A private detective involved in a major corruption scandal in New Mexico’s law enforcement for over ten years was the first to admit guilt to several federal charges, including racketeering and bribery, as per court documents released on Friday.
Ricardo Mendez was involved in a long-running plan with a law company that helped people facing drunk driving charges and the police in Albuquerque, New Mexico State Police, and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Mendez confessed that since 2008, he has been giving gifts and bribes worth thousands of dollars to cops in return for getting his clients’ cases dismissed.
“I admit that, since at least 2008, this DWI scheme I participated in constituted an enterprise (the DWI Enterprise) that engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity that included multiple acts of bribery, chargeable under New Mexico state law, as well as multiple acts of interference commerce by extortion,” Mendez wrote in his plea.
Called the Driving While Intoxicated Enterprise, the plan would let people who drove while drunk escape punishment, Mendez said.
Clients would pay Mendez or his colleague a cash deposit fee for legal services, according to court records. Mendez would pay cops, either in cash (at least $5,000) or with gifts and legal services, to keep them from testifying in court about the driving incident. This led to the case being dropped, according to court documents.
As the plan went on, cops began sending DWI cases to Mendez and his partner, asking for higher payments.
“I recognize that when drivers escape punishment for drunk driving, they are more likely to do it again. The more someone drives while drunk, the higher their chances of getting into an accident,” Mendez stated in his plea.
The investigation started after one of the officers made a stop in August 2023, according to papers received by the Albuquerque Journal. He reportedly told the driver to reach out to a certain lawyer who would help prevent the police from taking the case to court if hired.
Prosecutors suggested a shorter jail sentence for Mendez in the plea deal.
Mendez said that most of the members were from the Albuquerque Police Department.
In February, Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina promised to carry out an internal probe. Since then, over a dozen officers have resigned, been put on administrative leave, been terminated or been temporarily reassigned, per a DWI timeline from Albuquerque Police Department communications director Gilbert Gallegos. Many cases have been thrown out.
The Albuquerque Police Department has made some changes, including putting together a guide for the DWI unit.
Two more officers from the Albuquerque Police Department were put on administrative leave on Friday as part of the federal probe. A deputy from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office was put on administrative leave on Thursday.
Sheriff John Allen said, “There is no room for corruption in law enforcement, and BCSO will work closely with federal agencies.” Allen stated that he has talked to the FBI about the deputy’s reported involvement in the scheme.
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