on an individual during a single interaction regardless of mode or duration or an Electronic Control Weapon (ECW) application for longer than 15 seconds, whether continuous or consecutive; four or more strikes with a baton ;any strike, blow, kick, ECW application, or similar use of force against a handcuffed subject; and uses of force resulting in a loss of consciousness.

CASES REPORTED

As of the date the data were pulled, a number of Use of Force cases were still being actively investigated by APD’s compliance bureau and Internal Affairs. According to the report, use of force cases are investigated, the data points will be updated and the 2020 report is not to be considered final report.

According to the preliminary use of force report, 334 force investigations were still pending, 586 cases had been closed and f f those 586, only 15 were found to be out of policy. According to the “Preliminary Use Of Force Report” released the number of Use of Force Cases for all 3 levels for 2020 were:

Level 1: 288
Level 2: 468
Level 3: 141

Show of Force Cases: 5
Use of Force: 18

OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING (OIS) CASES

APD recorded 18 officer-involved shootings (OIS) in 2020. Not all OIS cases involve discharging a firearm in the direction of an individual and include discharging a firearm at an animal. Further an OIS does not involve accidental discharges of a weapon.

Two of the shootings were at animals, one was at a person in a vehicle and the remaining nine were at people. There were 6 accidental discharges which surpassed the previous years and was the focus on an in-depth analysis shared with APD executive staff, the Academy and the Force Review Board during the first quarter of 2021. The data suggested the majority of accidental OISs were a training issue related to manipulating the weapon during the unloading sequence.

2020 RAW DATA

Calls for service: 36,550
Custodial arrests: 12,384
Officer involved shootings: 18 officer-involved shootings
Tactical activations (SWAT Deployments): 92
APD deployed police service dogs: 979
Total Force Events: 920
Individuals Involved in Force Events: 951

ELECTRONIC CONTROL WEAPON (ECW) APPLICATIONS

There are 3 kinds of “shows of force” that can be achieved with Electronic Control Weapon (ECW):

1. Pointing an ECW at an individual,
2. Painting an individual with the laser sights,
3. Arcing (sparking or activating an ECW without discharging the probes, sometimes done as a warning to an individual)

Shows of force involving the ECW were more than half of ECW applications. The Foothills and Northwest area commands appear to be most likely to display the ECW in a show of force rather than use it.

While uses of the ECW and painting are consistent with previous years, arcing has increased from one to three applications per year to 14 in 2020. This is likely driven by the transition to a new model of ECW which makes arcing easier.

APD began transitioning to the new ECW in late 2019. APD will continue to monitor the number of shows of force involving the ECW and look for corresponding changes in uses of force involving the ECW, especially as it could be anticipated arcing could continue to increase.

The 2016-2019 Annual Use of Force report recorded a slight 3% undercount of ECWs issued to APD employees. After updated data were obtained, it was discovered 1,006 ECWs were in use at the end of 2019, 34 more than previously reported.

During the course of 2020, 289 ECWs were replaced (APD began to phase in to a new model as of late 2019), 152 were returned, and 171 were newly issued. There were a total of 1,025 ECWs in circulation at the close of 2020. As with previous years, the majority of newly issued ECWs were assigned to new hires or rehires for a total of 135, and employees who were transferred or promoted for a total of 28.

POLICE SERVICE DOG (PSD) DEPLOYMENTS

A Police Service Dog (PSD) deployment is defined as any situation, except a muzzled article search, where a canine is brought to the scene and is used in an attempt to locate or apprehend a suspect, whether or not the suspect is located or apprehended.

APD deployed police service dogs (PSDs) 979 times in 2020 . The number is up slightly from 2019 but consistent with previous years. Not all PSD deployments involved an apprehension or a PSD bite. Police Service Dog Bite Ratios Bite ratios for the PSD unit are calculated on a rolling six-month basis. The average bite ratio stayed under the 20% threshold that would trigger a review and interventions.

CUSTODIAL ARRESTS

According to the preliminary report, APD had some fluctuation in custodial arrests since 2016 and declining 17% in 2020 as compared to 2019. New Mexico’s relatively strict response to the Covid-2019 pandemic such as curfews and closures may account for this drop. It is highly likely that arrests were impacted by the public health orders that limited mass gatherings, restricted travel and closed businesses.

INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN USE OF FORCE EVENTS

APD used force in 920 cases against 951 people in 2020. This is an increase over 2019 when there were 768 cases and they have been rising each year since 2016. There were 5 shows of force and 18 uses of force in the 11 days before APD switched to its three-tiered system.

Demographic data for individuals are collected by APD officers reporting, interviews with the individuals, and case documentation (police reports, etc.). Similar to previous years, 81% of these individuals were unarmed while the remaining 19% were armed with a weapon. The oldest person who had force used against them was 88 with no details on the incident given.

UNARMED VERSUS ARMED INCIDENTS

In 2020 of the 951 people were involved with APD use of force incidents with 81% (721) were UNARMED while 19% ( 161) were armed with a weapon, and 69 reported as “UNKOWN”
Demographic data, including race, ethnicity, age and gender, for 2020 were consistent with percentages reported in the 2016-19 force report. The preliminary report is somewhat confusing when in reports that of the total of 951 Use of Force Incidents, 75% were White, then has a breakdown of Hispanic versus non-Hispanic. Editor’s note: Ostensibly, the report classifies Hispanic as White.

White: 75% (716 use of force incidents of which 55% were Hispanic)
Native American: 99
Black: 83
Mixed Race: 24
Other: 12
Unknown: 10
Asian: 3
NULL: 3
Pacific Islander: 1

TOTAL: 951

The breakdown of Hispanic versus Non-Hispanic is as follows:

Hispanic: 525
Non-Hispanic: 406
NULL: 1
Unknown: 19

TOTAL: 951

Over 90% of individuals were reported to be proficient in English.

From May 29 through July 19, 2020, there were four days of protests when force was used. The uses of force include pepper spray, 40 mm less lethal weapons, batons and more.

Some events included force being used against as many as 60 people, although the report states that the crowd size is an estimate and many people took off and detectives didn’t interview them. Some of the protests had multiple uses of force deployed over the course of the night.

AGE AND GENDER

Individuals involved in a force event are most likely to be in their twenties or thirties and 80% are males. The “Individuals’ Age Descriptive Statistics” are reported as follows:

Mean Age: 32
Median Age: 31
Mode: 31
Standard Deviation: 11
Minimum: 7
Maximum Age: 88

FIREARM DISCHARGES

APD Officers fired their guns 18 times last year, but a third of those incidents were accidental discharges. The report states that the increase in accidental shootings was the focus of an in-depth analysis and the data suggests that the majority were “a training issue related to manipulating the weapon during the unloading sequence.”

CALLS FOR SERVICE AND ARRESTS

Overall, calls for service declined in all six area commands since 2016. Albuquerque, like many cities in the country, saw a decline in calls for service that coincided with the covid-19 pandemic. In Albuquerque, as schools went virtual, the call center noted a decline in state Children, Youth and Family Department referrals.

Property crime appeared to decrease, perhaps as a result of more residents staying home. However, calls for service in Albuquerque appear to have been declining before the covid-19 pandemic.

Wait times, as measured by the time between a call being entered and the time an officer arrives on scene, climbed every year reaching a peak in 2019, before declining in 2020. Increasingly long wait times may have deterred residents from calling in relatively low-level issues.

As in prior years, the Southeast Area Command saw the most incidents of use of force cases with 3.2 cases per every 1,000 calls for service. The next highest was the Southwest Area Command, which saw 3 cases per 1,000.

The number of arrests decreased 17% in 2020, likely due to the public health orders to lessen the spread of COVID-19.

Overall calls for service have been declining over all six area commands since 2016. The report notes that many cities across the country saw a decline in calls for service during the pandemic, however in Albuquerque calls had been dropping for some time. One explanation for the decline in calls for service is that the amount of time people are waiting for an officer to arrive has been increasing – reaching a peak in 2019 before declining again in 2020 – and residents may be deciding not to call for “relatively low-level issues.”

OFFICERS AND INDIVIDUALS INJURED, HOSPITALIZED

The Southeast area command reported the most individuals injured during a force event. However, normed against the number of force cases and against the number of calls for service, the Southeast area command did not appear to have significantly higher rates of individuals injured. Compared to data from 2016-19, the percent of cases with at least one injured individual decreased from a range of 56-63% to 50%.

Hospitalizations were down significantly for individuals involved in force events. According to the report, this is largely due to data reported in previous years capturing all injuries and hospitalizations, regardless of cause. Hospitalizations for injuries which were self-inflicted, hospitalizations for a mental health crisis, or hospitalizations for reasons otherwise completely unrelated to the force were reported. Software changes in 2020 allowed APD to distinguish injuries and hospitalizations directly related to the force event, explaining the decrease.

FOUR YEAR USE OF FORCE REPORT

On Friday October 23, 2020 the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) released its “Use of Force” report covering a four-year time period from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019. The October 23, 2020 Use of Force report has upwards of 56 bar graphs and charts and 8 maps in the 73-page report. Below are the combined totals in the top 8“consolidated” categories for the years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019. The calculations for the 7 categories are based on the raw numbers gleaned from the various bar graphs in the report. The link to the full report is here:

http://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/2016-19-albuquerque-police-department-annual-use-of-force-report.pdf

A NUTSHELL OF MAJOR APD STATISTICS FOR THE YEARS 2016, 2917, 2918, 2019

On Friday October 23, 2020, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) released the “Use of Force” report covering a four-year time period from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019.

Civilian deaths in 4 years involving APD shootings: 19
Number APD custodial arrests: 58,251
APD “use of force” incidents (Empty hand, TAZER, gun discharge): 2,395
APD “show of force” incidents (Handgun, rifle, TAZER): 1,087
APD firearm discharges: 65
Number of times APD officers displayed a hand gun: 524
Number of times APD officers displayed a rifle: 212
Times APD used “electronic control weapon” (TAZER): 365
Estimated total “calls for service” generating “case numbers” 312,000 to 375,000
(Combined number of cases generated by all 6 area commands)

NUMBER OF ARRESTS

Arrest is defined as “the taking of one person into custody by another. To constitute arrest there must be an actual restraint of the person. The restraint may be imposed by force or may result from the submission of the person arrested to the custody of the one arresting the person. An arrest is a restraint of greater scope or duration than an investigatory stop or detention. An arrest is lawful when supported by probable cause.”

The number of arrests for the four years of 2016-2019 are as follows:

2016: 14,022 total arrests made
2017: 13,582 total arrests made
2018: 15,471 total arrests made
2019: 15,151 total arrests made

TOTAL NUMBER OF ARREST MADE BY APD: 58,226

FORCE INCIDENTS IN CONTEXT OF NUMBER OF CALLS OUTS

“Given how much interaction APD officers have with the public in a given year, as measured by the volume of calls for service, officer-initiated actions and arrests, force events are an extremely rare occurrence. From the years of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, roughly 1 per 500 hundred to 1,000 calls for service and officer-initiated actions are associated with a use of force. Between 4% and 5% percent of arrests are associated with force.”

Following is the breakdown of statistics for each year:

2016:

Dispatched Calls: 422,471
Officer Initiated Actions (OIAs): 45,672
Custodial Arrests: 14,022
Force Incidents: 524

2017:

Dispatched calls: 429,598
Officer Initiated Actions (OIAs): 55,856
Custodial Arrests: 13,582
Force Incidents: 570

2018

Dispatched calls:410,538
Officer Initiated Actions (OIAs): 70,151
Custodial Arrests: 15,471
Force Incidents: 643

2019

Dispatched calls: 370,036
Officer Initiated Actions (OIAs): 70,903
Custodial Arrests: 15,151
Force Incidents: 768

TOTAL APD FORCE INCIDENTS: 2,505

2020 RAW DATA FROM “PRELIMINARY USE OF FORCE REPORT”

Calls for service: 36,550
Custodial arrests: 12,384
Officer involved shootings: 18 officer-involved shootings
Tactical activations (SWAT Deployments): 92
Total Force Incidents: 920
Individuals Involved in Force Events: 951

CREATION OF ALBUQUERQUE COMMUNITY SAFETY DEPARTMENT (ACS)

It was on Monday, June 15, 2020 Mayor Tim Keller announced plans to create a new Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACS). It was proposed in part as a response to police shootings happening throughout the country, especially after the killing of African American George Floyd. Keller proclaimed it was the “first of its kind” department in the country. Keller solicited national news coverage on the concept, including the in the Washington Post. It turns out the only “first of its kind” aspect was the creation of a city department. Using social workers to take calls for service instead of cops has been going on for years in other major cities.

The is a department that was created by Mayor Tim Keller that he offered as a solution to reduce APD’s calls for service involving mental health calls and to transfer such calls to another civilian department with mental health experts to deal with those in crisis. It is a department that is supposed to be equipped to respond to 911 calls related to addiction problems and behavioral health issues.

A key component of the new department is to have trained and licensed mental health care professionals. The ACS department as presented in the original proposed budget did not address behavioral health care and long-term counseling nor solutions. On April 27, Mayor Tim Keller announced the appointment 3 top managers for the newly created “Community Safety Department” (ACS). The department once fully implemented will give 9-1-1 dispatch an option when a community safety response is more appropriate than a paramedic, firefighter or armed police officer. The goal of the ACS is to bolster and expand investments in violence intervention, diversion programs and treatment initiatives.

The new “Community Safety Department” (ACS) department as originally proposed by Keller was to have 192 employees with a projected budget of $10.9 million a year. The 192 positions originally proposed for the new department was significantly pared down by the Keller Administration and the City Council. It went from 192 positions to 13 positions and the 2021 budget went from a $10.9 million projected budget to a $7.5 Million budget which was again cut to $2.5 Million. The 2022 enacted city budget provides for a Community Safety budget of $7.7 million with 61 total employees across a range of specialties in social work and counseling to provide behavioral health services.

Links to related blog articles are here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/05/26/severely-paired-down-community-safety-department-launched-ambassador-program-launched-hope-springs-eternal-both-will-succeed/

https://www.petedinelli.com/2020/10/19/publicity-stunt-kellers-community-safety-department-gutted-by-city-council-new-department-goes-from-192-positions-to-13-positions-10-9-million-projected-budget-goes-t/

https://www.cabq.gov/mayor/news/mayor-keller-announces-top-leadership-team-for-innovative-new-albuquerque-community-safety-department?fbclid=IwAR2r3goYDBk_nrDwkK6jkAKW9JQga6YqJ-_HSgIKCMpt0OWKSyyAjNzd33s

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The April 10, 2014 United States Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation that found a “culture of aggression” within APD dedicated a significant amount of the force review against persons with mental illness and in crisis and APD’s specific responses to suspects that were having mental illness episodes. What differentiates the DOJ’s investigation of APD from the other federal investigations and consent decrees of police departments 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 2014 DOJ 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 respects their rights and is safe for all involved. Least anyone forget, there have been 32 police officer involved shootings and the city has paid out $61 million dollars in settlements to families’ who have sued APD for wrongful death. A significant number of those lawsuits involved the mentally ill. The most memorable shooting was the killing of homeless camper and mentally ill James Boyd in the Sandia foothills in April, 2014 where both SWAT and the K-9 units were dispatched. The two SWAT officers were eventually charged with murder but after a trial on the merits, the jury could not reach a verdict and District Attorney Raul Torres decided not to retry the case. The City settled with the Boyd family for $5 million.

NEGLIGENT OMISSION

When you read and review both the 2017- 2018 consolidated “Use of Force Report”, as well as the 2020 Preliminary Use of Force Report, a major omission in the reports is that there are no statistics regarding APD’s crisis intervention incidents and interactions with the mentally ill, especially by the SWAT unit. This omission is can only be described as negligence given the creation, staffing and funding of the new Community Safety Department which is to interact with the mentally ill replacing APD.

Further, without considerably more licensed health care professionals, the new department is relegated to be a “pickup, delivery or referral” of people in crisis to take them either to jail or to a hospital. In order to be successful, the Mayor’s new department needs to deal with the city’s long-term behavioral health system needs and programs that are desperately needed now and in the future. The Use of Force Reports are absolutely critical for city hall and the community to evaluate whether the mandated reforms under the federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) are being implemented and working, especially when it comes to APD’s interactions with the mentally ill. Those statistics are clearly needed when it comes to the new Community Safety Department and the use of force reports without the statistics is useless to the new department to determine staffing needs and priorities.

Both Use of Force reports fail to elaborate or explain much other than hard statistics compiled in the various categories mandated by the settlement. The report fails to include data on how many use of force instances were out of compliance with policy, how many officers were disciplined for use of force and if any policy or training changes were made. The consolidated two-year report does report a dramatic increase in the percentages of use of force cases that involved unarmed victims without offering any possible explanation for the increases.

CONCLUSION

When the next Use of Force Report is released, APD’s Compliance Bureau in conjunction with the Force Division of APD Internal Affairs need to provide more analysis and not just the regurgitation of statistics with charts that that are difficult for the public to understand. The next report should also contain a report regarding APD’s interactions with the mentally ill, the number of times the SWAT unit was deployed to deal with “crisis intervention” and well as the training of APD officers in crisis intervention.

The link to the 4-year report on Use of Force is here:

APD “Use of Force” Report Shows 4 Year Increase In APD Use Of Force; 19 Civilian Deaths; 58,251 Arrests; 2,395 Uses of Force, 1,087 Shows Of Force; Small Fraction Of Overall Crime Stats; No Data Compiled On APD’s Intervention With The Mentally ILL

On July 15, an ethics complaint was filed against Mayor Tim Keller alleging that the president of the city firefighters’ union fraudulently helped Mayor Tim Keller qualify for public campaign financing. The complaint is still pending. A second complaint based on similar allegations has now been filed.

On Tuesday August 3, the “Retired Law Enforcement Officers” and the “Save Our City” measure finance committees that are supporting Sheriff Manny Gonzales’ bid for mayor filed a 2 count new ethics complaint alleging that Mayor Tim Keller violated Albuquerque’s election laws. The complaint was sing by Jason Katz, Chairman of the Retired Law Enforcement Officers Measure Finance Committee. You can read the entire complaint here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Zi-4_s2VZ8JCjQ0_bNDHzw6NoUF-eXi5/view

Count I of the ethics complaint alleges “Misuse of City Employees and City Property in Campaigns”.

Count II of the complaint alleges “Seed Money Violations and Submission of Fraudulent Signatures” and asks Keller’s 661,000 in public finance be revoked.

The two counts of the complaint cite the applicable sections of the Open and Ethical Elections Code. The compliant also cites applicable rules and regulations adopted by the City Clerk Office and signed off by the Chief Administrative Officer of the City, both who are appointed by the Mayor.

Albuquerque private attorney Pat Rogers represents the two measure finance committees that filed the ethics complaint. Pat Rogers is a prominent trial attorney, lobbyist and former Republican National Committeeman and known to be a Republican political operative and attorney for Republican causes and candidates. 4 years ago, Rogers filed ethics complaint against then Democrat State Auditor Tim Keller running for Mayor.

FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

The factual allegations of the complaint concentrate on the actions of Justin Cheney, the President of the Albuquerque Area Firefighters Local 244. According to an affidavit submitted by Firefighter Shawn McDonald, Union President Justin Cheney visited a fire station on June 1 and discussed “contract matters, negotiations and the mayoral election”. The affidavit alleges that firefighters were asked by Fire Union President Cheney to sign Keller’s $5 donation receipts.

When Cheney was asked about making the $5 donations by a firefighter, Cheney allegedly told the firefighters:

“I got that. Don’t worry about it. It’s too hard for me to go around and ask people to sign this and donate the five dollars. I only have three books. It’s a hundred and fifty bucks, and I am going to cover it for all the guys who want to sign it.”

McDonald claims he spoke up and said “You’re not allowed to do that.” According to the affidavit, the room went silent and then the members continued to review the donation cards.

According to the complaint, 24 qualifying contributions of $5 were collected in an illicit manner resulting in multiple prohibitions against campaigning on City property on city work time. The new complaint alleges Keller’s campaign improperly accepted seed funding ranging from $25 to $250 from 6 non-city residents with 4 listing out of state addresses. Seed money donations can only be made by Albuquerque residents.

The ethics complaint alleges in part:

“[Keller used] his position as a public official and a chief executive officer of the City to have City employees solicit contributions and support from other City employees during work time and on City property. A Union President beholden to the mayor for union salary and benefit issues openly acted as Keller’s agent. He promoted Keller as a candidate and urged other City employees to sign the qualifying contributions at city fire stations during work hours. … [Cheney] asked for those contributions in his campaign speech for Keller to the city firefighters and combined that advocacy with reference to the union’s contract with the city and negotiations. Linking the suggested support for Keller to favorable union contract negotiations is classic quid pro quo corruption. Promising the city employees that they would not have to actually pay the $5 contributions allowed Keller to obtain more than $660,000 in public funds.”

The complaint alleges Keller’s reelection campaign illegally accepted “seed money” , which are initial campaign donations allowed to be collected before the qualifying period to collect $5 qualifying donation for public finance. The complaint alleges the Keller campaign collected at least 6 donations from non-city residents in violation of the city’s Open and Ethical Elections Code.

The relief sought by the ethics complaint is to ask the city clerks to revoke Keller’s successful bid to obtain more than $661, 000 in public campaign funding and that the Election Board of Ethics and Campaign Practices Ethics Board remove Keller from office.

CITY CLERK ACCUSED OF IMPROPRIETY

Count II of the complaint alleging “Seed Money Violations and Submission of Fraudulent Signatures” delves into the conduct of Albuquerque City Clerk Ethan Watson who is a Keller appointee. The allegation is made that City Clerk Clerk Nathan Watson did not follow his own published rules and regulations in the processing and validation of Tim Keller’s qualifying contributions. The complaint notes that Watson has taken the position that forged signatures and fraudulent qualifying contributions warrant non-certification for public finance as does a materially false statement in a report submitted to the Clerk. Based on the clerks positions, Tim Keller’s public funding must also be revoked by the City Clerk according to the complaint.

According to the ethics complaint, the City Clerk’s office did not engage in the required signature comparison for the qualifying contributions submitted by Mayor Tim Keller’s re-election campaign. It is alleged that the spreadsheet provided by the City Clerk’s office does not list a signature mismatch as a reason for rejection of even one of Tim Keller’s Qualifying Contributions and there is no evidence that the City Clerk’s office even attempted to compare Keller’s contributor signatures as required by the Clerk’s own rules and regulations. Further, the complaint alleges when compared with the City Clerk’s unprecedented efforts and unique penalty to disqualify Manny Gonzales from public finance, the city clerk has shown bias, prejudice, interest, motive, and conflict of interest to the point the city clerk cannot participate in any proceeding involving Tim Keller and his opponent Manny Gonzales.

KELLER’S CAMPAIGN MANAGER MADE AN ISSUE

The second ethics complaint alleges Keller’s campaign manager, Neri Holguin, acted as his representative for qualifying contributions. Attached to the complaint is an exhibit reflecting she signed and dated blank contribution forms, as well as submitted unsigned contribution forms.

The City Clerk’s 2021 Candidate Guide is specific that a candidate’s representative is responsible to ensure that the receipt books are filled out accurately, including a signature from the contributor. The complaint alleges that no one knows how many qualifying contributions Neri Holguin sign in advance without any knowledge of an actual contribution and an actual signature by an eligible supporter.

The campaign $5 qualifying donations of the Union President are particularly troublesome because Neri Holguin, the Keller campaign manager, also represents the Albuquerque International Firefighters Union #244. A list of Holguin’s clientele is attached to the complaint. According to the complaint, Neri Holguin has filed more ethics complaints than anyone, including the complaint against Keller’s opponent Manny Gonzales, demanding that any fraudulent $5 qualifying contribution or any “false statement or material misrepresentation” in any report or other document is sufficient to stop any public financing pursuant to the 2021 Regulations of the Albuquerque City Clerk for the Open and Ethical Elections Code.

Four years ago when then New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller ran his successful campaign for Mayor, he was the only candidate out of 8 candidates to qualify for public fiancé. Keller had two separate ethics charges filed against him.

One complaint filed against Tim Keller’s campaign involved the allegation that “cash donations” for political consulting were reported as “in-kind” donations. The Election Board of Ethics and Campaign Practices ruled that the cash contributions were in fact an ethical violation. Ultimately, Keller was found guilty by a unanimous vote of the City Board of Ethics. Rules and Regulations and he was not penalized before or after the complaint was formally heard.

A link to related news articles is here:

“Ethics board: Keller violated rule with ‘in-kind’ donations, NM Political Report, November 13, 2017”

https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2017/11/13/ethics-board-keller-violated-rule-with-in-kind-donations

A second more serious complaint file in 2017 against the Keller campaign was that the Keller Campaign for Mayor committee coordinated their campaign and expenditures with ABQ Forward Together. Neri Holguin, Keller’s 2021 campaign manager was the chairperson in 2017 of “ABQ Forward Together”, the progressive measured finance committee formed specifically to raise money to promote Tim Keller for Mayor. “ABQ Forward Together” raised over $663,000 for Keller’s 2017 bid for Mayor as Keller qualified for public financing and given $340,000 for his 2017 campaign for Mayor. In the 2017 election, ABQ Forward was found to have violated numerous ethics rules including violations of the in-kind and reporting rules with Neri Holguin being at the center of the controversy.

KELLER CAMPAIGN MANAGER RESPONDS

Neri Holguin, manager of the Keller campaign, called the complaint “theatrics” and denied responsibility for Cheney’s actions said in a written statement:

“If the allegation against Mr. Cheney is true, that he collected Qualifying Contributions at a city workplace during working hours, our campaign was unaware of it and we do not condone it.”

Links to related news articles are here:

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/albuquerque-mayor-faces-ethics-complaint-in-reelection-bid/6196834/?cat=500

https://apnews.com/article/elections-albuquerque-86b19335da9fdd600cc66d5c2034449e

https://www.abqjournal.com/2416299/keller-met-with-new-ethics-complaint.html

TWO KELLER ETHICS COMPLAINTS AGAINST GONZALES

The Keller for Mayor campaign filed two ethics complaints against Manny Gonzales alleging widespread fraud and forgery. Gonzales’ campaign is accused of forging the names of more than 140 registered voters to secure public financing or providing the .$5.00 qualifying donations.

The first ethics complaint includes a written statement from a voter who said Gonzales told him he did not have to submit a $5 contribution and that his campaign would pay. Gonzales for his part adamantly denies the allegation.

The second ethics complaint alleges Gonzales’ campaign forged voter signatures on qualifying public finance receipts. The complaint cites disparities between signatures on $5 contribution receipts and the same voters’ signatures from other places, including on nominating petitions to get Gonzales’ name on the ballot.

Both ethics complaints against Gonzales are pending before the Ethics Board.

In a letter dated July 9, Albuquerque City Clerk Ethan Watson notified Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales’ that the city was denying his campaign $661,00 in public financing for his mayoral campaign. The City Clerk cited questions about potential misconduct in the qualifying process and told Gonzales he could not confirm that Gonzales had complied with the city’s Open and Ethical Election Code and associated regulations. The Clerk also noted the 2 ethics complaints Mayor Tim Keller’s reelection campaign filed against Gonzales.

APPEAL HEARING ON CLERK’S DENIAL OF PUBLIC FINANCING TO GONZALES

On Monday, July 12, Manny Gonzales filed an appeal of the Albuquerque City Clerk’s decision to deny him public financing for his mayoral campaign. On Thursday July 15, the hearing was held. On July 19, the hearing officer issued a ruling affirming the City Clerk’s refusal to certify Gonzales for public finance and Gonzales has appealed the ruling to the District Court.

GONZALES FILES CIVIL LAWSUIT

On Thursday, July 15, Manny Gonzales along with 3 of his supporters filed in state District Court a lawsuit seeking certification as a class action representing all voters who made $5 qualifying contributions to help the sheriff in his application for over $661,000 in taxpayer money.

The civil complaint makes identical arguments and allegations presented during the July 15 administrative appeal hearing over Clerk Ethan Watson’s rejection of Gonzales’ public financing application. The suit contends Manny Gonzales had sufficient voter support to qualify for public financing, even when the forged paperwork is excluded.

The civil complaint alleges in part:

“In any large-scale [qualifying donation] or signature-collection operation, it unfortunately sometimes happens that a small number of overzealous or dumb campaign workers take it upon themselves to cut unacceptable corners by forging names … The Court must intercede to prevent this election from being taken from the voters, in plain view of the voters.”

https://www.koat.com/article/class-action-complaint-filed-against-albuquerque-city-clerk/37052780

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

The race to become Albuquerque Mayor has degenerated completely into a back-and-forth exchange of allegations of fraud, forgeries and complaints over campaign finances. At stake is between $661,000 and $1,322,000 in public fiancé and taxpayer money. The back-and-forth exchange between the two candidates for Mayor who are both ethically challenged over campaign finances is pathetic as it gets.

No issues are being discussed by the candidates with less than 90 days before the election. Ultimately, it’s the voter’s confidence that will be destroyed in a public finance system as well as the loss of between $661,000 to $1,322,000 used to trash each other.

Mayor Keller is a former State Auditor that claims he fought “waste, fraud and abuse” yet was found to have violated the ethics campaign rules 4 years ago and signs off on a highly questionable sale of a historical city property to supporters of his re-election campaign. Keller also hires Neri Holguin who has an extensive history of questionable ethics practices herself as is alleged in the second ethics complaint filed against Keller. Holguin was also the campaign manager for former Democratic State Senator Richard Romero who ran against then Mayor Marty Chavez dividing the Democratic vote resulting in the election of Republican Richard Berry defeating both the democrats without any runoff.

Manny Gonzales is a career law enforcement officer who knows forgery is a 4th degree felony with his campaign admitting they have relied on forgeries with the Sheriff proclaiming he was not responsible for his campaign volunteers conduct, yet he designated them with authority to interact with the City Clerk’s office. Gonzales also hires the likes of Republican political operative Jay Mc Clesky who has made a comfortable living trashing his candidates’ Democratic opponents to make up for the incompetence of the Republican candidates he supports.

Mc Clesky was the campaign manager twice for former Republican Mayor Richard Berry and twice for former Republican Governor “She Who Shall Not Be Named”. Mc Clesky was known to exert influence over both the Republican Mayor and Governor he was instrumental in getting elected. McCleskey, who has never been a state employee had an office next to the Republican Governor and thrust himself right in the middle of the “Dirty Downs Deal” controversy and the award of the contract by the State Fair Commission. For several months, a federal grand jury investigated Jay McCleskey regarding expenditures from the Republican Governors campaign, as well as money from her 2011 inauguration committee that went directly to Mc Cleskey. On March 4, 2016, Mc Clesky’s attorney, also a Republican operative, announced that the federal grand jury would not indict Mc Cleskey by saying “I’ve been informed the investigation has been terminated” and the attorney declined to answer any questions.

https://www.abqjournal.com/735011/mccleskey-lawyer-grand-jury-over-no-charges.html

The election will proceed and there will be only one winner. After the type of campaigns Tim Keller and Manny Gonzales are running against each other with the help of their campaign managers, their reputations will be tarnished and just may end their political careers. This is a good thing considering the lack of ethics by the candidates themselves and how ethically challenge those running their campaigns with the likes of Neri Holguin for Tim Keller and Jay McClusky for Manny Gonzales.

The ultimate losers in all this are the voters with the loss of at least $661,000 in taxpayer money spent on public financing assuming that Tim Keller’s certification of public finance is upheld and that Manny Gonzales is denied public finance by the courts. At this point, voters have to decide between the lesser of two evils or just not voting at all.

COMPLAINT AGAINST KELLER DISMISSED

On August 10, it was reported that Albuquerque City Clerk Ethan Watson has tossed an election ethics complaint against himself and Mayor Tim Keller, saying it fails to meet standards requiring a detailed description of the allegations and how they violated specific rules. The complaint was filed on Aug. 3 by the Retired Law Enforcement Officers political action committee, joined by the Save Our City Measure Finance Committee to file the complaint on. Both committees are supporting Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales’ bid for mayor. The decision can be appeal to the the city’s Board of Ethics.

“The complaint alleges Keller violated rules when pursuing over $600,000 in public campaign financing. It alleges that Keller’s campaign used a city employee for campaign purposes, and illegally accepted “seed money” contributions from six people who listed non-city addresses. It also alleged irregularities in nominating petitions and qualifying contributions submitted by Keller’s campaign. Watson has certified Keller for public financing and already disbursed the money.”

The link to the full quoted news report is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2418193/clerk-tosses-complaint-against-keller.html

Exactly 4 years ago, in August, 2017, then New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller, candidate for Albuquerque Mayor, had this to say about the city’s high crime rates:

“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.”

Fast forward to August 3, 2021. Two homicides were reported in the city in the early morning hours. The first homicide occurred at 4 a.m. near Gold Avenue Seventh Street in downtown with a man found dead in a car. The second occurred at 6 a.m. at Motel 6 on Avenida Cesar Chavez. With the 2 murders, the number of homicides in the city hit 78 surpassing the 2020 total of 77. The city is on the verge of hitting the homicide record of 80 homicides set in 2019. The alarming fact is that there are 5 full months left in the year.

KELLER AND MEDINA BOTH ADMIT FAILURE

On August 3, 2021, Mayor Tim Keller held a press conference and essentially acknowledge that he and his handpicked APD Chief Medina are totally unable to stop the carnage in Albuquerque.

APD Chief Harold Medina had this to say:

“We knew we were going to break the record. … It’s something not only the city of Albuquerque is facing, it’s a national trend. … Back in January, we talked about hotels. We talked about the increase of homicides at hotels. The past few weeks we’ve talked about hotels, midnight to 5 in the morning and narcotics activities, and what’s going on behind us has all three of those elements. … The bottom line is, yes there is a lot of crime, without a doubt … there’s a lot of things going on during this midst of this pandemic that is leading to this rash in homicides.

We’re stretched thin with resources in a lot of ways and I’m not shy in saying that. I may make a decision to give homicide additional resources, but that may mean that some of the requirements of our court settlement agreement, where they want me to give more people to the academy or internal affairs, may have to be on hold as we try and get resources to fight crime in the city.”

In 2017, APD’s homicide unit had 5 detectives and recently in was increased to 14 plus 2 sergeants and a deputy commander.

Medina said it will take time to get a handle on homicides, just like the city faced when it came to auto thefts and Medina said:

“Our auto theft numbers greatly improved. That was our biggest issue in 2017 and 2016. That was the number one issue when I came and now the number one issue has changed to homicides and we are working on it. It took us a couple of years to get us the auto theft numbers moving in the direction we wanted and it is going to take us some time to get homicide numbers moving in the direction. “

Mayor Tim Keller for his part admitted the city will see a record number of murders this year and he too said it was a national trend and said:

“We obviously had two homicides this morning and our team is working on them. … The majority of homicides in Albuquerque are very specific. … They’re tied to drugs, they’re tied to guns and they’re tied to motels and they happen from midnight to five am and they usually involve males between 25 to 35. … We know El Paso’s homicide rate is up 150%. Fresno is up 300%. Oakland is up 200%. Portland is over 1,000%. … We do expect these trends to continue and I do expect Albuquerque to break 100 [homicides] this fall.”

Keller added that there’s not one single answer to make all violent crime disappear and his administration is working with local and state agencies to find ways to cut it down.

https://www.krqe.com/news/crime/records-show-high-amount-of-apd-emergency-calls-are-at-motels-hotels/

https://www.krqe.com/news/crime/records-show-high-amount-of-apd-emergency-calls-are-at-motels-hotels/

MOTELS REPORTED AS SOURCE OF CRIME

On August 3, KRQE News 13 reported on the number of calls for service to APD and Albuquerque Fire and Rescue (AFRD) to 5 locations off Hotel Circle near Eubank and I-40. The area has a bad reputation for homelessness and violent crime. The motels are known for a high volume of calls for service. News 13 requested the Computer Aided Dispatch Service (CADS) sheets that records 911 emergency call for service and identifies the types of calls responded to by first responders of APD and AFRD.

According to the News 13 report, many of the calls for service are for disturbances, welfare checks, and suspicious people. However, the CAD sheets also show APD officers on the scene for many violent crimes. AFRD alone responded to 406 calls to these hotels. About half of the calls were to the Siegel Suites. Emergency calls for police are much higher. APD had 2,554 calls to those same five hotels in the past three years. About half of their calls were also to the Siegel Suites.

The link to the full News 13 report is here:

https://www.krqe.com/news/crime/records-show-high-amount-of-apd-emergency-calls-are-at-motels-hotels/

SEEDY MOTELS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN MAGNETS FOR CRIME

From 2004 to 2009, many of the motels identified by KRQE News 13 were in fact subject “code enforcement sweeps” and targets for nuisance abatement actions with allegations that they had become “magnets for crime”. In those nuisance abatement actions, the thousands of calls for service for violent crimes were relied upon to take action, including closure and board ups.

The now defunct Safe City Strike Force was formed to combat blighted commercial and residential properties that had become magnets for crime. Thirty (30) to forty-five (40) representatives from the Albuquerque Police Department, the Albuquerque Fire Department, the Fire Marshal’s Office, the Planning Department Code residential and commercial code inspectors, Family Community Services and the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office participated and comprised the strike force. Seventy (70) to one hundred fifty (150) properties a week, both residential and commercial properties would be reviewed by the Safe City Strike Force.

The Safe City Strike force took action against 48 of the 150 motels along central and forced compliance with building codes and mandated repairs to the properties. The Central motels that were demolished were not designated historical and were beyond repair as a result of years of neglect and failure to maintain and make improvements. entral motels that had historical significance to Route 66 were purchased by the City for renovation and redevelopment.

The Central motels that the Safe City Strike Force took action against that had hundreds and sometimes thousands of calls for service to APD include the Gaslight (demolished), The Zia Motel (demolished), The Royal Inn (demolished), Route 66 (demolished), the Aztec Motel (demolished), the Hacienda, Cibola Court, Super-8 (renovated by owner), the Travel Inn (renovated by owner), Nob Hill Motel (renovated by owner), the Premier Motel (renovated by owner) the De Anza (purchased by City for historical significance), the No Name, the Canyon Road (demolished), Hill Top Lodge, American Inn (demolished), the El Vado (purchased by City for historical significance), the Interstate Inn (demolished).

The Safe City Strike Force was responsible for the demolition of at least seven (7) blighted motels that were beyond repair. When people were displaced by enforcement actions taken by the Safe City Strike Force, the City’s Family and Community Services Department would provide vouchers to the displaced and assist in locating temporary housing for them.

KELLER’S ADAPT PROGRAM

It was two years ago in July, 2019 that Mayor Tim Keller announced the creation of the “Addressing Dilapidated and Abandoned Property Team” (ADAPT). Keller completed the dismantling of the Safe City Strike and replaced it with his ADAPT program which supposedly relies on new data to target the worst 100 properties in the city.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/program-targeting-nuisance-properties-sees-early-success-/5636532/

According the city’s web site for the ADAPT Program:

“ADAPT … leads a full inspection of the property with other City departments. The first step is to attempt to work with property owners to clearly identify the source of the criminal activity, and to assist in establishing a plan of action to correct any violations and to improve the property. If the owner cannot improve the property or fails to meet the plan of action goals, ADAPT will move to legal action.”

APD STAFFING

APD is the largest budget department in the city. APD’s approved general fund operating 2022 budget is upwards of $222 million. The 2022 approved APD operating budget has funding for 1,100 sworn positions and 592 civilian support positions for a total of 1,692 full-time positions. It also includes funding for new positions, including 11 investigators to support internal affairs and the department’s reform obligations under the Federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement, and two communications staffers. Notwithstanding the funding for 1,200 sworn police the number of police officers patrolling the street of Albuquerque is dangerously low. As of July 24, 2021, APD has 940 sworn police according to city personnel records, but only 369 are actually patrolling the streets of the city and that is divided in 6 area commands and 3 shifts.

According to an August 2 news report, APD patrol staffing is as follows:

369 patrol officers, for six area commands and 3 shifts
59 patrol sergeants
18 lieutenants
18 – 22 bike officers

The department is having severe problems recruiting more sworn police officers. To that end, APD is now offering hiring bonuses worth thousands of dollars as follows:

$15,000 for lateral police officers
$5,000 for cadets
$1,500 for police service aides

https://www.koat.com/article/400-apd-patrol-cops-albuquerque-police-department/37203121

https://www.abqreport.com/single-post/apd-officer-shortage-worsens

HOMICIDE RATES UNDER KELLER

In 2020, FBI statistics reveal that Albuquerque has the dubious distinction of having a crime rate about 194% higher than the national average. Albuquerque had more homicides in 2019 with 82 homicides than in any other year in the city’s history. The previous high was 72, in 2017 under Mayor RJ Berry. Another high mark was in 1996, when the city had 70 homicides.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1405615/apd-reports-record-82-homicides-for-2019.html#:~:text=Gilbert%20Gallegos%2C%20a%20police%20spokesman,high%20was%2072%2C%20in%202017

HOMICIDES

A synopsis of the homicide statics during Mayor Tim Keller’s 4 years in office is in order.

2018, during Mayor Keller’s 1st full year in office, there were 69 homicides.
2019, during Mayor Keller’s 2nd full year in office, there were 82 homicides
2020, during Mayor Keller’s 3rd full year in in office, there were 76 homicides
2021, during Keller’s 4th year in office, there have been 78 as of August 4 and counting

During his full 3 years in office, Mayor Keller has initiated numerous crime-fighting initiatives. All were initiated before the pandemic hit the city hard in February of last year. March 11, 2020 is when the Corona Virus was declared a worldwide pandemic and the country began to shut down and people began to quarantine and businesses began to close.

KELLER’S FAILED VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION PROGRAMS

It was in 2018 to 2019, during a 9-month period, and well before the COVID pandemic, that Mayor Keller in response to the continuing increase in violent crime rates, scrambled to implement 4 major crime fighting programs to reduce violent crime. Those programs are:

1. The Shield Unit

In February 2018 the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) created the “Shield Unit”. The Shield Unit assists APD Police Officers to prepare cases for trial and prosecution by the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s office. The unit originally consisted of 3 para legals. It was announced that it is was expanded to 12 under the 2019-2020 city budget that took effect July 1, 2019.
https://www.abqjournal.com/1325167/apd-expands-unit-that-preps-cases-for-prosecution.html

2. Declaring Violent Crime “Public Health” issue

On April 8, 2019, Mayor Keller and APD announced efforts that will deal with “violent crime” in the context of it being a “public health issue” and dealing with crimes involving guns in an effort to bring down violent crime in Albuquerque. Mayor Keller and APD argue that gun violence is a “public health issue” because gun violence incidents have lasting adverse effects on children and others in the community that leads to further problems.

3. The “Violence Intervention Plan” (VIP program)

On November 22, 2019 Mayor Tim Keller announced what he called a “new initiative” to target violent offenders called “Violence Intervention Plan” (VIP). The VIP initiative was in response to the city’s recent murders resulting in the city tying the all-time record of homicides at 72 in one year. Mayor Keller proclaimed the VIP is a “partnership system” that includes law enforcement, prosecutors and social service and community provides to reduce violent crime. According to Keller vulnerable communities and law enforcement will be working together and building trust has proven results for public safety. Mayor Keller stated:

“… This is about trying to get these people not to shoot each other. …This is about understanding who they are and why they are engaged in violent crime. … And so, this actually in some ways, in that respect, this is the opposite of data. This is action. This is actually doing something with people. …”

4. The Metro 15 Operation program.

On Tuesday, November 26, 2019 Mayor Tim Keller held a press conference to announce a 4th program within 9 months to deal with the city’s violent crime and murder rates. At the time of the press conference, the city’s homicide count was at 72, matching the city’s record in 2017.

It is painfully obvious that the 4 initiatives that Keller implemented to reduce violent crime and homicides have been a failure.

HISTORY OF HOMICIDE UNIT BEING UNDERSTAFFED AND OVERWHELMED

Over 3 years ago on December 28, 2017, it was reported the APD homicide unit was overwhelmed with only 11 detectives when the City reached a record high of 75 murders. APD management, which Medina was the Deputy of Field Services, did nothing to increase the size of the homicide unit.

During an October, 2019 City Council meeting, APD management said it was working on new strategies to ease the workload on APD homicide detectives. During the City Council meeting, APD Commander of Criminal Investigations Joe Burke had this to say:

“I would say in the long term if I was looking at a long-term solution—I believe we need two homicide units. I think the best practices around the nation normally have two homicide units. Detectives should be balancing between three to five investigations and we’re nearly double that.

… We absolutely need detectives in criminal investigations. … I was happy when I went over at the end of July and was briefed on the status of the unit that there’s a plan in place within the executive staff that when cadets are graduating from the academy that we’re going to get a certain percentage specifically for the criminal investigations bureau.”

https://www.petedinelli.com/2020/09/04/53-murders-and-counting-52-clearance-rate-apd-adds-one-sergeant-to-homicide-unit-as-solution/

On November 21, 2019 when the number of homicides hit 72, it was again advocated that the Homicide Investigation Unit be increased from 11 detectives to at least 25 detectives. Further, given the units low clearance rate and past performance, more was needed to be done then with respect to recruiting and training. At the very least, APD needed to ask for temporary assignment of personnel from other agencies such as the Bernalillo County Sherriff’s Department or the State Police to help clear out the cases.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/11/21/city-matches-homicide-record-high-of-72-murders-mayor-keller-forced-to-defend-policies-makes-more-promises-asks-for-more-money/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The blunt truth is that for a good 3 years BEFORE the COVID pandemic hit the city hard in 2020 under Keller’s watch, crime rates were spiking, so much so that then candidate for Mayor Tim Keller made reducing the city’s crime rates a cornerstone to his campaign. He proclaimed himself to be uniquely qualified to be Mayor and went so far as to promise that he would hire 300 sworn police officers and grow the department to 1,200 sworn police offices by the end of his first term. Today, the department has 960 sworn police and the police academy cannot keep up with retirements.

HOMICIDE UNIT AND CLEARANCE RATES

Mayor Tim Keller and his appointee APD Chief Harold Medina have been fully aware for the last 4 years that the APD homicide unit has be understaffed and unable to keep up with the homicides. Medina especially forgets that for 3 years he was the Deputy Chief of Field Services and the problem has always existed and he did nothing. For both Keller and Medina to complain now and blame the homicide rate as being a national trend is nothing more than refusing to take responsibility in an election year for their failures.

Complicating the spiking homicide rate is the fact that APD’s homicide clearance percentage rate has now hit its lowest in the past year. According to the proposed past City Budget, in 2016 the APD homicide clearance rate was 80%. In 2017, the clearance rate was 70%. In 2018, the first year of Keller’s term, the homicide clearance rate was 56%. In 2019, the second year of Keller’s term, the homicide clearance rate was 52.5%, the lowest clearance rate in the last decade. In 2020 the clearance dropped even further to 50%. In 2021, the clearance rate is down to less than 30%, likely because of the huge spike in homicides.

MEDINA EXPOSES SELF TO FEDERAL CONTEMPT OF COURT

When APD Chief Medina says “some of the requirements of our court settlement agreement, where they want me to give more people to the academy or internal affairs, may have to be on hold as we try and get resources to fight crime in the city” he is playing with fire with the federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA). He is also ignoring Mayor Keller’s commitment made to implementing all the reforms mandated by the CASA

Medina cannot unilaterally suspend the terms and conditions of a federal court order. If he tries, the consequences will be severe, including a contempt of court action against him and the city. Then again, that just may be the solution for removing an ineffective police chief that should have never been appointed in the first place by an equally ineffective Mayor.

MOTELS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN MAGNETS FOR CRIME

It is so damn laughable that Mayor Keller and APD Chief Harold Medina are only now conceding that motels are where violent crimes and illicit drug activity are occurring. Motels for DECADES have been “magnets for crime” so much so that the city would take strong and aggressive civil code enforcement action with the Safe City Strike force declaring the properties a “public nuisance”.

Mayor Tim Keller’s ADAPT is nothing more than extensively watered-down version of the Safe City Strike Force. Confidential sources within City Hall have said that Mayor Tim Keller felt the Safe City Strike Force had too much of an “aggressive sounding title”, and he and others did not like it as fitting into his “ONE ABQ” slogan and the city wanted to soften the approach to nuisance abatement. Keller has never understood that slum lords need to be dealt in an aggressive manner to keep them from victimizing and preying on their tenants.

It is very disappointing that Mayor Tim Keller reneged on his decision to reinstate the Safe City Strike Force when the decision was made to replace the Safe City Strike Force with his own ADAPT program. The Strike Force was a proven and effective program and was recognized as a best practice nationally. Mayor Keller has only himself to blame with what is happening at the motels because it could have been prevented.

FINAL COMMENT

There is little doubt that crime is the biggest issue in the 2021 election for Mayor. Mayor Tim Keller, who has been in office for close to 4 years, has been been ineffective in bringing down the city crime rates. Keller knows full well that as each time a homicide occurs in the city, his prospects for a second term is diminished. When Keller identifies that homicides are also spiking in other cities such as El Paso, Portland and Fresino and that he expects Albuquerque to break 100 homicides by this fall, what he is doing is making a pathetic attempt to mitigate the damage to his election prospects for another 4 years. He does not realize he may also be predicting the death of his political career.

In politics, a record of trying and failing to deliver tends to lead to removal from office.

On Friday, July 30, the 3 top officials of the Bernalillo County Republican Party resigned over party infighting and after an attempt to remove the party chairwoman. Resigning their positions were GOP County Chairwoman Julie Wright, Treasurer Joe Foor and Secretary Denise Foor. The 3 resigned over party infighting and after an attempt to remove party chairwoman Julie Wright. The 3 county GOP resignations came as the November 2 races for Albuquerque Mayor and City Council begins to heat up and as the 2022 election cycle begins.

PEARCE GIVEN AS CAUSE OF RESIGNATIONS

In her resignation letter, Wright charged that Republican State Chairman Steve Pearce had encouraged dissenters within the party. Wright wrote in part:

“… many RPNM officers fully support a small faction of dissenters who are causing chaos within the party. … How am I supposed to help our candidates fight the Democrats when Steve Pearce allows and incentivizes a group of rogues to sow unrest amongst our party?”

The resignations followed a July 22 “special meeting” of the Bernalillo County Republican Party Central Committee which was called to address the “failure of current leadership to win elections. The removal of Wright was listed as an agenda item.

When the meeting was convened, the county GOP executive committee ruled the meeting “unofficial” and found the meeting violated party rules. Specifically, two state party officials attended the meeting and the group of dissenters placed a paid advertisement for the special meeting in the Albuquerque Journal. The meeting ended without any official business conducted.

Daniel Moore was appointed the new Bernalillo County GOP.

STATE GOP CHAIRMAN PEARCE RESPONDS

In an interview with the Albuquerque Journal, State GOP Chairman Pearce downplayed the resignations and what is happening within the Republican Party. Pearce said the state GOP has limited involvement in most county party matters and describe the resignations and the infighting as “unfortunate” and said in part:

“People have very high emotions about these things. … Sometimes it plays out nicely and other times not as nicely.”

The link to quoted source material and full story is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2415783/bernalillo-county-gop-officials-resign-amid-intraparty-rancor.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

State GOP Chairman Pearce can downplay all he wants what is happening within the New Mexico Republican party. It will not stop the undisputed reality that the Republican Party is unraveling within the State of New Mexico at all levels.

What is also becoming obvious is that Steve Pearce himself is part of the problem. Since losing his election for Governor by a landslide to Democratic Governor Michell Lujan Grisham and becoming State Republican Party Chairman, Pearce has failed to unite his party at most levels as it disintegrates into oblivion.

At the core of the State Republican Party’s disintegration are the loss of election, after election, after election. In Albuquerque, only 2 Republican lawmakers are still in office out of more than 20 seats after Democratic gains in 2018 and 2020. A mere 8 years ago, Republicans held a super majority on the City Council and the Mayor of Albuquerque was Republican. Today, the Mayor is a Democrat and the City Council is 7 Democrats and 2 Republicans.

For the November 2 Albuquerque Municipal election, the Republican Party failed to even find a viable candidate to run for Mayor of Albuquerque, with Republicans ostensibly satisfied with supporting and voting for a “Democrat In Name Only” Manny Gonzales who was a Trump supporter. Eight years ago when the Republican Incumbent Mayor ran for a second 4 year term, he ran as a privately financed candidate and donors were the “who’s who” of the Republican Party, including the National Republican Party that donated $10,000, and over $1 Million was raised and spent.

The New Mexico State Republican Party is failing to adapt to changing realities and changing times and has failed to find a new generation of leadership. The New Mexico Republican Party continues to grasp and support Der Führer and former President Donald Trump as its national leader as is the case in other red states. To this day, State Republican Chairman Steve Pearce and Southern New Mexico United States Congresswoman Yvette Harrel have refused to back away from Der Führer Trump and have failed to condemn his lies of widespread voter fraud.

What is downright pathetic is that the Republican Party actually thinks that the party is what wins elections, not realizing it is the quality of the candidates and the positions on issues that they offer. All one has to do is look at the 6 announced candidates for the Republican nomination for Governor and the Republican Party is likely looking at another major loss. A link to a related blog article on the Republican candidates for Governor is here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/07/14/five-run-for-republican-nomination-for-governor-in-a-statewide-race-republican-nomination-may-not-be-worth-much-unless-governor-lujan-grisham-does-something-really-stupid/

CITY COUNCIL MEASURED FINANCE COMMITTEE

Under the City of Albuquerque’s campaign finance laws, a Measure Finance Committee is a political action committee (PAC), person or group that supports or opposes a candidate or ballot measure within the City of Albuquerque. Measure Finance Committees are required to register with the City Clerk within five (5) days once they have raised or spent more than $250 towards their purpose.

Measure finance committees are not bound by the individual contribution limits and business bans like candidates. No Measure Finance Committee is supposed to coordinate their activities with the individual candidates running for office, but this is a very gray area as to what constitutes coordination of activities and it is difficult to enforce.

Six measured finance committees have been formed and are raising donation for the 2021 Municipal Election. Two have been formed for Manny Gonzales and 1 for Mayor Tim Keller. A complete listing of all 6 measured finance committees is in the postscript to this blog article.

On the November 2 election ballot will be the 5 odd numbered city council districts of 9 city council seats. The council seats up for election are City Council seats 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Albuquerque City Councilors are paid $30,600 annually and the Council President earns $32,600 annually. They are also eligible to join the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) and earn a pension after they have served 5 full years. Health Insurance is also made available to them.

The links to the City Clerks web page on the candidates qualifying petition signatures and $5 qualifying donations are here:

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/2021-candidates/petition-qualifying-contribution-tally-1

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/2021-candidates

ALBUQUERQUE AHEAD

Only 1 Measured Finance Committee has been formed to help and promote candidates for City Council.

On June 10, 2021, Albuquerque Ahead registered with the City Clerk for the specific purpose “to support those candidates for city council who will move Albuquerque ahead and oppose those who will not.” It is the only measured finance committee that is concentrating on raising money to spend in the 5 City Council Races that will be on the November Ballot.

On July 12, Albuquerque Ahead filed the fourth campaign finance report covering the time period of June 8 to July 5. Following are the highlights of the finance report with major donors:

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: $2,100
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS FOR PERIOD: $7,070
TOTAL EXPENDITURES FOR PERIOD: $1.641
CLOSING BALANCE: $7,528

MAJOR CASH DONORS DURING 4TH REPORTING PERIOD

$1,000 DONORS OR MORE
REPUBLICAN PARTY OF BERN COUNTY, To support Renee Grout ($1,100)
LINDA NICHOLS, retired, To support Renee Grout

$500 DONORS
WAYNE APPLEMAN, business owner, To support Dan Lewis
JEREE TOMASI, Financial/Investment, NM MORTGAGE ADVISORS, To support Renee Grout
KEITH PERRY, retired, To support Dan Lewis

$200 TO $250 DONORS
ALFRED LORBER, retired ($250), to support Renee Grout
CJ DORIAN, self-employed ($250), to support Renee Grout
CJ DORIAN, self-employed ($250), to support Renee Grout
DORIS BUCKMAN, to support Renee Grout

$100 Donors
TRUDY JONES, Alb City Councilor, to support Renee Grout
DOUGLAS CALDERON, SALCEDO LAW, to support Dan Lewis
MARK CARUSOCARUSO LAW OFFICES, PC, to support Dan Lewis
NADINE EDELMAN, retired, to support Renee Grout
EVERETTE FARR, retired, to support Renee Grout
KENNY GREBE, employer: RED SHOVEL, to support Dan Lewis
ROBIN SCHRITTER, retired, to support Renee Grout
LISA YOUNG, retired, to support Renee Grout
BARBARA MUELLER, retired, to support Dan Lewis
PATRICK LANE, self-employed, to support Dan Lewis
NANCY LOISEL, to support Dan Lewis
KIRK THOMPSON, retired (Arizona), to support Renee Grout
KATHY MCDANIEL, retired, to support Renee Grout
PAUL BARRICKLOW, Lee Engineering, to support Dan Lewis
GEORGE GRIEGO, retired, to support Dan Lewis
KARLA BRESSAN, retired, to support Renee Grout
ESPERANZA CARRILLO, retired, to support Dan Lewis
VICTOR JURY, retired, to support Dan Lewis

MAJOR EXPENDITURES FOR ALBUQUERQUE AHEAD
AGT LAWYER, compliance lawyer filing: $539.38
AUTUMN INTEGRITY LLC, SET UP WEBSITE, FILING, REPORT, EMAILS, MANAGEMENT: $539.38

The link to the complete 4th Campaign Finance Report for ALBUQUERQUE AHEAD is here:

https://campaignfinance.cabq.gov/PublicSite/Reports/FetchReportToPDF.aspx

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

When you examine the fourth campaign finance report filed by Albuquerque Ahead, it is clear it is essentially a measured finance committee established by the Bernalillo County Republican Party to promote 2 Republican candidates for City Council. The two Republican candidates are former Republican City Councilor Dan Lewis in District 5 who is running against incumbent Democrat Cynthia Borrego and Republican Renee Grout who is running for the District 9 City Council seat being vacated by long time serving, unknown, ineffective and unaccomplished Republican Don Harris.

The largest single donation to Albuquerque Ahead was made by the Bernalillo County Republican Party for $1,100. Virtually all of the major donors to Albuquerque Ahead identify they support Dan Lewis or Renee Grout. Further, Republican City Councilor Trudy Jones donated $100 to Albuquerque Ahead designated to support Renee Grout.

DISTRICT 5 CITY COUNCIL

Incumbent CYNTHIA BORREGO and former City Councilor DAN LEWIS have both qualified for the ballot and public finance. Candidate Phillip Ramirez did collect the qualifying number of petition signatures and qualified for the ballot. Philip Ramirez did not qualify for public financing, but switched his financing status from public financing to private financing during the qualifying period.

City Council District 5 candidates who qualify for public finance will be given: $50,489.

DISTRICT 9 CITY COUNCIL

Both Rob Grilley, Jr. and Renee Grout have qualified for the ballot and public finance. City Council District 9 candidates who qualify for public finance will be given $41,791.

FINAL COMMENTARY

The New Mexico Constitution provides that all municipal elections be nonpartisan and that is why it is in our city charter and not because the framers of our city charter thought it was a great idea. To say Albuquerque has a form of “nonpartisan” municipal government is a farce when it comes to reality and how Mayors act and the City Council really works and votes. Both the Republican and Democratic parties know full well the importance of controlling the office of Mayor with all the high paying jobs and the City Council that oversees a $1.2 Billion budget.

It is dishonest and sneaky when “Albuquerque Ahead” registers with the City Clerk for the specific purpose “to support those candidates for city council who will move Albuquerque ahead and oppose those who will not” when what it is actually doing is supporting Republican candidates for City Council and opposing Democratic candidates for city council.

It is not at all likely that an anemic $7,528 to support 2 Republican Candidates is going to have much of an effect on the election, but then again there is still time to raise more.

_______________________

POSTSCRIPT

Following is the listing for all 6 Measured Finance Committees resisted with the City Clerk along with their stated purpose:

ABQ FIREPAC
Stated purpose: Support candidates who support public safety & fire fighter issues. Editor’s Note: This is the local firefighter’s union measured finance committee that is organized for every municipal election and candidates for City Council and Mayor.

Albuquerque Ahead
Stated Purpose: To support those candidates for city council who will move Albuquerque ahead and oppose those who will not. The Chairperson is identified as Jill Michel and the Treasurer is Andrew Thornton, an attorney in private practice.

Build Back ‘Burque
Stated Purpose: Support Mayor Tim Keller’s re-election to a second term for the city of Albuquerque. The chairperson of this committee is Michelle Mayorga, a well known progressive fund raiser and the Treasurer is Robert Lara, a private attorney and former State Democratic Party Treasurer.

Planned Parenthood Votes Albuquerque
Stated Purpose: Support candidates that support women’s reproductive healthcare and oppose those that don’t. The Chairperson of this measured finance committee is Sarah Taylor-Nanista

Retired Law Enforcement for a Better Albuquerque
Stated purpose: Support Albuquerque mayoral candidate who will improve the quality of life for it’s citizens as well as oppose candidates that are detrimental to the future growth and safety of Albuquerque. EDITOR’S NOTE: This measured finance committee is known to support Manny Gonzales for Mayor and the Chairperson if Jason Katz, a retired Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Deputy.

Save Our City
Stated purpose: To address the serious crime and leadership problem in Albuquerque. Editor’s note: This measured finance committee is known to support Manny Gonzales for Mayor with the committee co -chairs identified as Sam Vigil and former Public Regulations Commissioner Karen Montoya

The link to a related blog article on the 2 Measured Finance Committees formed to raise money to promote Manny Gonzales and the 1 Measured Finance Committees to raise money to promote Tim Keller is here:

Two Gonzales Measured Finance Committees Have Not Raised Enough For Competitive Race; Gonzales Must Fend For Himself And Raise At Least $500,000 To Be Competitive Without Public Finance

On Friday July 30, New Mexico House Majority Floor Leader Representative Sheryl Williams Stapleton abruptly resigned from the New Mexico House of Representatives ending a 27-year rise to power. Williams Stapleton stands accused of fraud, racketeering, money laundering, receiving illegal kickbacks and violations of the state’s Governmental Conduct Act. Stapleton maintained in her financial disclosure forms filed with the New Mexico Secretary of State that her only income was from her job at APS.

The allegations involve a kickback scheme with an Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) vendor that was paid more than $5 million for over a decade . According to news reports, bank records show that businesses, including a restaurant, and charities Stapleton either owns or had close ties to received more than $950,000. She is also being investigated by the Justice Department on the monies she administered in federal grants to APS.

Links to related news coverage are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2413929/ags-office-serving-search-warrants-on-lawmakers-home-businesses.html

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/house-majority-leader-resigns-amid-corruption-investigation/6190255/

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/ok-to-pay-the-search-warrant-of-sheryl-williams-stapleton/

Stapleton retained respected New Mexico criminal Defense Attorney Ahmad Assad to represent her. Defense Attorney Assed had this to say in part in a statement:

“[My client is] … deeply troubled by the false allegations raised by the Superintendent of APS, and unequivocally denies them.

The investigation is in its very initial stages and no comment can be made as to any of the allegations; however, we are confident that the conclusion of the investigation will put them to rest.

Ms. Williams Stapleton is eager to cooperate in the investigation to clear her name of any wrongdoing. Despite the reckless manner in which some have portrayed the allegations against her, Ms. Williams Stapleton has not been charged with a crime at this juncture. She is presumed innocent under the law, particularly when no charges have been filed.

There is a high burden to present evidence to support proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the State must meet to overcome the presumption of her innocence.
Ms. Williams Stapleton adamantly maintains that innocence.”

On Saturday, July 31, Democratic legislators designated House Majority Whip Doreen Gallegos as the “acting majority leader”, a position she’ll hold until the caucus holds an election in the coming weeks.

https://www.koat.com/article/state-house-democrats-select-acting-majority-floor-leader/37189354

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/state-house-democrats-hold-closed-door-caucus-saturday/

12 PLACED ON LEAVE

On August 2, it was reported that a dozen employees of the APS School system, including Williams Stapleton, have been placed on paid leave pending an internal investigation. The other 11 employees include administrators, teachers, and school and clerical staff. The 12 placed on paid leave with titles are:

1. Sheryl Williams Stapleton, director and coordinator of Career and Technical Education
2. Madelyn Serna-Marmol, associate superintendent of Equity, Instruction, Innovation and Support for APS
3. Amelia (Aimee) Milazzo, executive director of Curriculum and Instruction
4. Adolphus Washington, Sandia High School teacher
5. Scott McLeod, West Mesa High School teacher
6. Donald “Don” Gonzales, Eldorado High School teacher
7. Vivian Quintana, Van Buren Middle School teacher
8. Abigal Manzanares, specialist for Sheryl
9. Caia Brown, Harrison Middle School teacher
10. Ryan Palmer, Harrison Middle School teacher
11. Becky “Rebecca” Campbell, Harrison Middle School teacher
12. Curt Spencer, Harrison Middle School teacher

APS officials had previously said it is possible that more APS employees will be placed on leave as the investigation proceeds.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/8-teachers-among-dozen-aps-employees-on-paid-leave-amid-corruption-investigation/6194121/?cat=500

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Although the political career of former New Mexico House Majority Floor Leader Representative Sheryl Williams Stapleton has come to a very abrupt and scandalous end within 4 days with her resignation, her ultimate fate is in the hands of the criminal justice system and it will take some time, likely upwards of a full year if not more. She did the right thing in resigning in that for now what is going on will die down somewhat during the news cycle and as the process unfolds. Political corruption cases involving fraud and abuse of taxpayer money are always complicated and even though involve paper trails, criminal intent is still hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt and no one knows, at least for now, who or what she relied upon and what extent of authority she in fact had.

Then you have the uncomfortable fact that the alleged scheme went on for 10 years or more. No doubt the Albuquerque Public School System (APS), the Public Education Department (PED) and the State Auditor’s Office have been flat footed over the years for not catching the  corruption sooner  and the legislature will want to get to the bottom of what happened and how this could have been prevented. No doubt if this goes to a trial on the merits, the failure to act by APS, PED and the State Auditor’s Office will be made an issue by the defense attorney to create reasonable doubt and that she acted with the full knowledge or approval of these government agencies.

PENSION AT RISK

At this point in time former Representative Sheryl Williams Stapleton has not even been charged with any crime, but her political career and reputation are in total shambles. Until she is charged, she is free to go about her private business.

In 2012, the New Mexico Legislature passed a bill that allows judges to fine public officials convicted of felony corruption charges for as much as the official’s state pension and salary.
Williams Stapleton has accrued more than enough time to retire from APS as well as enough service to qualify for a legislative pension. You can expect that she will retire from the APS School system in very short order in an effort to protect her government pension. No doubt her pension will be used as a bargaining chip to secure her cooperation in the investigation and perhaps secure a plea agreement, such as plea to misdemeanor charges, no time served, restitution and she keeps her pension.

There is both a federal and state criminal investigations being conducted which means she faces defending herself on two fronts which no doubt will be costly and emotionally draining. In addition to the New Mexico Attorney General investigation, a federal grand jury has also issued subpoenas for APS records and the school system has placed others on administrative leave. It’s more likely than not others will be identified and charged.

Once both criminal investigations are complete, then and only then can charges be filed. Once charged, the long and very drawn-out process begins with arraignments, pretrial discovery and motions filed and ultimately a trial, unless of course a plea is negotiated. Until then, all who are charged are entitled to the presumption of innocence.

Government corruption does not respect party lines. Below in the postscript is a 40 year history of New Mexico Corruption including Democrats and Republicans alike.

As the saying goes:

“The wheels of justice turn slowly but grind fine.”

_____________________________

Postscript

A SHORT HISTORY OF NEW MEXICO CORRUPTION

On August 1, 2021, the Albuquerque Journal did a story on a look back at other scandals in New Mexico history over the past 30 years. The article was entitled “New Mexico no stranger to scandal.” The link to the full story is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2415296/new-mexico-no-stranger-to-scandal.html

Quoting and editing portions of the story, following are the more notable New Mexico corruption scandals over the last 40 years:

“2021: Demesia Padilla, secretary of the Taxation and Revenue Department, was convicted by a Sandoval County jury of stealing $25,000 from a client of her accounting business while she served in the Cabinet of former Gov. Susana Martinez. She has requested a new trial. She faces up to 18 years in prison.

2018: State Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Juan, was sentenced to 18 months in state prison and fined $47,000 after he was convicted of five of eight charges relating to the sale of a state-owned building in Santa Fe and his failure to disclose his interest in the sale. The sale required legislative approval and Griego netted a $50,000 commission. He resigned from the Senate in 2015 after questions about the sale were raised. He also pleaded guilty to embezzlement of campaign funds in a separate case.

2015: Dianna Duran, a Republican, resigned as secretary of state after she was charged with diverting money from her campaign to pay gambling debts at Native American casinos. She was ordered to pay $28,000 restitution to campaign contributors and served 30 days in jail.

2013: Las Cruces District Judge Michael Murphy pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of violating the Governmental Conduct Act in exchange for prosecutors dropping four felony charges in a scandal that raised allegations of bribery. He received a 364-day suspended sentence.

2011: Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr. pleaded guilty to a number of felonies involving identity and credit card theft and was sentenced to 60-day psychological evaluation.

2010: The business manager for the Jemez Mountain School District, Kathy Borrego, pleaded guilty to embezzling money from the school district for years. The State Auditor’s office said about $3.4 million had been embezzled to pay for Borrego’s gambling addiction. State police said she committed suicide just prior to being sentenced. Borrego faced up to 41 ½ years in prison and a fine of up to $54,000 for the crimes.

2009: The State Investment Council was racked by a pay-to-play scandal that involved a close confidant of Gov. Bill Richardson, Anthony Correra, and his son, Marc Correra. Firms seeking investments from the SIC and Educational Retirement Board paid intermediaries like Marc Correra in order to get state investments. No one was ever charged with a crime in New Mexico in connection with the scandal, but the State Investment Officer Gary Bland resigned and the Legislature revamped the make-up of the SIC. Dozens of lawsuits resulted in the state recovering more than $30 million in fees, but investment losses were measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

2008: Former Senate President Pro Tem Manny Aragon, D-Albuquerque, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and two counts of mail fraud in connection with receiving kickbacks in a scheme that defrauded the state of nearly $4.4 million in the construction of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse for which he sponsored legislative appropriations. He served nearly 4 ½ years in federal prison and was fined $750,000 and ordered to pay $649,000 in restitution along with other defendants in the case. He was released from prison in 2013 and now lives in Albuquerque.

2008: Joe Ruiz, deputy state insurance superintendent, was convicted on 30 public corruption charges for demanding charitable contributions from insurance companies, leading to a 48-month prison sentence and ordered to pay $103,000 in restitution [and $2,000 in special penalties].

Ruiz claimed he was just following orders from former Insurance Superintendent Eric Serna, who had stepped down in 2006 to head off an investigation by the Public Corporation Commission.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ruiz worked as deputy insurance superintendent from June 25, 2001 through July 31, 2006 under former insurance superintendent Eric Serna who retired in an agreement with the PRC after the agency had suspended him over conflict-of-interest issues, including some involving donations to a nonprofit health foundation, Con Alma, for which Ruiz solicited payments from insurance companies. The indictment also said Ruiz intervened in an insurance claim involving a state senator in July 2002. He allegedly brought pressure for a settlement by telling the company he would not take regulatory actions, including fines, if it agreed to make a $10,000 payment on the claim. It stemmed from an automobile accident involving the lawmaker, who was not identified in the indictment. The company paid a $10,000 settlement and it was not fined.]
Links to news coverage are here:

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/jury-finds-joe-ruiz-guilty-on-30-counts/article_ec2ae000-4a29-5d77-9128-f6e9d068df18.html

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2008/07/17/91977.htm

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2007/08/27/83029.htm

2006: State Treasurer Robert Vigil was convicted by a federal jury of one count of attempted extortion out of a 24-count indictment. He and former state Treasurer Michael Montoya were charged with giving bond brokers business in exchange for gifts. Vigil served 2 years and 2 months in federal prison.

2005: Former State Treasurer Michael Montoya pleaded guilty to a federal charge of extortion and a state charge of racketeering for receiving lavish gifts in exchange for business with the treasurer’s office. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and testified against his former political ally Robert Vigil.

1992: Then-State Rep. Ron Olguin, D-Albuquerque, was censured by the Legislature for solicitation of a bribe, but not he was not expelled. He was later convicted of soliciting a $15,000 bribe in exchange for getting the Legislature to provide $100,000 for a crime counseling program. He was sentenced to 18 months in state prison.

1986: John Ramming, an aide to then-Gov. Toney Anaya, was convicted of 13 counts of bribery, fraud, conspiracy and racketeering for directing almost $3 million in state disaster relief funds to a friend. Anaya issued Ramming a pardon on 12 of the 13 counts and he served a year in prison.

1985: Phillip Troutman, state investment officer, and Ken Johnson, deputy state treasurer, were convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion when they demanded a New York bank make a political contribution to get state investments. They were sentenced to two years in federal prison and each was fined $5,000.

1982: Herman Grace, director of the Governor’s Office of Community Affairs, was sentenced to 4 ½ years in federal prison when he pleaded guilty to embezzling $13,000 intended for an anti-poverty agency.”

The link to the full journal article quoted is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2415296/new-mexico-no-stranger-to-scandal.html

THOSE NOT MENTIONED, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

There are a few other very notable scandals and disgraced officials and politicians worth mentioning.

“THE DIRTY DOWNS DEAL”

During her first year in office, former two term Republican Governor “She Who Shall Not Be Named” was alleged to have been involved with a “play to play” controversy involving the award of a $1 Billion-dollar, 25-year, Albuquerque Downs Racetrack contract, dubbed by politicos as “The Dirty Downs deal”.

https://www.abqjournal.com/335335/buster-screwed-us.html

The FBI investigated the contract, which was awarded to the Downs at Albuquerque in December 2011. FBI agents interviewed people involved with the former Republican Governor’s campaign and others about the race track lease and about campaign donations and inaugural donations. The Republican Governor herself also answered FBI questions about the Downs lease deal but she never went public with what she said. Allegations were made that the Downs at Albuquerque contract was a “pay-to-play deal”.

Allegations of nefarious conduct around the Downs lease involved political insiders, significant campaign contributions to Martinez and attempts to hide political donations and contributions to Governor Martinez or her political action committee from donors connected to the Downs. Two of the Downs owners are Louisianans Bill Windham and John Turner are Republican boosters and were substantial contributors to the Republican Governor’s campaign for Governor and she received $70,000 in contributions during her campaign from Windham and Turner.

The Republican Governor’s political adviser, Jay McCleskey, who has never been a state employee but had an office next to Martinez, thrust himself right in the middle of the “Dirty Downs Deal” controversy and the award of the contract by the State Fair Commission. McCleskey became upset over a two-week delay on the contract award by the State Fair Commission. McCleskey became angry when the State Fair Commission did not approve the 25-year racino lease with the Downs at Albuquerque.

For several months, a federal grand jury investigated Jay McCleskey regarding expenditures from Republican Martinez’s campaign, as well as money from her 2011 inauguration committee that went directly to McCleskey. On March 4, 2016, Mc Clesky’s attorney announced that the federal grand jury would not indict McCleskey by saying “I’ve been informed the investigation has been terminated” and the attorney declined to answer any questions.

https://www.abqjournal.com/735011/mccleskey-lawyer-grand-jury-over-no-charges.html

GUTTING NON-PROFIT MENTAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS WITH FALSE ALLEGATIONS

One of the cruelest acts of government corruption by former Republican Governor “She Who Shall Not Be Named” was when she ordered an “audit” of mental health services by nonprofits in New Mexico which devastated New Mexico’s behavioral health system. She did it by making deliberate and false allegations of “possible fraud.”

In June 2013, under the direction of the former Republican Governor, the Human Services Department cut off Medicaid funding to 15 behavioral health nonprofits operating in New Mexico. More than 160,000 New Mexicans at that time received behavioral health services in 2014, with most of those services funded by Medicaid, according to the Human Services Department. The Martinez Administration said that the outside audit showed more than $36 million in overbilling, as well as mismanagement and “possible fraud.”

The Martinez Human Services Department agency brought in 5 Arizona providers to take over. In early 2016, at least 13 of the 15 nonprofits that were shut down were exonerated of fraud after a complete criminal investigation by the New Mexico Attorney General. Even though found no fraud and cleared the nonprofits of fraud the damage had been done to the nonprofits and many just went out of business. At least 13 of mental none profits sued and were awarded damages.

Three of the five Arizona providers brought in by the former Republican Governor administration in 2013 to replace the New Mexico nonprofits pulled up stakes in the state and the mental health system as yet to fully recover.

https://www.abqjournal.com/749923/third-arizona-behavioral-health-provider-to-pull-out-of-state.html

METROPOLITAN COURT CONSTRUCTION SCANDAL

From 2004 to 2008, more than $4 million was stolen by state officials and contractors through fake invoices and inflated bids in the construction of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court building. In all, 8 people plead guilty in the federal case, including former state Senator Manny Aragon as already noted above. Four others are worth mentioning:

KEN SCHULTZ

Ken Schultz once was a city councilor and then became Mayor of Albuquerque from 1985 to 1989. Schultz after losing his election for a second term as Mayor in 1989 became a lobbyist. Former Mayor Schultz will best be remembered as yet another disgraced former politician, a seedy lobbyist, a shadowy bagman, and a convicted federal felon. Shultz acted as a bagman for Senator Manny Aragon, Metropolitan Court Administrator Toby Martinez, and project architect Marc Schiff, and he did so repeatedly over the course of many months, contributing to the theft from New Mexico taxpayers of more than $900,000 in the architectural services portion of the Metro Court construction. When approached by the FBI and presented with irrefutable evidence of his involvement, Schultz confessed, plead guilty, and agreed to provide truthful testimony against his coconspirators. Schultz was sentence to probation for his crimes.

https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nm/press-releases/2009/2009-04-07-schultz_stmt%20of%20usattorney.pdf

TOBY MARTINEZ

Former Metro Court administrator Toby Martinez plead guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy and sentence to 67 months in prison for his part in the Metropolitan Court Construction project and was ordered to pay more than $2.5 million in restitution. His wife, Sandra Martinez, plead guilty to charges that she knew her husband was committing crimes and did not report it and was sentenced to five years of probation. Sandra Martinez was also ordered to pay $106,000 in restitution.

https://www.abqjournal.com/16766/updated-martinez-gets-five-years-in-prison.html

MARC SCHIFF

Marc Schiff, the architect for the Metropolitan Court construction project played an integral role in the stealing of the $4.3 million in taxpayer money during construction of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse. Schiff, once the president of one of the top architect firms in the state, plead guilty to one felony count of conspiracy and one felony count of mail fraud. After admitting to submitting false invoices and then passing on the stolen money to other defendants, he voluntarily gave up his architect license in 2007. Schiff was sentenced to 366 days in prison and ordered to pay $136,000 in restitution.

Schiff stated in his plea agreement that the scheme began when Ken Schultz, his company’s lobbyist, wanted a cash bonus for securing the architect contract. As additional contracts were awarded, Schultz wanted additional cash bonuses. At some point, Schiff learned that Schultz was giving some of the cash to former Senate President Manny Aragon and former Metro Court Administrator Toby Martinez. Schiff said Martinez instructed him to submit false invoices, and “the proceeds were then used to pay kickbacks to Aragon and Martinez.” He said he personally gave some of the money to Manny Aragon consisting of two payments of $10,000 each, and was also present when Schultz passed Aragon an envelope containing $30,000 at an Albuquerque restaurant.

https://nmpolitics.net/index/2009/07/metro-court-architect-sentenced-to-366-days-in-prison/

FORMER SUPERINTENDENT OF INSURANCE ERIC SERNA

Eric Serna is an attorney that practices insurance and corporate law. He was formerly the Chairman for the New Mexico Corporation Commission for 14 years and was the Superintendent of Insurance for 5 years. In 2001, the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) appointed Serna as Superintendent of Insurance.

On April 7, 2006, it was reported that Eric Serna was suspended as state Insurance Superintendent amid an Attorney General’s inquiry into the awarding of a lucrative state contract to a Santa Fe bank. Serna was placed on administrative leave with pay within hours after then Attorney General Patricia Madrid recommended his suspension in a letter to the Public Regulation Commission.

According to news reports at the time, the New Mexico Attorney General was looking into a contract Serna’s office awarded to Century Bank of Santa Fe, which is controlled by Santa Fe businessman Jerry Peters. The Albuquerque Journal reported on March 19 that Century Bank had contributed more than $124,000 to Serna’s Con Alma Health Foundation. The contributions started in 2003, the same year Century was awarded the contract by Serna and then-Treasurer Robert Vigil, who later was indicted for crimes. Serna and Vigil signed off on a no-bid extension of the contract, and an increase in the fees Century Bank was allowed to charge insurance companies.

It was in 2003 that Serna’s office decided to switch depository banks and sought competitive proposals. Four banks that responded including Century Bank which was chosen. The contract allowed Century Bank to collect up to 2% of the face value of the securities each insurance company deposited. A March 2005 amendment permitted the bank to collect an additional 0.05%, even though the state insurance code caps the fee at 2%.

After learning the increase was unlawful, the PRC took swift action to rescind the amendment. Century Bank agreed to make an estimated $200,000 in restitution to insurance company depositors. The PRC required that future contracts issued by PRC divisions be reviewed by in-house legal staff and the commission.

On March 21, 2006, the Public Regulation Commission asked the Attorney General to review issues involving the bank contract. That same day, Serna announced he would resign as president of the Con Alma board of trustees. Under the contract, Century collected upwards of $800,000 a year as the state’s depository for more than $400 million in securities and other assets that insurance companies are required to post in order to do business in New Mexico.

In October, 2005, a Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) review of the management practices in Serna’s office stated that, “Current practices may give the appearance of favoritism.” The LFC review focused in part on one contractor who had performed 87% of insurance company examinations. The LFC found that the contractor was paid more than the statutory guidelines.

On May 18, 2006, it was reported that Insurance Superintendent Eric Serna agreed to retire effective June 14 in a settlement approved by the Public Regulation Commission. Eric Serna ostensibly returned to the private practice of law practicing insurance and corporate law.

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/apserna05-18-06.htm

On September 8, 2019, it was reported that Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed Eric Serna as the Chairman of the New Mexico State Fair Commission.

https://newstral.com/en/article/en/1134902466/governor-appoints-new-members-to-new-mexico-state-fair-commission

Watching all these politicians over the last forty years always reminds me what my parents would tell me growing up:

“If you’re gonna be a thief, steal a million, because you’ll need a good lawyer to keep you out of jail.”