Second attorney faces possible suspension for alleged ties to DWI scandal

A second Albuquerque attorney has come under disciplinary scrutiny by the state Supreme Court for his alleged role in a long-running racketeering and bribery conspiracy in which New Mexico law enforcement officers accepted bribes to ensure drunken driving offenders they arrested were never convicted, and in some instances, never formally charged.

The state Supreme Court on Monday filed a notice requiring Albuquerque criminal defense attorney Rudolph B. Chavez to respond by March 17 to a petition asking that he be suspended from the practice of law until further notice of the court.

The petition was filed by Anne L. Taylor, the chief disciplinary counsel for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the New Mexico Supreme Court Disciplinary Board. The board oversees investigations of misconduct by attorneys and the unauthorized practice of law.

Chavez, whose website notes his more than 40 years of practicing law in New Mexico, didn’t return phone calls on Monday.

Chavez has not been criminally charged as part of the federal prosecution, which has so far resulted in guilty pleas from three former Albuquerque police officers and a former Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputy. Also pleading guilty were the two leaders of the conspiracy, longtime Albuquerque criminal defense attorney Thomas Clear III, and his investigator Ricardo “Rick” Mendez.

After Clear pleaded guilty to five federal charges, including conspiracy, racketeering, bribery and extortion on Feb. 12, the state Supreme Court began proceedings to formally disbar him from the practice of law. On Feb. 28, he agreed that the Supreme Court should disbar him.

The petition states that “upon information and belief,” Chavez is the party identified as a co-conspirator in both Mendez’s plea agreement filing, and that of former Albuquerque DWI officer Honorio Alba Jr.

Alba, who pleaded guilty to racketeering among other federal charges, stated in his plea agreement filed Feb. 7, that he worked “in concert” with Mendez, Clear and “another Albuquerque defense attorney” to ensure a man he arrested in April 2023 avoided criminal and administrative consequences related to his offense.

In that case, the suspect, identified as Z.W. said he knew nothing about any criminal conspiracy and told the Journal, “Rudy Chavez did nothing to make me question his integrity. He never told me anything that didn’t sit well with me.”

Mendez, in his plea agreement, also mentioned the case of Z.W.

The disciplinary counsel petition states that Chavez represented client Zachary Williams in that case and noted that Alba was the arresting officer.

Alba also stated that he relied on “attorney co-conspirators” to handle “any aspect of the scheme and the enterprise that required an attorney present in court or at administrative hearings” such as those conducted by the state Motor Vehicle Department, which oversees driver’s license privileges.

“Given the length and nature of the enterprise and the allegations against (Chavez), as well as the hundreds of dismissed DWI criminal cases as a result of the enterprise, the continued practice of law by (Chavez) will result in the substantial probability of harm, loss or damage to the public,” the petition states.

Chavez, who served as an assistant county attorney from 1989 to 1993, started his own firm in 1993. He practices criminal and civil law. Most recently, Chavez appeared as the lawyer for a suspect arrested Feb. 22 for driving without a license. The suspect’s license was revoked due to a DWI, according to court records.

To date, more than 200 DWI cases have been dismissed because they were filed by the Albuquerque Police Department, State Police and BCSO officers under investigation as part of the FBI’s continuing investigation of the criminal scheme.