Land of Upside Down

It seem too ridiculous to comment on but in just the course of a couple days, could the leadership of the Governor and the state's largest city's mayor, RJ Berry proved to us any more that if there's one thing that they are consistent with: it's that they are never consistent.

News broke out yesterday that over $100,000 was spent to remodel the Governor's kitchen in the state mansion. How we know the former occupant of the mansion was known for endless state dinners and functions at the house. Governor Richardson knew how to wine and dine and such events were regular affairs there. We find it totally ironic that a candidate who supposedly ran on a fiscally conservative platform would find it necessary to spend so much money on something her predecessor had no problems with. Given that the average house in Albuquerque costs about $150,000 and you can still buy a house for $100,000....isn't this a bit much. Really Governor?

Then, after months of grandstanding by Mayor Berry about how Albuquerque's new minimum wage ordinance is unenforceable, and how it is not appropriate for the mayor's office to tell the city attorney what to do, Berry then changed tune and is now enforcing the ordinance and bringing an action against the Rt66 Malt Shop owner. Nothing like showing how strong your convictions are when the general population calls you on your ineptitude. But we wonder what Berry will now say to the Rio Grande Foundation....that he had no choice?

Also as federal investigators determined that an entire class of Albuquerque employees were targets of discrimination by the APOA police union and the city, the EEOC moved forward with negotiations to resolve the matter to avoid going to court. Kudos to the APOA for stepping up and recognizing that officers are officers and appearing to work out a solution to the problem. However the spirit of cooperation ends there. When the same offer to avoid court and work out a solution was presented to the city, you can guess what CAO Perry, and city attorney Tourek, and Berry said not a chance. The city's position is "make us" instead of working towards any concilation between the parties.

Finally, with the commencement of mayoral campaign signatures hardly 10 days old, our Eyes are already reporting misconduct by Berry's people. It seems they've been busy collecting signatures on City property which is unethical since the Mayor works for the City of Albuquerque. But then again, if you're an unethical guy it really doesn't matter or does it?  We expect this to be a tough hard campaign however we also realize Mayor Berry will cheat and flip flop on issues--which is what he has done since from Day 1. So, to make sure everything is on the up and up, please continue forwarding us your cell phone pictures of Berry people doing what they do best: lie, cheat and steal. More on this to follow...

P.S. To the poster who keeps submitting the request for Mr. Heh to specifically identify what he or Mr. Dinelli will do to generate jobs....please, the answer is obvious: All either candidate has to do is NOT do what RJ Berry has been doing for the last 3 1/2 years.

PERA: WHERE DID THE PROBLEMS START AND WHO IS LIABLE?

Recently in the news there have been several stories about the issues concerning PERA (the Public Employees Retirement Association).  The problems being discussed concern the actuaries of the fund and ways to ensure the fund remains solvent. Two questions come to mind; one, where did the problems start and two, who is liable for the fund going defunct?

Up until 2004 there were not “double dippers” in PERA. Prior to 2004 a PERA employee could retire and come back to work as long as the employee did not earn more than $15,000 annually.  This worked well and was manageable for the PERA fund to handle. 

Big Bill Richardson tried several times to “tap” into the PERA fund but was stopped by the PERA members applying pressure to their representatives. Well, he finally found a way to “tap” into the fund.

In 2004, the legislature passed the double dipping bill, which was approved by then Gov. Big Billy Richardson.  This allowed a PERA member to retire and return to work, thus, receiving a pension and a salary from a city, county or state municipality.  The original proposal was to allow certain critical positions to be filled by retirees because they could not fill them otherwise, such as, police and fire. Big Bill told them “no”, it is for all PERA retirees or none.  The legislature passed the bill and it allowed all to return.  About this same time, the legislature also passed a 20 year retirement for corrections and other like employees who were on a twenty-five year plus retirement plan. 

 Major Problem #1

What did this mean?  It meant that these people who pay a lesser amount into PERA for twenty years would receive a full pension five plus years earlier. We do not blame anyone for taking advantage of such a benefit.  After all, Big Bill was looking to get a few extra votes.  Here is the problem, who was going to cover the costs of those who did not pay into the system for those extra five years? Who was going to cover the costs of those municipalities who did not make matching contributions to PERA for those extra five years?

 Major Problem #2

When Big Bill refused to allow the program for critical positions such as police and fire, he had a plan.  The plan was to pay his political friends with super high paying jobs and their PERA pensions.  Richardson had over 463 employees who were making over 100k a year as “political appointees” who were “double dippers.”  Richardson was asked to release the names of his cronies’ but Big Bill refused and never did.  Here is the major problem, who paid for all of those huge “double dippers,” many who still work for the State?  This same mentality was used across the state by other cities and county municipalities.  Albuquerque still has many of Marty Chavez’s political pawns, which Berry has been too chicken to get rid of them. We are still feeling the effects of corruption that was started by the Governor’s Office.

 This is the bottom-line; Richardson approved this ENTIRE mess as the Governor of the State of New Mexico for his own political gain. This makes the State of New Mexico liable for all and any damages to the fund and/or the members of PERA who have been or will be affected adversely.  The legislature needs to stop blaming PERA or its’ members for the debacle that was created, caused under the control of the State of New Mexico’s agent, Bill Richardson.

The New Mexico State Statue states the State must exhaust all other means of correcting a problem before they attempt to cut benefits to PERA members.  The State has NOT complied with this as of this time and are moving to cut PERA members benefits.  We foresee a huge lawsuit coming...

BERRY SET CITIZENS TO BOIL

As the City continues to deteriorate with unprecedented job losses, a corrupt police administration, the Department of Justice preparing for a take-over of the police department, an out of control drug use problem and a barrage of many other systemic problems;  Berry wants a second term as Mayor to finish ruining the City of Albuquerque?

The following is what one of our Eyes told us and used a parable for comparison:

If a pot of water is placed on a stove to boiling hot and a frog was placed into the boiling pot; the frog will immediately jump out! 

Now place a pot of water on the stove (with no heat initially) and place a frog into the pot; the frog will stay in the pot.  Turn on the heat slowly and continue to keep turning it up slowly.  Eventually the water will start to boil and the frog will parish but never get out of the pot.

Here is the comparison.  Berry promised to make Albuquerque a better place to live for all.  In actuality Berry has set the citizens of Albuquerque to boil.  Berry placed the citizens of Albuquerque in a pot and turned the burner on a little at a time until it reached HIGH!  Folks, we are all boiling in the pot!  We need to stop the atrocities’ Berry has caused. Turn off the stove and allow healing and improvement.  Berry has slowly desensitized us and we have gotten use to his lying and political game playing.   

Berry’s biggest promises were a better Albuquerque, more jobs and a reduction in crime.

Results:

•  QUALITY OF LIFE OVERALL IS DOWN!

• CRIME IS UP!

•  THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IS PREPARING TO TAKE      OVER APD!

•   ALBUQUERQUE HAS LOST MORE JOBS THAN ANY OTHER CITY IN THE UNITED STATES!

• FORBES MAGAZINE CLAIMS ALBUQUERQUE IS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO BUY A HOME OR START A NEW BUSINESS.

Is this the record Berry is running on?  

 Allow Paul Heh to take the heat off the citizens and place that same pressure on getting jobs/careers into Albuquerque, realizing a true reduction in crime and correcting the problems in APD.  Berry stated he wants to force thieves out of the City/out of the region or PUT THEM IN JAIL.  This is asinine!  You cannot throw everyone in jail.  They have an addiction, an illness and this is all a cry for help.  We must correct the underlying problem; drugs. Is there anyone that is reading this blog who does not know someone who is addicted to drugs? Or know someone who has been victimized by a drug user? Or know a family member or extended family member who is battling drugs?

The answer is 99% of us have been affected by someone addicted to drugs some how and/or some way. 

  Mayoral Candidate Paul Heh wants to start a true and meaningful drug rehabilitation center named after local celebrity, Johnny Tapia.  This is in hopes that it will encourage our youths and others to stop the use of drugs that served to the demise of Mr. Tapia.  The rehabilitation center will do just that; rehabilitate!  Get the thieves off drugs and give them a life skill so when they are released they DO NOT return to a life of crime.  These same people will pay taxes, become productive citizens again and become part of the solution instead of the problem. This will stop the revolving door syndrome Berry has encouraged during his tenure.

  This will relieve the pressure overall in the justice system (police, courts and correctional systems).  Why would Berry shove the City’s problems into other communities? This results in the City’s problems being forced upon another community to solve and deal with.  Paul Heh has stated the Mayor must own-up to the problems and solve them.  Heh is willing to do just that; take ownership of the problems and solve them.

  Do you want a person who will solve Albuquerque's problems and make Albuquerque a better place to live for you, your family and your friends, or more ill-responsible leadership of Berry with more job losses and higher crime rates?

  RJ Berry has hinted his intentions to run for Congress.  He would be wise to withdraw from the mayoral race while his name is intact.  After Berry loses this mayoral race in disgrace; his chances of being successful in a run for Congress will be nothing more than an exercise in futility.   If R.J. Berry continues on this same road he has been on, his name will be just as tainted as another “Mayor Barry” from Washington D.C. (Marion Barry).

Berry Appears to be Anti-Second Amendment

The Albuquerque Police Department under the direction and authority of R.J. Berry launched a disarmament program.  The City announced the program with Berry proclaiming, “I don’t have a vote in Congress, but this is one very meaningful program that I can implement as a Mayor to protect our children and our community…”  Interesting enough, Berry is quietly disarming the citizen all in the name of “safety.” 

Berry stated in part, “I don’t have a vote in Congress…” does this mean Berry would be pushing and VOTING for disarmament of the public like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid?  Why would he make such an outrageous statement unless he is against the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America?  This type of activity can only be viewed as communism.  Is this why Berry has kept his Nazi (Schultz) to help him do his dirty deeds? This may also explain why Berry has forced Albuquerque to lose so many jobs.  Keeping the people poor is a well-known method of suppressing the people and keeping them controllable.

If Berry wants to hold office in Congress, he is in the wrong race.  The Mayoral race is for and about the people of Albuquerque.  This explains why Berry has made so many bad decisions for Albuquerque. 

 According to Ray Schultz, “It is not unusual for the department to receive requests from citizens asking that guns be destroyed…” Here is the caveat, the citizens think and expect the guns to be destroyed but Schultz has admitted they do not destroy all of them.  If the gun has any firearm with a significant historical value it will be preserved and the Police Department keeps it.

 Mayor Berry is quoted as stating, “It allows folks who don’t want a gun in their home for whatever reason a safe and secure disposal method.” Wait; is the Police Department collecting antique(s) really considered a secure disposal method? It sure sounds more like a huge scam by Schultz.

 The guns that have been turned in are primarily from senior folks not from some gang-banger thug drug-dealer.  This is why we say Berry is attempting to disarm the citizens.  After all the law abiding citizens turn their guns in, the only ones who will have a gun are the criminals.  This is a terrible idea.  All of the money spent should have been used on kids in our community or the Battered Women’s Shelter.  This is simply a ruse to disarm the good guys.

In our opinion Berry is two-faced.  His teams of signature gatherers were at a TEA Party meeting this past week asking people to sign a petition in-order to place Berry on the ballot.  The people there stated Berry was a gun supporter but yet he is trying to disarm Albuquerque.  The APD Gun Disposal Program has collected hundreds and hundreds of guns from the citizens with LESS THAN ONE PERCENT of those guns being linked to any type of crime. This program has been a complete failure other than Berry’s “ABQ the Plan” to disarm the law abiding citizens through trickery.  The hundred thousand (plus) dollars would have been better off as a reward in the murders of the Westside multiple homicides which are still unsolved or spent on a job training for our unemployed in the City. 

 For those who are sitting there saying, “This is too farfetched,” it is not.  Did anyone else notice after almost four years, Berry has yet to release his tax records when he first came to office? Why? What is he hiding? Remember Berry’s VETO on the City Councils vote to bring in the DOJ to investigate? He VETO’s the DOJ and now states he wants to cooperate.  Really?  Is this why Berry did the VETO because is so eager to assist the DOJ?  We bring this up to show Berry has a history of hiding and concealing his misdeeds. There is nothing in this story that is not factual about what Berry has stated and done and what he has failed to do.  Berry’s failed record speaks for itself.

Being dis-honest by act or omission is still being dis-honest.   

Berry has no ethics and is not an honorable person.

 

  

The clear choice for  

Mayor is Paul Heh.

WE NEED JOBS/CAREERS FOR THE CITIZENS OF ALBUQUERQUE; NOT BERRY’S “ABQ THE PLAN.”

False Façade

 

A false advertisement went out over several different media sources.  The message read in part, “For anyone interested in meeting with local's on what can be done concerning gun control and Second Amendment issues…”  This meeting was held on Tuesday, February 19, 2013, at the East Gate Church here in Albuquerque.

Surprise! This was all a false façade.  The meeting was a TEA Party meeting with Berry’s people shoving clipboards in people’s faces trying to get them to sign a petition for Berry’s run for re-election.

 This was an old fashion “bait and switch” routine.  It is un-ethical and unacceptable to draw people in under a false pretense and try to get them to sign Berry’s petition.  Keep in mind; Berry and Schultz have been busy trying to disarm honest citizens.  We can see clearly how un-ethical Berry is and trying to encourage people to attend a meeting concerning Second Amendment Rights is a dirty play when he has been busy trying to take away the same publics firearms.  Omitting the truth is the SAME as lying.  Berry is clearly desperate; what a filthy game of trickery. We hope people have not forgotten that Berry and Schultz are busy taking everyone’s guns.  Remember the “APD Gun Disposal Program”? 

 You will never see this type of un-ethical behavior from Paul Heh.  In our discussions with future Mayor Heh, he stated, he believes in the Second Amendment Rights to keep and bear arms as it relates to the lawful possession and lawful use of firearms.  Heh stated he believes in universal checks for all.  This is to ensure legal law abiding citizens will be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights and at the same time keep firearms away from criminals and the mentally ill that are not fit to have a firearm.

 Berry keeps showing and proving to the citizens of Albuquerque why he is a bad choice.

 

 This is why it is important for you to vote for Paul Heh for Mayor.

 

 

BREAKING DOUBLE BAD

Today is not what you would call a good day for APD and it's failed leadership of Ray Schultz, Allen Banks, Steve Warfield, or acting deputy chief Will "photobug" Roseman. Nor was it a good day for APD lawyer Kathy Levy. Our Eyes tell us despite Levy's efforts to hide the ball and move the line, Judge Bacon ruled in favor of the the Plaintiff's in the civil rights lawsuit of Kenneth Ellis v. APD/Ray Schultz. If you remember this shooting occurred in January of 2010 and stands as a hallmark of a series of questionable shootings by APD. In this case, similar to other cases, Mr. Ellis was shot while he was holding a gun to his own head. With the exception of the officer who originally stated "Fuck, was that me" all the other officers on the scene asserted there was no need to shoot Mr. Ellis. The shooting officer then later changed his statement to argue that shooting Mr. Ellis was necessary because he posed a threat to other officers. The Plaintiff's argued that there was no significant disagreement on the facts of the incident and thus asked for a summary judgment. Since the jury ultimately determines what the facts are IF there is disagreement of the facts it was not necessary for this case to go to a jury. Ms Levy tried in vain we are told to twist and distort the facts so it appeared there was disagreement and aside from infuriating Judge Bacon did not further her cause. In the end the judge ruled in favor of the Plaintiffs and held that APD and the officer were unreasonable in their use of deadly force and in doing so violated Mr. Ellis's civil rights. For a plaintiff to succeed on a motion for summary judgement involving an incident of such magnitude is no small feat and only reveals how unlawful the actions of the officer sadly were.

Now the question is how many millions will the city have to pay to cover the punitive damages associated in this case...

Just as it seems things could not get worse, things do. You see despite BCSO's initial reports that APD Sgt. Adam Casaus was chasing a drunk driver when he collided into another car killing one of its occupants and severely injuring the other, we are no told that not only was Sgt. Casaus NOT on duty at the time of the accident, but he in fact ran the red light colliding into the other car. Sgt Casaus failed to clear the intersection. Of course in neither case has the failed leadership of APD owned any responsibility for these tragedies. Nor have they personally reached out to the families of either party to express their sincere sadness and desire to find the truth of what occurred. Instead they hide behind a lawyer barely fit to argue a traffic tickets.

Again we ask, how many millions will the city have to pay to cover the punitive damages associated in this case...

Lastly, we hear that IA is now doing the investigation into former Sgt. Pat Ficke's drinking buddies. We here at the Eye have been wondering about this since this story broke out. Given that Commander Christman, Lieutenant Troy Luna, Sgt Alex Catsis, and Sgt Dan Cambell are of such rank who is exactly going to do their investigation. We think ANYBODY in APD is clearly unfit for such a job and it should be referred out to another agency because of the grotesque conflicts of interests such an investigation poses. But given the department's efforts to hide, conceal, and lie we suspect such an investigation will be handled in-house and probably by the likes of whomever wants to be APD's next Deputy Chief. Who knows, given their success at FAILING at so many things, perhaps Deputy Chief Banks would do a tremendous job with their investigation...

Why Oh Why doesn't common sense prevail? These debacles are going to cost millions.  Don't forget the 44 million spent last year on liability by Berry and Company.  This is just another one of Berry's "Train Wrecks."

Mayoral Candidate Paul Heh has said it many times; "Tell the truth and make right whatever it is the City has done wrong?"  If the City is wrong, make good on the problem and if the City is right in its' actions then fight it.  This is just one more reason to get rid of Berry and VOTE PAUL HEH into office.

Schultz Assures Levy Witness will have "Sudden Dementia or Alzheimer’s" when Testilying

The Eye On Albuquerque received the letter below and a very incriminating record.  Berry; you and Schultz are on your way out.  The Governor’s Organized Crime Unit should be listening to the recording and the Democratic Attorney General, Gary King, should be investigating this case.

I am writing you this letter anonymously because I fear retaliation and have personally seen retaliation done to other individuals, both sworn and non-sworn employees. To name a few would be Sam Costalas, Al Walck, Brad Ahrensfield and Orlando Camacho. I want to remain anonymous because I have a family to care for, have put in my time, will be retiring in a few years and can’t risk losing my livelihood.  However, I cannot stand by and continue to see the destruction of what was once a great police department that seems to have been destroyed by Ray Shultz and the people he has promoted. Ray is not a Chief or a leader and seeing him attempt to make himself look better than others (Steve Tate and Dan Klein) in his recent Journal article pushed me to do this letter.

When it comes to recording another person or persons, the New Mexico State Law allows a recording provided there is one consenting party. Attached is a recording between Ray Shultz, Kathy Levy, me and others. I have edited the audio to cover up the laughter of certain individuals and myself in fear of retaliation. The conversation discusses sworn testimony given in a deposition that was given by Retired Captain Rob DeBuck (now rehire officer Rob DeBuck) in a lawsuit regarding Orlando Camacho vs. City of Albuquerque. During the conversation, they discussed how angry DeBuck was at Camacho and then the conversation mocks DeBuck.

-Kathy Levy: I said it then, I’ll say it now, I’ll say it in the future and (in the background someone say’s “Oh nooo”) I’ll say it in court and it’s all on the record…

-there’s laughter and a noise to hide certain voices

-Kathy Levy: It will be funny if he gets on the stand and says, “I didn’t say that, that was never my belief.”

-Ray Shultz: I can make sure he gets a sudden case of dementia or Alzheimer’s (with Ray laughing at the end of his statement)

-Kathy Levy: That’s pretty much what I would want.

The attitude taken in this conversation is nothing a City Attorney or Chief of Police should be carrying on about. Making sure a certain witness testifies in a certain way is acting more like a Drug Kingpin than a Chief of Police. Isn’t witness intimidation also illegal? How about perjury? Because of this type of behavior the City of Albuquerque has lost over 44 million dollars last year alone. Police officers such as Sam Costales sued due to retaliation and won a million dollars and due to such behavior, Shultz used close to $200,000 of the tax payers money to remove his name from the lawsuit. Kathy Levy approved the amount and was very well aware of how much money the city lost in the lawsuit. Mayor Barry has continued to keep Ray Schultz around after he has been found guilty of violating his own officers’ civil rights. Hopefully there will be a new mayor, and hopefully the new mayor will appoint a new chief that will pursue criminal charges against Ray, Kathy, Perry and others for their criminal antics.

The Eye On Albuquerque agrees completely with this person; criminals need to be criminally prosecuted. We need a solid leader in the Mayor’s office. We need a leader like Paul Heh; a proven leader with a proven past of dignity, honesty, integrity, ethics and crystal-clear open government.

P.S. To the Department of Justice, we have the recording available for your listening pleasure.  Please contact us at theeyeonalbuquerque@gmail.com and we will provide you with our recording.

Berry and his "Train Wrecks"

Recently APD's struggling and spiteful police chief, Ray Schultz, lashed out at critics who offered fair and impersonal criticisms of where he has brung the state's largest police force during his tenure. Schultz attacked them for not being knowledgeable of police matters because they were too far removed from the department, or were of lower rank than he (typical Schultz fascism), or were biased. Of course Schultz failed to refute any of the facts offered against him; in typical “Schultzian style,” instead he just attacked the person.

Berry announced yesterday that he intends on running for re-election. In a statement to Channel 7 News, Berry stated, “We’ve got the train on the track if you will, and now we need to get it down the track.” We here at the Eye do not believe Berry should be talking about his "train wrecks" as if a train wreck is a good  thing; Berry and all of his "train wrecks" are a "BAD THING." There are two problems here: one, Berry is the one who caused the train to go off the track in the first place. Two, so now he put the train on the tracks only to cause a horrific wreck for the citizens of Albuquerque.  This is the worst parable Berry has ever used. We wonder if that hissy snake (McCluskey) gave Berry this bad idea?

Way to go Berry…Now an example of Berry’s most popular “train wrecks.”

Since we know so many people in Berry's office, APD and the media read the beloved Eye, we thought we'd relay some facts from some people who seem to know a lot about police leadership....the FBI National Academy. Since Schultz and many of his minions are graduates of the FBI's National Academy, surely they wouldn't refute some of the findings in a recent study entitled "The Ineffective Police Leader: Acts of Commission and Omission" by Joseph Schafer.

You see, folks and attendees at the National Academy have a lot of time on their hands to study police leadership and they get to meet a lot of police leaders from across the United States. In doing so, they've identified several dominant themes of an ineffective police leader. From the report it notes:

FOCUS ON SELF OVER OTHERS: They have failed to be mindful of their current duties, what was in the long term best interests of the office they currently hold, and the human needs of the personnel they supervised. They fail because they are not concerned about others and more focused on themselves....

EGO/ARROGANCE: They have an inflated sense of self importance and display it. They adopt an attitude of "my way or the highway." Their near absolute belief in their own opinions and judgments... What keeps them from being effective is they cannot see their own faults and accept responsibility for those faults.

CLOSED MINDED: These leaders seem unable or unwilling to listen to other perspectives, opinions, or voices. They fail to examine issues from all sides and fail to consider unintended consequences.

MICROMANAGEMENT: Ineffective leaders are far too autocratic and fail to delegate when appropriate and fear when subordinates would outshine the chief's own accomplishments. Micromanagement is a reflection of lack of self-confidence. The more micromanagement the more lack of self-confidence becomes.

CAPRICIOUS/POLITICAL: Arbitrary and capricious in how they make decisions with no baseline from which subordinate can work off of is evident. They do not adhere to a systematic approach. They tend to put personal relationships ahead of what is right, just, and lawful. Ineffective leaders foster a climate where officers do not know where they stand and cannot be counted on in times of controversy.

POOR WORK ETHIC: Ineffective leaders do not model the type of work or ethic they hold others to. They are ROD (retired on duty) or RIP (retired in place). They fail to lead by example and their actions undermine their credibility.

FAILURE TO ACT: They are expected to live up to their label--to lead. They frequently refuse to make a decision, or omit a decision. In cases of controversy such a failure to act reflects their closed mindedness.

INEFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: An inability or unwillingness to participate in two-way dialogue and a failure to accept input or criticism. Feel little need to seek out the input of others. This is also reflective of arrogance and closed mindedness. They believe they don't have to rationalize their beliefs and get offended if challenged.

LACK OF INTERPERSONAL SKILLS: An inability to understand or appreciate the human needs and motivations of those they sought to influence. They struggle to know their officers and tend to their welfare as individuals and as a collective. They are distant, detached, and disinterested in knowing their officers as person but merely look at them as numbers. Their actions are not in alignment with their words.

LACK OF INTEGRITY: Actions that abrogate the public's trust are a corrosive force on the capacity of the police to achieve desired outcomes. A leader's ability includes being viewed as trustworthy, honest, and ethical. Trust and respect once lost remains difficult to recapture.

As a Precinct Commander in a large county agency noted: “In most cases they were ineffective officers to begin with but somehow got promoted. They do not pay attention to what goes on around them, they do not set the example, they lack interest, motivation, and dedication. They fail to recognize when something is wrong and correct the problem. They don't lead.”

We at the Eye cannot say that any one of us have been the chief of the Albuquerque Police Department, but we do know a thing or two about a lot of things Ray Schultz knows nothing about. One of those things is what leadership is: The capacity to move a group to an improved and alternative position.

Given where APD was when Raymond Schultz took over as its chief in 2005 and where APD is now, could there be any questions that he is an ineffective leader by definition?

 

We know RayRay hates it when the Eye or the media gets in his "Grill." The real problem for RayRay is, the public is entitled to know the truth; get over it Schultz.

(We know Schultz could care less about our comments even though they come from people who have forgotten more about leadership than he's ever known. But for those interested in reading this excellent report, go HERE.)

With Paul Heh as Mayor you will never see another train wreck. This story clearly shows why you should VOTE Heh into the Office of the Mayor. Heh has all the qualities and characteristic of a true and solid leader.

BERRY SITS ON A DRY DOCK

R.J. Berry has tossed his hat into the race for Mayor of Albuquerque.  The problem is he was already running around naked; as most emperors do.  It is common knowledge to all Governor Martinez’s pet snake, Jay McCluskey, has already started raising an astronomical amount of “soft” money to pad Berry’s re-election campaign.  You see Berry and company believe that you, the voter, are too stupid to know what they are doing and that they can buy this election flat out.

With a dismal economy, the massive hemorrhage of job losses, APD is in complete ruins due to Schultz, the Department of Justice is conducting a human rights violation investigation against the police department, revenue is down and Berry is spending tax payers’ money on his boutique, along with 44 million dollars paid out in liability last year.  Now, over three years later Berry is barely starting to get the Paseo Del Norte Project underway; Berry wants your vote.  The real question is does he deserve it?

We DO NOT believe he deserves your support or your vote. It has been proven over and over that Berry lies and does not follow through with what he has promised.  Berry has no honor, integrity or leadership.

We need new blood that will do what they say they will do.  A person that has honor, integrity, dignity, leadership and will give the public a crystal-clear government; that person is PAUL J. HEH.

DO YOU REALLY WANT HIM IN-CHARGE OF YOUR TAX DOLLARS?

BERRY LOOKS FOR POLITICAL GAINS; OR WILL IT BACKFIRE?

This week began with the tragic crash resulting in the death of a citizen by an APD Sergeant running through an intersection, then another APD sergeant found himself mired in a mess of his own hedonistic making, then a bizarre 37-minute interview was posted showing APD chief Schultz losing all but his mind when asked about officer morale in his department and then a very terse conversation with his spouse. All while investigators and lawyers from the US Department of Justice are going through all of APD's file cabinets, drawers, closets, hidden chambers, and secret rooms. DOJ will need to ask Ray Ray for the "Chief's Secret Index Cards" that are kept on all cops by the chief. Yes, the Eye knows about them.

With sooooo much going on that is, to put it mildly, furthering the demise of a once proud and prestigious department, what's Mayor Berry to do now that the time has come for him to declare his re-election effort? It seems the endless little details that make a difference are now tearing apart the most obvious bully in the city: Ray Schultz!

Our Eyes tell us that Berry and Perry are literally between a rock and a hard place. Do they keep the guy they've been backing for the last three years and have openly credited for doing a GREAT JOB, A FINE MAN, and a TRUE LEADER? Or do they do what they should've done years ago and kick Schultz to the curb for the millions of dollars he's cost tax payers, the hundreds of lives he's destroyed, and the city economy he's helped keep from growing?

Given the election is but eight months away, if Berry were to fire Schultz who would he replace him with? Since we've seen how Berry and Perry operate when it comes to APD Commander promotions we are fairly certain the new chief, interim or permanent (at least to October), will not be a white male. Most of the new commanders have been of "historically disadvantaged demographics" such as woman, blacks, Hispanics, or combinations there of.

Hmmmmmm, who would fit the mold? Our Eyes tell us Berry has all but made the choice and it is up to HER if she accepts it and the pressure is on her to accept it. Here's a hint loyal readers...SHE used to be a deputy chief, seems to be Hispanic on paper, and is very popular with the Martinez administration...Remember when Gov. Martinez' pet snake, Jay McCluskey, order Berry to place the Nefarious Darren White in as Public Safety Director? Just wait for the pet snake to give Berry his next mandate for APD's next Schultz clone.

Hopefully the citizen do not want anymore of this corrupt administration. Vote Paul Heh into the mayors office and put an end to Berry's corruption.

APD Involved Fatality: Someone is Lying

"When we're trying to do our job to protect the public and something like this ends up occurring, it's very difficult," said Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department spokesperson Jessica Tyler. Tyler then added, "It wasn’t a pursuit, but I think he was trying to attempt to locate what had been reported. I don’t know if he saw a vehicle or if it had been reported that a possible drunken driver (was) in the area,"

Tyler's statements were made in response to questions regarding a fatal accident involving APD Sergeant Adam Casaus this past weekend. And as Tyler made these comments, she immediately put her department's thumb on the scale in trying to sway public opinion.

Much like APD's chief Ray Schultz does when revealing elements of any high profile investigation as he tries to sway public opinion in his favor, BCSO is playing by the rule book written by Schultz: Disclose things that remove culpability by the department and render blame on others.

We saw this earlier this week when the Albuquerque Journal's Jeff Procter asked Schultz about the APOA's survey indicating morale is low in the department. Schultz's response exposed his contempt at merely being asked the question shows how out of touch with reality he is. No, said Schultz, morale is fine. When asked why DOJ is here investigating APD, his initial reaction was "I don't know" which he quickly recovered and asserted blame on officers involved in shootings. Would a real leader attack an honest question? Even if the results of the survey are flawed, the mere fact that so many officers answered in the way they did is evidence that there is an issue. But since Mr. Schultz is so quick to attack others and their standing to criticize him, let's not forget Mr. Schultz only has a degree from a non-accredited undergraduate program. So, using Schultz's own standard, it's unlikely he would understand basic survey mechanics or basic statistical analysis. Please Mr. Schultz, explain to us what flaws there were in the survey? Please tell us your assessment of the standard deviation of the means... Let us look at the mechanics you used to self report a score of 96%.

Whatever happened this past weekend which resulted in the collision, for an investigation to be truly objective, those representing law enforcement agencies need to keep their mouths shut in answering questions about the investigation. Adding speculation into the situation further discredits agencies already mired in scandal. And Tyler's agency of BCSO is not without it's criticisms.

The public's general attitude of local law enforcement has been challenged lately. The leaders of our local departments have failed us and have lost that trust as they continually try to cook the books with their "everything is fine" propaganda. Given the event involving another APD sergeant as well, we find it highly disturbing that under any other circumstances the SWAT team would've been called out to apprehend an armed felon but it wasn't. But the sergeant had time to get his financial affairs in order, surrender, get booked, get arraigned, and bond out before the end of the day.

These events tell us that once again the books are being cooked by the people in charge of keeping things honest and once again the citizens will be left with holding the bill.  Mayoral Candidate Paul told one of our Eyes, "if the City [officer] screw up, they need to be truthful and admit it and cut their losses."  What a profound thought...

One last thought for the day; has Chief Schultz been told to pack his bag?  What about his baggage...More on this to come, keep checking back with the Eye for the "piecing truth."

Concerned Citizen Calls Into Question; Questionable LEA Results

Isn't it amazing how the same names are tied to so many stories about corruption or possible corruption?  The open letter from a concerned citizen outlines test results from the New Mexico's DPS LEA.  Is it possible to have all these geniuses receiving certifications from LEA?  The panel that did an inquire from three different agencies. 

The highest ranking was from the APD staff who would have been a party to any offense.  The APD Lieutenant was Anthony Montano who is part of APD Academy's staff.  It should also be noted when Channel 4 asked to interview Lieutenant Montano, he cowardly refused and referred them to NM DPS.  Does anyone see an impropriety or at a minimum the appearance of impropriety? But for Mr. Arrogance, Ray Schultz, this is how business is done; "since no one knows what a chief does except him."

New Mexico's Public Safety Secretary, Gordon Eden, crossed his arms and stated he stands behind the test result 100%.  The Director of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy, Louie Medina, agreed to be interview and when Channel 4 arrived to do the interview, Medina stated, "the interview had been cancelled based on the advise of their legal counsel."  In our experience, when someone "lawyers up" it is because they have lied or did something wrong.  Is that the case here?  Read on and you can decide if there is a problem here or not...

Eye

Is it me or do you think the majority of New Mexicans don't trust their police?

My concern is the Gadi Schwartz story about possible cheating at the NM Law Enforcement Academy. (READ IT HERE)

 

These are officers/deputies hired by smaller agencies throughout the state. It certainly seems that something strange happened at the final test, but everyone at DPS and NM LEA lawyered up. Why? There is no lawsuit and they are all public officials so how can they say their lawyers don't want them to speak? Again, are they not public servants? It appears something is being hidden, do you agree? Honest, open law enforcement seems to have vacated New Mexico.
 

If there was cheating on the final exam the citizens deserve to know. If there was no cheating the officers in this class deserve to be cleared.
 

It appears the 3 officers (APD, RRDPS and Bloomfield) who were supposed to investigate did nothing but talk to the staff and then rubber stamp what the powers in charge wanted. Where is the personal integrity to do a good honest job? It seems this hiding from the public, information they need to know, is at every level of law enforcement in New Mexico.
 

The public deserves better. It frustrates the public that the people in charge are not being open and responsible to the public they serve. This clearly is trickling down to the lowest levels, just look at the number of APD officers being charged with crimes. Many were only charged after public outcry (Levi Chavez). Where are the leaders? Why are they hiding information from the public?
 

APD has played this game for several years and now look at where it has gotten us, DOJ investigation. The Columbus PD is under federal indictment for gun running, Alamogordo PD refuses to honor public records requests, several APD officers are under indictment, APD leadership is named in so many lawsuits we can't keep up.
 

Yet when the media asks questions they have to fight the powers in charge for what should be public records. It appears to me that from the top to the bottom New Mexico is in crisis with ethics in law enforcement. Our law enforcement leaders seem more interested in hiding the truth from the public, than in doing their jobs and instilling ethics in what was once a proud profession.

 

I would like to think the 7 members of the NM Law Enforcement Board would demand an second, thorough investigation of the cheating allegations.

 

Gary King NM AG

Mark Myers Director of Training

Ray Schultz APD

Nate Korn Albuquerque Citizen

John Gratton Carlsbad Citizen

Robert Shilling NMSP

James Coon Chaves Sheriff

Harry Betz Santa Ana PD

Patrick Barncastle 5th Judicial DA
Listing of Board Members (READ IT HERE)

 

I don't think this Board's priority is providing the public honest answers or they would have already demanded a second investigation. Oh but I forget myself, Ray Schultz says if you are not a Chief you just don't know. God help us all.

Well folks, there you have it.  We hope you keep Paul Heh in mind when you vote for your new mayor in October of this year.  Heh has spoken about key pillars like ownership, accoutability and responsibility and correcting probelms when we KNOW the City is worng.  We feel confident he will stop corruption including debacles like this if he is elected. Visit Heh's website @ http://www.heh4abq.com/ or Click HERE to earn more.

Schultz Defends his Incompetence by Blaming Others

“Property crime is up, the Department of Justice is here, APD is below 1,000 officers, there are only seven cadets in the current academy class, 911 response times are up, APD has lost over $30,000,000 of taxpayer dollars and counting in (police misconduct) lawsuits (since 2002,) and (a police union) survey says the officers don’t have faith in Chief Schultz” –Retired APD Sergeant Dan Klein

“It does raise the question of who was minding the store. There is a great benefit to spending time with others in the law enforcement community and attending conferences, but what did we really get for it? Was Chief Schultz out padding his résumé? Or was he bringing tangible benefits back to the city and the department?”—Retired APD Lieutenant Steve Tate

“The promotion of incompetent supervisors is the rule rather than the exception and numerous supervisors have their current position as a result of lawsuits. Leaders who supported their troops were punished by being passed over on promotions while the meek that followed orders without questions were rewarded.” –Retired Officer Chad Wilder

50% of the officers believe Schultz should be fired, 99% think Schultz is doing a poor job and the reason why morale is down.—APOA Survey

“Well there’s never been a story done on me before. I find it a little suspect. I’ve been chief for 8 years but that’s no problem.” “We are under investigation because of the force encounters in 2010. That’s it.”—(current) APD Chief Ray Schultz. Schultz then dismissed Klein’s criticisms, saying he had no direct knowledge of what it takes to be a police chief [and] that Tate was a “mid-manager” who has been gone from APD for several years and said he wasn’t qualified to assess the work of a police chief.

 

In Monday’s paper, Chief Schultz was confronted with his extensive travel and vacation time over the last couple years. In addition to the data in the report, in at least 16 trips covering over 51 days of travel, Schultz went hobnobbing with others to conferences and conventions. In his interview with the Journal’s Jeff Proctor, Schultz got very animated in his discussion regarding officer body cams, vendor discussions, and technology. For those that have interacted with Schultz, we all know how he gets very excited in talking about how technology will solve this or that. Except that we know ideas are worthless when they are not implemented or are implemented by people that have no skills involving law enforcement (for instance self-anointed “smart police” commander TJ Wilham).

But what is truly stunning, is Schultz’s continued denial of accepting any external criticism. As the above quotes indicate honest concerns relevant to APD current state of affairs, Schultz is more interested in discrediting his very critics. Yet despite all of Schultz’s endless posturing about how he’s implemented 95% of these ideas, or unique approaches, DOJ is very much here investigation a department that is in crisis. About 12 officers have graduated from APD’s new training “university” and there are less than 10 in the current academy. The date for the next academy is unknown. But while new recruits trickle in, officers retire as soon as possible and outpace new hires. A whole class of officers have now been determined to have been targets of discrimination. Crime is up. Costs are up. Lawsuit costs are up. Now we have a fatal accident involving a sergeant over the weekend that already smell bad given BCSO’s PIO putting their thumb on the scale comments about why the sergeant may have been running code (really so a person was killed while he was ATL’ng for a drunk driver…really?). Now even one of Schultz’s protected sergeants is in trouble with a domestic violence related arrest in Sandoval County.

Funny how no other department in the state, or region, seems to have so many daily problems. But Schultz will be pointing the finger at somebody else. But there’s one thing Schultz can’t deny, he knows how to use his time to his own benefit. In 2012, there were 240 working days. However of all those days, Schultz was on “work” out of town for 31 days and took 29 days of vacation. So out of 240 days of work, he spent 180 days, or 75% here in Albuquerque. So 1 out of every 4 days, he was somewhere else….And we all know that while Schultz boasts about working around the clock, there is a rotation of duty chiefs. So even Schultz gets to be off and out much more frequently than he states. And it seems he has a favorite companion….and a future trip already planned……..a revisit from last year’s show it seems:

 

September 19, 2013—New England Organized Crime Symposium& Trade Show
Keynote Speakers: APD Ray Schultz and Karen Fischer
                CLICK TO VIEW BY AGENDA HERE

September 28, 2012— New England Organized Crime Symposium& Trade Show
Keynote Speakers: APD Ray Schultz and Karen Fischer
                CLICK TO VIEW NEWS LETTER HERE

And lastly, Lieutenant (Ret.) Steve Tate responded to Schultz's comments with his usual accuracy:
I would like to point out that this "critic&qu­ot; is concerned with the value of the trips and conferences during a time when APD is involved in turmoil. What do we have to show that improved based on these trips and conferences? They may have been a benefit to the city, but what was the return on that investment? This is a valid and deserved question since tax payer money was used . It is a true embarrassment to the entire police department and community that the DOJ is even in town looking into APD. Do the DOJ investigators happen to be qualified to assess the "work of a police chief" since they most likely were never police chiefs themselves. What a ridiculous response by Schultz to valid criticism. I find it very telling that Schultz's response is to claim that his critics are not qualified to assess his work because they never held the position or have been gone for a few years. This shows how disconnected Schultz is. Who knows what his definition is of "work of a police chief". What does that mean anyway? I would rather focus on his performance as a leader. If we do this, then everyone in the APD, city and entire community is more than qualified to assess his performance. Let's ask if the department is in better shape during his tenure and see what the facts show. Let's ask about department morale......and about community relationships. A real leader would be very concerned with morale since it will ultimately impact how the department is viewed by the community. If you treat your department employees the right way, then you can expect them to treat the community the same way. Is it a coincidence that department morale is at an all time crisis level low and at the same time the DOJ has seen fit to come to Albuquerque? Successful organizational leaders understand this relationship with employee and customer (community) satisfaction and put in place initiatives to ensure they can impact this relationship in a positive and effective way. I find it interesting that Schultz has never proactively created an anonymous employees satisfaction survey to gain insight into department morale. The police union did their own survey and when the overwhelming numbers showed they had no faith in Schultz, what was his response? He attacked the critics just like he did in this case. A real leader would have been very concerned and taken steps to work on that relationship internally. A real leader would not blame everything and everyone else as Schultz had done for his almost 8 year tenure as chief. However, Schultz isn't an effective leader and that is what APD needs now....a leader running APD............­not someone just doing the "work of a police chief". Schultz should have stepped down years ago and when he didn't, Mayor Berry should have removed him. APD and the entire community has suffered because of Schultz's ineffective and plain lack of leadership. Don't take my word for it.....especial­ly since I've been gone for 6 years.....ask anyone currently with APD or that has recently left and see what they tell you.....you will be shocked.

44 Million Reasons to Vote Berry OUT of OFFICE!

The City of Albuquerque which is led by Mayor RJ Berry is exposed by KOAT Channel 7 News (SEE it HERE).   The City of Albuquerque spent 44 million dollars on settlements last year.  This is shocking but Berry and company added “insult to injury” by lying over and over and over again.

The City of Albuquerque first told Channel 7 news reporter, Lauren Zakalik, the City had spent 4 million dollars in settlements and then the City told Zakalik it was 8 million dollars.  After asking a third time, nothing, then the fourth and final time with a set of documents to prove more was spent; the truth came out.  The City spent a grand total of 44 million dollars of your money. 

For most of us, we may never make a total of 1 million dollars through the entire course of our lives. Yet, the City gave out forty-four times the amount of money a person may make in a lifetime, all in one single year.  According to COA Perry; neither he nor the City of Albuquerque knew 44 million dollars was missing out of the City’s check book.

In Zakalik’s interview Chief Administrative Officer, Rob Perry, stated, “Clearly there were more questions than answers,” Here is the City’s CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER admitting he is dumbfounded.  This is the City’s top official who is an attorney telling the world he is not in control of the City and has no idea what the hell is going on in the City.

Want more proof?  Perry continues to state, “I was pretty disappointed, and I want to thank KOAT for bringing about some accountability…”  Does this mean if Channel 7 would never have caught the City’s blunders, nothing would have been known about it?  This administration doesn’t care about you or the community.  The Berry administration is undoubtedly incompetent and ill responsible.

Mayoral Candidate Paul Heh stated during his announcement, “If you were missing $400 out of your account; you would know…Oh no, but not the City; they did not know that 44 million dollars (a tenth) of the City’s entire budget was missing; gone?  Really?”  This statement rang very clean; the City’s failed leadership is not accountable or responsible and they lie constantly.

(SIDE BAR)

The City of Albuquerque under the failed leadership of Berry, Perry and Schultz remind us of a famous quote by Republican President, Ronald Reagan:

'Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.'
Ronald Reagan

This is a perfect description of Berry’s failed leadership of the City of Albuquerque.

(END SIDE BAR)

 Mayor Berry is playing a cheap game of trying to make everyone sweat it out.  Berry is not going to seek public assistance.  He has his wife’s money and the entire BIG DOLLAR political machine who will stuff his pockets full of cash like some cheap topless table dancer.  Berry will announce sometime around April.  This will block other candidates from having equal media time.

Folks, we did not make this up, we all need to stand up and VOTE for Paul Heh for Mayor.  Let’s clean up this mess by placing a responsible and accountable leader like Heh into office.