Albuquerque –
It has been over a year since the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted raids on the homes of a some DWI officers of the Albuquerque Police Department, an attorney, and an employee of the attorney. Today, the man identified as the attorney’s employee, Ricardo (Ric) Mendez, pled guilty to numerous federal charges related to the scandal. It seems he spilled copious amounts of information to federal investigators about just how the bribery scheme worked and he named and implicated additional officers that could be involved.
Federal documents show Mendez stated:
Since at least 2008, I admit that I conspired with co-conspirator 1, as well as sworn law enforcement officers and deputies with the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), New Mexico State Police (NMSP), and the Bernalillo County Sheriff s Office (BCSO) (collectively, “the Officer Members”) to engage in a scheme that targeted persons arrested for DWI (DWI Offenders). Under this scheme, co-conspirator 1, the officers, and I would arrange for the Officer Members to intentionally fail to appear at required criminal and administrative settings associated with the DWl-related arrests, allowing co-conspirator 1 to move to dismiss the proceedings.
The court document is lengthy, but states Mendez and his attorney Boss Tom Clear would charge a fee to get the DWI’s and other charges and citations related to the cases dismissed in court:
I admit that the items of value were given to APD sworn law enforcement officers in connection with a transaction and a series of transactions involving $5,000 or more during each of the above-listed one-year periods.
Mendez plead guilty in federal court to eight charges, including the more serious charges of conspiracy, bribery of a police officer receiving federal funds, and interfering with commerce by extortion.
With that plea and the released court documents, it has now implicated two other law enforcement agencies: the New Mexico State Police and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.
APD released a statement saying:
“As I’ve said many times over the past year, we will leave no stone unturned when it comes to exposing this conspiracy,” APD Chief Harold Medina said. “We have fully cooperated with the FBI’s investigation, while aggressively pursuing our own internal investigation that produced immediate results and helped us identify changes we needed to make to ensure accountability within the department. Through our investigation, we believe this conspiracy goes back as far as two decades, which the U.S. Attorney indicated in its plea agreement today. It is disappointing on so many levels because it appears police officers from several agencies conspired with at least two lawyers and a paralegal to manipulate the criminal justice system, at the expense of victims of DWI.”
APD went on to state that as of today, two more lieutenants were put on administrative leave:
APD identified the two officers who were placed on administrative leave as part of the federal DWI investigation.
APD placed Lt. Matthew Chavez and Lt. Kyle Curtis on administrative leave today as part of their own internal investigation.
Lt. Chavez has been with the department since 2008 and currently serves in the Valley Area Command. He previously served in the DWI Unit.
Lt. Curtis has been with the department since 2000. He currently serves in the Internal Affairs Force Division. He previously served in the DWI Unit.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff Office put out the following statement:
Sheriff John Allen confirms that he has been in direct contact with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office regarding the involvement of a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputy in the ongoing federal investigation into DWI case manipulations. “Corruption has no place in law enforcement, and BCSO will fully cooperate with its federal partners,” stated Sheriff Allen.
Upon learning of the involvement of BCSO personnel, the deputy in question, identified as Jeff Hammerel, was immediately placed on administrative leave last night. Sheriff Allen has consistently demonstrated zero tolerance for misconduct, particularly corruption, and remains committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity within the Sheriff’s Office.
In keeping with our commitment to transparency, Sheriff Allen will review all relevant documents and provide a detailed update to the public as soon as possible. The Sheriff is currently headed to Washington, DC alongside (Continued Below)

Senator Heinrich, Senator Lujan, Congressman Vasquez and Congresswoman Stansbury, and all of them are slated to address topics related to law enforcement in New Mexico and Bernalillo County. A press conference will be scheduled upon his return to discuss the developments of this case and our ongoing efforts to ensure accountability and maintain public trust.
We reached out to New Mexico State Police to see if any of their officers were put on leave regarding this federal plea deal by Mendez. A spokesman told us:
“At this time, we do not have information to believe any of our officers were involved in this criminal conduct. The New Mexico State Police has been and will continue to cooperate with investigators. For additional information, please contact the FBI as they are the lead investigating agency”.
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All officers and deputies put on leave have still not been formally charged and are presumed innocent unless and until they’re convicted in a court of law.
Really great work, good job!
Apparently no embarrassment is sufficient to cause Chief Harold Medina to resign.
Unfortunately
[…] ABQ RAW: Man Takes First Plea Deal Connected to APD DWI Bribe Scandal, Other Law Enforcement Agencie… […]
I had Tom Clear represent me in 2007 for a “impaired to the slightest degree” charge when I blew a .05 BAC. He mentioned that he had several APD officers in his hip pocket but unfortunately my arresting officer wasn’t one of them. Apparently he would reward participating officers with trips to Las Vegas and they always came back “Winners”. That way nobody would suspect foul play when money changed hands. Tom never helped defend my case despite thousands of $$ I paid for his services. The dirt bag didn’t even show up for my sentencing, instead he sent a paralegal. Looking forward to the day Tom Clear faces a Federal Judge and serves serious time in prison. Good riddance.
I’m so glad that the entire government is being cleared of the trash that’s been ruling the city !!!!
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