FBI raids Albuquerque lawyer's office amid investigation into police corruption

FBI agents executed a search warrant at the office of a prominent Albuquerque defense attorney this week as part of a federal investigation that has led to several police officers being placed on leave and prosecutors dismissing more than 150 DWI cases.

Meanwhile, the attorney, Thomas Clear III, resigned Friday as chairman of the state Public Defender Commission, an 11-member panel that oversees the operation of the New Mexico Law Offices of the Public Defender as an independent agency.

Clear had served as chair since August 2017, said Maggie Shepard, communication director for the LOPD. Clear’s website states that he has been practicing law for more than 40 years, focusing on criminal defense.

Neighbors who live near Clear’s law office, located inside a house on a quiet street in Northeast Albuquerque, told the Journal they saw FBI agents early Thursday use crowbars to remove the front door before spending hours carrying out files and other items.

On Friday, the busted front door was secured to the home by two large pieces of wood. No one answered the door when a Journal reporter knocked. Clear’s office phone wasn’t accepting phone messages on Friday, and he didn’t answer a Journal email seeking comment.

The federal search warrants, which were served on multiple locations in addition to Clear’s office, remained sealed Friday. No one has been charged or arrested in the case.

Marcus Burnham, a neighbor, said sometime after 8 a.m. Thursday he saw a team of FBI agents in tactical gear show up to Clear’s home and pound on the front door, yelling, “FBI. Search warrant” for about 10 minutes.

No one answered the door; eventually the FBI agents breached the front door and went inside, he said. Burnham said agents were there all day.

Burnham said he regularly has seen marked Albuquerque Police Department units — and sometimes, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office vehicles — parked outside the law firm’s office. He said Clear and his paralegal worked out of the office and usually could be seen coming and going daily.

Another neighbor, Amy Williamson, said she saw agents carrying out armfuls of files and at least one hard drive. She said Clear lives elsewhere in Albuquerque.

“We’ve never had any issues with him. It was just kind of a shock when we saw what was going on across the street,” Williamson said.

The raid came the same day as FBI agents also searched the homes of at least three APD officers, including one in Los Lunas, as part of the public corruption investigation into the prosecution of DWI cases in Albuquerque.

Tessa DuBerry, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, confirmed federal law enforcement activity at Clear’s office. She said it was “done with the full cooperation of the Albuquerque Police Department.”

“We will decline to comment further,” she said.

APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos has said “several” officers have been placed on paid administrative leave “while the investigation continues.”

He said APD had been working with the FBI “for the past several months on an investigation involving members of the department.”

The investigation also led the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office to dismiss 152 misdemeanor DWI cases as of Friday morning. Those cases could still be refiled.

“We did this in deference to an ongoing federal investigation,” spokeswoman Nancy Laflin said in a statement.

Of the 152 pending DWI cases dismissed, 136, or nearly 90%, were filed by three Albuquerque police officers, according to court records. One officer was responsible for 67 of the cases; another had 41; and the third was listed as the arresting officer on 28.

The majority of the cases dismissed — 107 — were filed in 2023, making up 10% of APD’s DWI misdemeanor cases for the year. Eleven of the dismissed cases had been filed this year.

District Attorney Sam Bregman called the dismissals “a gut punch.”

“I’m sick to my stomach for dismissing more than 150 DWI cases, but my prosecutorial ethics require me to dismiss them,” he said in a statement.

Matthew Reisen covers criminal justice for the Albuquerque Journal. Follow him on Twitter at @MReisen88, call him at (505) 823-3563 or reach him via email at mreisen@abqjournal.com.