More to come in NM DWI scandal investigation, says top federal prosecutor, even if Trump ousts him

Federal authorities are asking witnesses to come forward if they have knowledge of the “massive and sprawling” criminal racketeering conspiracy involving New Mexico law enforcement officers who took kickbacks for helping defense attorneys get DWI cases dismissed.

U.S. Attorney for New Mexico Alexander Uballez told the Journal on Monday there is more to come from the continuing FBI investigation of the racketeering and bribery conspiracy involving Albuquerque Police Department’s DWI unit, as well as New Mexico State Police and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department.

Uballez provided no timetable but said he is confident the prosecution, which produced one guilty plea last week from a central figure in the years-long scheme, will continue even if he is removed by the new Trump administration. Uballez, a longtime state and federal prosecutor, was appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2022.

“This is a very hard bell to un-ring,” Uballez said of the federal investigation that has led to the departures of nearly one dozen APD officers who served in the DWI Unit, numerous changes in APD policy, and the dismissal of several hundred DWI pending cases the officers had filed in court. No law enforcement officer has been criminally charged. But prosecutors say in court records that the officers who joined what federal prosecutors dubbed the illegal “DWI Enterprise” received cash, gift cards, hotel rooms, and free or discounted legal services.

Their primary contact was Ricardo “Rick” Mendez, an investigator who worked with prominent Albuquerque DWI defense attorney Thomas Clear. Mendez pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges that included bribery, racketeering conspiracy and interference with commerce by extortion. He was released pending sentencing April 29.

Clear hasn’t been charged and declined to comment when contacted by the Journal.

Uballez told the Journal that the success of the FBI investigation doesn’t hinge on prosecutors finding more witnesses or victims.

But he added, “Witnesses and victims are always helpful to us, and looking at the facts which are publicly available ... it confirms a scheme that goes back to 2008, so it is massive and sprawling, and we are always, in this and in any case, looking for folks who can come forward and help us build out our investigation.” The investigation was spurred by tips from several people over the past two years.

Uballez wouldn’t say whether it has been difficult to find witnesses, such as the people whose charges were dismissed. Mendez stated in his plea that some of those arrested whose cases were dismissed didn’t know about the scheme, while others did.

There is a possibility some of the acquitted might be reluctant to admit they benefited from a criminal scheme, Uballez said. Asked whether his office would grant them immunity, Uballez said: “It really totally depends on the specific circumstances of what happened. But I think the focus of this investigation is very clearly on those who held the public trust, that’s both lawyers, the police, and those who abused it.”

Anyone with information can call the FBI’s Albuquerque office at 505-889-1300, he said.

Court filings state that the conspiracy evolved over the years when officers who became “members’ of the scheme wanted to increase their payments from Mendez.

Up until about 2022, Mendez stated in his plea agreement, DWI officer “members” would fail to appear at pretrial interviews for people they arrested for drunken driving. After an arrest, officers would give Mendez the offender’s driver’s license and contact information. Mendez would contact the offenders, the plea agreement stated and charge them “higher legal fees in exchange for successful resolution of their DWI offense.”

Typically, the criminal defense attorney is alleged to have secured dismissal of the charges in court because a “necessary witness for the state would not be present.” Judges would typically dismiss the DWI case as a sanction, Mendez’s agreement stated.

After the state Supreme Court ended the necessity for pretrial interviews in such cases, the officers would either fail to appear in court, withhold necessary evidence or decide not to file charges against those they stopped and arrested.

The more senior officers in the unit would recruit newer members, ensuring that the DWI Enterprise would “take root amongst almost the entire APD DWI unit over a period of time,” stated Mendez in his plea agreement. Mendez and Clear are alleged to have asked such senior members “to use their positions and influence within APD to try to ensure that the DWI Officer Members were not investigated or disciplined in connection with their illegal activity.”

The officer members, who often used code in communicating about the scheme, would sometimes discuss with each other how to ensure the criminal scheme “remained successful, profitable and undiscovered,” Mendez stated.

Such federal prosecutions “are to make sure that people and, in this case, the people of Albuquerque have institutions that they can have faith in and trust,” Uballez said.

“Public integrity cases are bedrock cases for us to bring in support of our democracy."