Federal investigation into DWI racketeering scheme leads to eighth guilty plea

The number of former Albuquerque Police Department officers admitting involvement in a massive extortion and bribery scheme grew to five on Tuesday with the guilty plea of a former member of the DWI Unit who took gifts and money for helping drunken driving cases get dismissed.

Harvey Johnson Jr., who joined APD in 2014, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Karen Molzen to one count of conspiring to commit interference with commerce by extortion under color of “official right.” No sentencing date has been set.

Johnson was among the newer officers to the scheme, spending less than a year in the decades-long illegal operation, which ended with FBI raids on at least five locations in January 2024. One of those locations was Johnson’s home.

“He took responsibility for his very, very limited role,” Johnson’s attorney, Joel R. Meyers, told the Journal. “He’s looking forward to putting it behind him.”

Federal prosecutors say the extortion scheme was created by prominent Albuquerque DWI defense attorney Thomas Clear III and his paralegal/investigator Rick Mendez, both of whom pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal racketeering charges and other offenses.

So far, five former APD officers and a former Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy have pleaded guilty to federal charges as the FBI investigation continues.

Johnson’s plea agreement states his involvement came in 2023 — the same year the FBI began its investigation into reports that Albuquerque-area law enforcement officers were deliberately missing court or failing to file necessary evidence against DWI offenders they arrested as a way to get the cases thrown out.

Johnson joined the DWI unit in 2021, but didn’t participate in the scheme until February 2023, federal records state.

His 15-page plea agreement noted that APD “conspiring officers” who had worked in the DWI Unit and were part of the scheme “would help and recruit and train the next generation of conspiring officers.” Officers who recruited others in the DWI Unit at APD would receive an extra fee for each new “conspiring officer.”

In his plea agreement, Johnson stated that to steer DWI suspects to the law firm, he would withhold their required state Motor Vehicle Division paperwork after their arrest and deliver the documents to Mendez. Mendez would then contact the suspect and try to recruit him or her as a client by mentioning he had their paperwork.

The plea agreement Johnson signed stated that he typically got paid in cash after a DWI suspect retained Clear but also received Christmas and baby gifts from Mendez, who managed the payment arrangements.

Clear would ultimately go to court and obtain a dismissal, citing the arresting officer’s lack of cooperation or missing evidence.

It isn’t clear how many DWI offenders went free by hiring Clear, but the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office has had to dismiss more than 150 pending DWI cases that could be considered tainted because they involved the officers.