The Piercing Truth

This is right from the dictionary and seems to describe Albuquerque, Berry and Schultz. Fascism (f ash ,izem) noun An authoritarian right wing system of government and/or social organization. (in general use) extreme right wing, authoritarian, chauvinistic and/or intolerant views or practices. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one group over another, national, ethnic, especially social strata or monetarily; a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach. Compliments of one of our Eyes

Jun 8, 2007

You Don't Have to be Paris in Albuquerque

We first told you about the DWI stop of Ralph Ortega in a post from April 27th. Today, the Journal finally ran the story (Subscription Required) regarding allegations of "special conduct" for Ortega, who is a retired AFD Captain and the brother of Fire Chief Robert Ortega.

The short version of the incident is that Ralph Ortega was stopped for lane violations and suspicion of DWI. When it was determined that Mr. Ortega was most likely intoxicated DWI officer Bret White was called to handle field sobriety testing and Ortega's arrest. Enter the 5th floor...

Standard procedure dictates that the arresting officer books the offender and then takes them to the Prisoner Transfer Center downtown. The PTC then transports the prisoner out to the Metropolitan Detention Center. On the night of April 17th according to officer White's report, he was ordered to personally take Mr. Ortega to MDC.

Today's story featured the runaway bride-nabber herself, APD spokeswoman Trish Hoffman. Ms. Hoffman made a concerted effort to spin this in order to protect her bosses on the 5th floor. As a result she gave out some information that is both contradictory and misleading.

First the ridiculous... "We didn't want the fire chief's brother to be in danger at the PTC because of his position... You just never know what might happen to anyone in law enforcement or with a high-profile family member if the other inmates learn who he or she is." Danger?! Ms. Hoffman MUST be kidding. Firemen are probably the only city employees that are universally welcomed when they arrive on scene. Who's not happy to see firemen when their house is burning to the ground? Therefore, the likelihood of Mr. Ortega being in danger is pretty darn close to zero and certainly no higher than say a doctor or a lawyer. (Well, maybe a lawyer would be in danger, but they aren't generally accorded any special treatment.)

Next the blame shift... We are expected to believe that Chief Schultz gave no instructions as to the handling of a "high-profile case," AND that Ms. Hoffman took it upon herself to give instructions to officer White's sergeant to personally transport Mr. Ortega to MDC. Look, officer Hoffman may be famous but she doesn't have the rank or authority to ask anyone to violate standard procedure. Further, The Eyes have it that officer White's sergeant was never involved. Rather, it was the acting lieutenant of the Valley Command who notified officer White of the changed orders and that they came from the Chief.

The Misleading... In today's article officer Hoffman claims that the PTC was not in use on the night of Ortega's arrest, which is technically true... or at least half true. On Tuesday nights the PTC is funded by grant money which means it is only available for DWI offenders. Other offenders must be transported out to MDC by the arresting officer. Mr. Ortega was accused of DWI, so Ms. Hoffman was spinning the facts to make the reader draw the conclusion that Ortega could not have been transported by the PTC anyway.

The truth is officer White was so irritated by what he deemed special treatment, that he put the order in his report. His act served to protect him against being accused of deciding to give Mr. Ortega special treatment on his own, but it also left a record that the 5th floor has to defend.

To make matters worse, when the Journal got hold of officer White's report, they decided to try and spin their way out. There's an old adage that says that "it's not the crime, it's the cover-up stupid." [Ok, we added the stupid part.] It just goes to show you that you don't have to have millions of dollars and be named Paris to get special treatment in Albuquerque. And no... that's not a good thing.

-----Editors Note-----
Oops! We really do like the headline to this story. Unfortunately in our enthusiasm, we misspelled Paris not once but twice! The post has been corrected but those that subscribe by email undoubtedly are thinking "what the heck do they mean by pairs in Albuquerque?"

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's okay Mark, we'll take up a collection and send you a new dictionary for Christmas !

Anonymous said...

Sounds like it's just eating you up!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hardly...

Anonymous said...

Ok, what gives? I dug up my copy of the Journal and read their story submitted by Jeff Proctor on the Ortega arrest. The Journal story reads nothing like the second hand version on Lie on Albuquerque. He was stopped, given field tests, transported to the jail and booked..Seems pretty straightforward to me. I think we should all pay a little closer attention to things like "Ok, we made up the stupid part" I wonder what else they have made up and put on this blog saying it's true....Guess that's why it's called a blog and not real journalism. There is no staff writers name attached to the story, with no names there can be no accountability for false and misleading stories. I think I'm going to start looking for another site to point my browser at...one with some credibility.

Anonymous said...

Okay Dave,(your getting known now) stop pretending and defending the 5th floor's BS.
Hypocracy, hypocracy, hypocracy!

Anonymous said...

Firefighters are not the most popular in law enforcement circles. After all, they are taking the blame for the Mayor instituting 1 DWI = fired. So, if one shows up after a DWI arrest, he/she could be looked down upon by other City law enforcement. This would create a problem.

Anonymous said...

Funny how the city supposedly has a zero tolerance for DWI's once employed, but chosses to ignore them on an applicant's background. Shows you how bad the numbers game has gotten around APD. The Chief likes to talk tough about he isn't afraid to fire officers for their misbehavior. If only the Chief would take the same tough approach with who he hires, maybe he coould avoid some of these behavior problems later.

Anonymous said...

Is it no secret that Mr. Ralph Ortega was with AFD for 20+ years. He suddenly retired (rumored failed drug test) but the public should be happy to know he has found gainfull employement he is still a city employee. One should look no further than the City Enviroment division. Ralphs son who is also a city firefighter also got a DUI I wonder if he was expedited through booking being the NEPHEW OF THE FIRE CHIEF and the SON of a CAPT. in the FIRE DEPT. at the time ? Ms. Hoffman you are selling your sole to the devil by spouting the MISTRUTH in order to stay in GOOD standing with the SCUM BAG MAYOR ! Has anyone ever been to a Mayors ball ? Like this years ! The MAYOR is a closet drunk, plain and simple.

Anonymous said...

I wonder why officer Kirby has never been charged with a crime. After all Jason Daskalos was under arrest and he removed him ... PERIOD. I will bet a kings ransom he gets his job back with APD through the personel board.

Anonymous said...

Jason Daskalos donated a bldg. to mayor chaves for his reelection. Yet the mayor doesnt recall. The bag man in the Vigil kickback scheme Angelo Garcia held a fund raiser at a home for mayor chaves and AGAIN the MAYOR doesnt remember. Man.... this mayor has a bad memory .........!

Anonymous said...

"Firefighter are taking the blame for the Mayors 1 DWI=fired" . O.K. so there are firefighters who foolishly do Drink and Drive. To say they are the one to blame. I think I remember a story about a couple of APD officers who are currently assigned to the DUI unit who have DUI's and still have their jobs or am i mistaken? My brother is an officer I will not say where but I will tell you this officers drive their issued vehicles ALL the time ON duty OFF duty to get gas, groceries, SOCIAL GATHERINGS, PARTIES, so I ask YOU ! When is the LAST time you've seen a COP car pulling another cop car over ? I am waiting and why your at it can you verify my statement of current APD DWI officers with either ARREST and OR CONVICTION and still got their job.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Officer Hoffman, what is up with that new billboard with here and her husband (I guess he is an officer too)---this is Recruiting??? This is an embarassment to the city---a completely inappropriate advertisement in my opinion.

Unknown said...

Trish Hoffman reminds of the character Clementine in the comedy show Reno 911 HAHAHAHAHAHA

Anonymous said...

Ortega is a criminal and a drunk who has covered up crimes, tampered with evidence, aided criminals and has cheated taxpayers. Book him Dano!