Police and 'lawyer friend' target drivers with fake DUI claims in kick-back scheme

February 26, 2024

Stopped for speeding, then stung

Almost 200 DWI cases have been dropped by the 2^nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after evidence of a sophisticated scheme run by local police officers, an attorney, and a paralegal came to light.

One of the scheme’s victims was Carlos Smith, who was pulled over by a police officer, Joshua Montano, and apologetically admitted to speeding. Montano put him through various tests for intoxication, which he passed, and then gave him the option of taking a breathalyzer test, which he agreed to. All this was documented by Montano’s bodycam.

Smith measured 0.05 on the test, under the 0.08 limit, but the law still permitted Montano to arrest him if he had reason to believe he was driving under the influence. Court records show that Montano claimed to have, “noticed signs of intoxication” including bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, but there is no evidence of this on the bodycam recording. Nonetheless, Smith, who behaved politely throughout, was placed in handcuffs and taken to the Prisoner Transport Center.

My friend, the lawyer

At the Center, Montano began behaving suspiciously, placing his lapel camera at a distance from himself and Smith while he conducted another breathalyzer test (at which he again blew 0.05). The audio from the recording is unclear but distinct enough to hear Montano telling Smith that his alcohol level was high enough to justify being arrested.

Montano then took Smith out of range of the camera for a long two minutes. Smith later told local media what took place during this time.

[The officer told me he had] this lawyer friend that I know can guaranteed get you off of this.

In my mind, I was just super-confused.

Montano then told him to place his valuables on the counter, and Smith noticed that the police officer kept one bracelet apart from his other possessions. A few days later, the reason for this became clear when he got a voicemail from Montano telling him that the bracelet was “missing” and that he’d call again to tell him how he could get it back.

Next time Montano called, Smith “made sure to answer the second time because I wanted my bracelet and I was a little curious to see what was going on.” He was right to be curious; what happened next was highly irregular.

Montano told Smith he would give the bracelet to his “attorney friend” along with Smith’s number. Not long afterward, a paralegal named Ricardo Mendez called Smith to tell him, “I have your jewelry.”

‘If you need to get off this, you’re at the right place'

Smith was told to visit Mendez at the office of defense attorney Thomas Clear III. Smith covertly recorded their 20-minute meeting, which began with Mendez returning his bracelet to him with a laugh.

Mendez then explained the procedure in DWI cases, and Smith asked what his “next best step” was if he wanted to make sure that it didn’t “get on my record.”

The paralegal told him how—it was just a question of the right sum:

If you need to get off of this, you’re at the right place. If you’re one of those people that can live with it, then go hire a cheap attorney, because there’s some out there ... We are not the most expensive, we’re not the cheapest…

Mendez told Smith that he charged $4,500—$8,500 up front, the rest in installments—or $7,500 cash.

Smith then asked, “And with you representing me, that would guarantee this doesn’t go on my record?”

Mendez replied, “Yes.”

Drunk or sober, it's all the same

Montano is not the only police officer suspected of involvement in this scheme. Several months ago, Officer Honorio Alba, Jr. stopped a driver who was speeding and driving erratically—yet charges were not filed, even though he refused a breathalyzer test. Instead, he was put in contact with an attorney who, if hired, “would ensure that no court case would be filed in court by the (Albuquerque Police Department),” according to an internal complaint obtained by local media.

The driver, a man named Barron, was a former Judicial District Court employee, and after he told court officials that he’d been charged with DUI, the Court Executive Officer wrote to Civilian Police Oversight Agency (CPOA) about the case, describing what she called “questionable conduct” on the part of the officer who had stopped Barron:

We did not question or conduct any sort of internal investigation however, we have been alerted that there may be questionable conduct by the arresting/citation officer.

More specifically, that the arresting/citation officer put Mr. Barron in contact with a specific attorney, possibly named ‘Rick,’ who if hired, would ensure that no court case would be filed in court by APD.

The CPOA interim executive director started gathering information on the complaint before being called by a senior police official who told her: “Stop, we have another case affecting that.”

It wasn’t just one other case—it was almost 200, and all had to be dismissed due to concerns about the arresting officers’ credibility, to the dismay of County District Attorney Sam Bregman, who told KRQE:

It makes me sick to my stomach, but I have no choice. My prosecutorial ethics require me to dismiss these cases.

Officers Montano, Alba Jr., Harvey Johnson Jr., Nelson Ortiz, and Lt. Justin Hunt have been placed on leave and an internal probe has been opened into the allegations.

Corrupt police can ruin your life

Smith, who didn’t take Mendez up on his $8,500 offer, used a public defender and his case was dismissed. But he has now involved the ACLU on his behalf because, he says, Montano “ruined his life.”

Literally, I didn’t want to wake up some mornings. I was very depressed. I didn’t care. I didn’t have a drive because I had no control of my life. My life wasn’t up to me anymore.

I’m hoping that my story shows people to stand up for yourself when you know something is not right, period.

Speaking to local media KRQE, Leon Howard of the ACLU of New Mexico said that he was planning a lawsuit that would shed light on APD and FBI corruption.

It's shocking and quite frankly disgusting. This scheme perpetuates a narrative that outcomes can be bought and sold. It undermines our entire justice system.

False arrests and non-arrests for genuine crimes are unfortunately nothing new. Frontline News has previously covered police “arrest quotas” and the lengths to which corrupt police officers go to make up the numbers, including planting drugs on innocent people, usually members of minority groups and others from challenging socioeconomic backgrounds.

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