AP – A private investigator embroiled in a corruption scandal that rocked New Mexico’s law enforcement community for over a decade was the first to plead guilty to a slew of federal charges that include racketeering and bribery, according to court records released.
Ricardo Mendez took part in a yearslong scheme between a law firm he worked for that specialised in defending those charged with driving while intoxicated and the Albuquerque Police Department, New Mexico State Police and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Mendez admitted that since 2008 he had been offering gifts and thousands of dollars in bribes to officers in exchange for having his clients’ cases dismissed.
“I admit that, since at least 2008, this DWI scheme I participated in constituted an enterprise (the DWI Enterprise) that engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity that included multiple acts of bribery, chargeable under New Mexico state law, as well as multiple acts of interference commerce by extortion,” Mendez wrote in his plea.
Dubbed the Driving While Intoxicated Enterprise, the scheme would allow offenders who drove while intoxicated to get off scot-free, Mendez admitted.
Clients would pay Mendez or his associate an attorney retainer fee in cash, court records said.
Then Mendez would pay officers in cash – USD5,000 or more – or in the form of gifts or legal services to not appear in court as a necessary witness to the driving incident, resulting in the dismissal of the case, according to court records.
