Time for Reform in the Dawn of Forward Thinking Vision

The Eye On Albuquerque is pleased to hear AFD (IAFF Local 244) and APD (APOA) are now cooperating and working collaboratively as a brother and sisterhood.  The past several mayors, especially Berry, have done everything possible to be divisive and create tension between the two unions.  This has been done for their own interests, political and monetary gains.

On Friday, June 28, 2013, The Executive Board of the APOA met and had a few visitors.  These visitors were from the Local Fire Union 244.  For those who do not know, 244 represents AFD employees.  The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the bonds and ties the APOA and the Local 244 should have and foster.

The history of all mayors dividing the APOA and Local 244 for their own interests will now stop and the two powers should never allow this to happen.  Now the two can work for the greater good of the employees and citizens. Working together the two will monopolize the power which will force the city to do the right thing! The two must work together to unseat Berry.  The APOA’s newly elected President, Stephanie Lopez, is a breath of fresh air and knows who the best person for mayor.

The membership overwhelmingly elected Stephanie Lopez by a huge margin to be their President!  As president; Lopez knows who should be endorsed as mayor and who the enemy is.  The Eye On Albuquerque and FMB will actively monitor and report ANY misdeeds or behaviors of the Executive Board that impede or cause others to impede the progress that the newly elected President seeks to reform for the betterment of the membership and the citizens.  For those who have gotten too big for their breeches keep in mind; pursuant to the APOA Bylaws those Executive Board members may be voted out prior to the end of their term.

The day of the APOA Board “ratting” on its members, bartering deals for their “friends” and shoving others under the bus, stealing money and taking care of themselves is over.  Lopez is dedicated to cleaning up the corruption and making things right for the membership and the citizens.

Most importantly, we urge the rank-n-file to call their union representatives and insist that they immediately back President Lopez and the decisions she is making on behalf of the APOA. Remember; you voted them in as your voice and for them to do the will of the membership.  The self-serving days are over and done.

Give Lopez your backing and support and you will see many good things come your way.

The APOA will now hold their meeting at the AFD Local 244 hall free of all and any charges.  The olive branch has been offered by 244 and the APOA has wisely accepted. This is truly the dawn of forward thinking vision and with that; many great accomplishments will follow.

YEAH, ALBUQUERQUE'S ANTI- SECOND AMENDMENT MAYOR BERRY WANT YOU TO TURN YOUR GUNS IN

We here at the Eye On Albuquerque have been telling and warning people about Berry and his on-going plan to disarm citizens and run Albuquerque as a tyranny.  Instead of backing and endorsing the Second Amendment; Berry’s actions clearly show where he stands on gun ownership and the community.

This is not going to be a long or belabored story. This story is about facts and a failed Mayor.  When you watch the video you will be enraged and understand why people need to be armed or at a minimum have a firearm available to protect themselves, another person and/or your children or family.

In another Eye story (READ IT HERE) the City announced a program (the APD Gun Disposal Program) to disarm the citizens of Albuquerque.  Berry stated, “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…”  Watch the video below and tell us if you think you or any other law abiding citizen should turn in their guns?

Does anyone think Berry is “using” Albuquerque to try and make a run for Congress?

SIDEBAR

Our Eyes inside of the City HR are telling us APD’s real numbers will be down to 800 sworn officers by July 1^st, 2013. This is frightening to most; there are not enough police officers on the force to protect the citizenry of Albuquerque.  What has Mayor Berry done to recruit more officers; you guessed it, NOTHING!  Berry doesn’t care about you, your family or your children; he only cares about his rich friend who he can give freebee’s to as Mayor…

END SIDEBAR

Does Berry or any other person enjoy watching an innocent women getting beaten while having her children watches helplessly? We would hope not; so why would Berry want to disarm the public?

There are other candidates in this Mayoral race who are pro-gun ownership for law abiding citizens. Have all the criminals turned their guns in?   In other words, make the bad guys who should not have guns turn them in and allow law abiding citizens to be able to protect and defend themselves, their families and their children. 

CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO: CAUTION, THIS IS A HORRIFIC AND BRUTAL HOME INVASION/ATTACK.

PLEASE ENSURE THERE ARE NO CHILDREN IN THE ROOM.

 For all the bleeding heart out there that are going to say gun are bad or people like Berry and Schultz who want to disarm the public; we here at the Eye will take our chances and keep our rights to keep and bear arms pursuant to the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.

 

 

 

 

First Quasi Debate for Mayoral Race

The New Mexico Business Coalition has set the stage for the first "quasi" mayoral debate.  The reason we call it "quasi" is because all three candidate's will be INTERVIEWED and QUESTIONED separately at separate times.  We all know the reason for this; Berry knows Dinelli and Heh would rip him apart on his (Berry's') terrible record. Does the word coward come to mind?

The Choice is simple; you decide...

 

 

 

True Respect or Berry Bad Political Ploy

Mayor Berry’s Veterans Affairs Office is planning to present “commemorative coins” to Department of Municipal Development employees on June 28, 2013.   The flyer is very poorly written and is written in past tense but it appears the statement they are trying to say is; they want to honor past military service.  Perhaps the folks who are currently serving do not matter to Berry and his administration.

What makes this all interesting is Berry’s anti-gun propaganda and his disrespect for our veterans and our American Flag.  As you recall Berry allowed and encouraged the disarmament of the citizens of Albuquerque.  However, this chain of events did allow Schultz to “collect” a few antique guns for his; we mean the Police Museum.  Of course Schultz has also been disrespectful to our veterans and our American Flag too.

This all appears to be a political ploy to gain favor from the voters and our veterans.  If this was from the heart and legitimate; it would be absolutely wonderful…But we all know the truth when it comes to Berry and his administration .

Why isn’t Berry doing this for veterans?  This appears to all be a “dog and pony show.”

The truth on this flyer is, “FREEDOM ISN’T FREE.” We respect our veterans and thank them for their service to the community and Country.  This story is in no way intended to disrespect the men and women who have served and are serving these United States of America!

 

They say, "birds of a feather flock together."

 

 

Liars Again: This Case has it all; COPS, LYING, SEX, and MURDER

In case you missed it, here's a repeat of a major event that is unfolding in the Levi Chavez trial. On March 16, 2012 we broke the story (READ IT HERE) about how APD's current Deputy Chief Allen Banks was caught lying while under a sworn oath to tell the truth when he was testifying in the labor hearing involving former APD officer Russell Perea.

We also partnered up with other folks to make sure that audio got spread out on the web: Listen to it (HERE).
 

Not surprisingly, we heard another wave of threats about how the 5th and 11th floors were going to take your lovable Eye out. But since these recordings are public record and can be obtained from the city's Administrative Hearing office, and well, are simply the truth, our little terrorists in city power did what they always do....fade away in the night.

Now to be clear, we never supported Russell Perea as a person. It seems there are some very suspicious discrepancies in his account of what he and fellow officer Levi Chavez were doing at the time they were working together that fateful Saturday night in October of 2007. We were critical of APD's efforts to unlawfully terminate an employee. We remain highly critical of Schultz, Banks, and Feist's inability to do the right thing even when it was so obvious there was a coverup for Levi's whereabouts when he was at work. They were so pathetic it almost seems they tried to bungle the termination. And when then hearing officer Zane Reeves overuled the termination, Rob Perry did what Rob Perry does when he doesn't get his way: fire people.

Interesting fact: The murder of Tera Chavez occurred in Los Lunas; Russell Perea worked for Los Lunas Police Department before lateraled over to APD. Hum...Levi Chavez was a lateral too who left Rio Rancho and is in default for the cost of training.

Now Mr. Perea is doing everything he can NOT to testify for his buddy Levi Chavez. How weird is that. One year ago he argued he and Levi were simply working a DV call together where one tagged evidence and wrote the report while the other booked the suspect over a course of a few hours. NOW Mr. Perea is asserting his 5th Amendment right not to self-incriminate himself...

Weird.
 

But don't take our word for it. Listen to the audio and let us know what you think is going on up their in Judge Eichwald's courtroom.

Click on the Picture Below to hear it all (same link as above for YouTube)...

 

BYE BYE BERRY

On Friday, June 21, city employees, their friends and families gathered in protest of their boss, Mayor Richard Berry. Since his election as the city's mayor in 2009, Berry has been on a consistent and stead track of failure. The city is NOT in a better place than it was 3 1/2 years ago.

 

There are fewer jobs, job benefits have declined, real estate value has declined, real estate sales have decline, crime has increased, lawsuits against the city have soared, record verdict amounts have been awarded, federal agencies are investigating entire departments, executive personal have been arrested and/or resigned in disgrace, and the list goes on. Has Albuquerque become the Camden, New Jersey of the Southwest?!?!?!

 

While we may have reasonable differences with our friends at AFSCME, we are in total agreement with them here. Enough is enough! We agree and fully support the hard working employees of the city. From APD officers to clerical staff to laborers to firefighters, they all have born the brunt of Berry's inability to manage, his overt cronyism, his classicism, and his failures. Asserting your dissent is one of the founding principles that make us Americans.

 

Albuquerque's "Plan" needs to include the removal of Berry and his worst executives. This includes but is by no means limited to Breen and Schultz.

 

While we're sure, Berry, Perry, Schultz and all of their McCleskey style watchers were out in force taking pictures, so were our Eyes....Yes, we had our Eyes on you. The Eye is pleased with all who expressed their dissatisfaction with this administration and took part at civic plaza and stood together against these few who hide in their lofty offices.  Berry hid and never came out to address the constituents who were present. Our Eyes said it was interesting watching while the crowd of people yelled and waved at Berry's Office; Good Bye!

 

And Mr. Berry, why do you continue to hide from an honest debate? Are you the mayor or a mouse!?

 

ANSWER:

 

 

 

As usually none of the local media (who are obviously bought and paid for by Berry) did not carry this protest. Furthermore, it is very discerning when a politician like Berry controls the media just like Hitler.  Hitler also felt he was an ELITIST and felt he was better than the rest of us. Shame on the media for failing the public. This is extremely frightening and should be of a major concern to the public and the Associated Press.

 

Is it Internal Affair or Affairs?

As week two wraps up in the Levi Chavez murder trial, yet more sordid details of APD's internal affairs culture are confirmed. Defense Attorney David Serna and Prosecutor Brian McKay compelled APD Officer Nick Wheeler to admit and describe on the stand the intimate elements of his affair with former APD Officer Levi Chavez's wife and reported homicide victim Tera Chavez.
 

We're not going to dwell on Wheeler's actions as sad as they are. But what startles us most, this is not the first instance where an APD officer has had an affair with another officer's wife. We at the Eye have had dozens of reports where Officer X is sleeping with the spouse of Officer Y. And sometimes that spouse is themselves an officer.
 

And in some cases over the last few years, parties involved have tragically taken or attempted to take their own lives.

Think about that for a minute. In a culture where officers must trust each other with their lives, they don't dare risk leaving their wives or husbands alone with fellow officers.
 

And even worse, in the dozen or so cases of entanglements such as these, there has been a total absence of action taken either by the department or by almost all other officers.  Sometimes the failure to act is as bad as an actual act. An omission can be as damaging as a commission.
 

What does this say about APD? When a fellow officer is sleeping with another officer's spouse not only does Schultz NOT deal with this but officers don't step up and deal with it either. If the officers won't police themselves in such intimate personal matters such as this, it's even more doubtful they'll police themselves in other matters such as evidence, use of force, and misconduct.
 

The Eye also recently received a report which states not only was Schultz briefed on the need to put a lid on this activity but what the consequences of failing to act could likely be. From what we've read, this report from four years ago accurately predicted where APD was headed.
 

Our Eyes watching the Chavez murder trial tell us, more omissions and failures to act are forthcoming. And we are told they are much worse. With this Summer defined by this trial, and the disgusting internal affairs of APD playing out across the world, remember that the city's current Mayor HAD an opportunity to fix this mess.
 

But like so many others in APD, and just like APD's Chief Ray Schultz, RJ Berry failed to act resulting in consequences measured in blood, money, and tears.

THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO BE CAUTIOUS!

Since Berry and Schultz will not tell you about a potentially dangerous situation; we will.  Remember a few weeks back when a pedophile raped a 4 year old child at a local apartment complex? According to APD, there was not “enough information” to disseminate to the public.  A four year old child was raped! How much information do you need. Notwithstanding, information has come to us from our Eyes in the prison system.  Our Eyes claim there could be some big problems in Albuquerque this weekend.

Our Eyes are telling us the prisoners from the “Banditos’” are upset because the rumor inside the joint is; a motorcycle gang called “Hells Angels” will be riding into Albuquerque this weekend.  This is a major turf infringement and the propensity for violence to erupt is extremely high, if this rumor is true.

We cannot stop living because of terrorists or terrorists type activities. However, being cautious is always warranted.  The purpose of this story is not intended to panic anyone but to offer a word of caution this weekend.  If you see anything that does not seem right; notify the police immediately. Watch your surroundings and please be safe!

GOOD BYE PARTY IN BERRY'S HONOR

 

PLEASE PLAN ON ATTENDING!

BE THERE OR BE BERRY SQUARE!

City, County and State Employees Continue to Receive Brutal Treatment

Gov. Martinez claimed state employees including teachers would be receiving a 1% pay increase. Martinez failed to mention healthcare insurance would be going up and contributions to retirement would also be going up. The increase will affect all public workers from the City, County and State.

The B-I-G 1% increase is the first for state workers since 2008 (FIVE YEARS).  In all probability this miniscule amount will only push workers into a higher tax bracket and they will actually see a decrease in take-home pay.  While Governor Martinez busts the budget “remodeling” the kitchen; public employees go without food, putting gas in their cars, buying diapers for their children and having basic quality of life necessities like health insurance.

Gov. Martinez failed to mention she signed off on the PERA/ERB new law which takes effect July 1, 2013. The new law raises the contributions for employees by 1.5% for PERA members and 2.25% for ERB members respectively according to the Capital Reporter (READ IT HERE).  Martinez also failed to mention the cost of health insurance which is going up by 15% according the Bloomberg Businessweekly (READ IT HERE). This increase will affect over 30,000 local and state employees.  Let’s do the math on these facts the Governor failed to mention:  1.5% for PERA members and 2.25% for ERB contributions PLUS 15% for healthcare insurance equals 16.5% for PERA members and 17.5% for ERB members. Now let’s add in the 2% tax increase that was implemented in February and the nearly 100% increase that everyone experienced this past year in Social Security Taxes.

Now minus the B-I-G 1% increase from the Governor equals public employees are losing   17.5% for PERA Members and 18.5% for ERB members.  This does not include the Social Security Tax increase.  Public employees are losing almost one-fifth of their gross income.

City employees have not received anything from King Berry who lives in a grassy castle on top of the City. City employees have been without a contract for the entire time Berry has been in office. Now City employees will absorb a loss out of their pay in the amount of nearly 20% (one-fifth of their pay).

Why can’t Martinez and/or Berry take care of the backbone of the State and City?  Take care of your people and they will take care of you.  Scrooge Martinez’s 1% is a complete insult to employees when the State if raping them on the other end.  At least Martinez tried to ante up 1%.  Berry; well, he is spending millions of dollars ruining the Bosque, which the public voted down. What a despicable scoundrel. Before we wrote this story we spoke to several people. 

Below is a saying one of our Spanish Eyes stated about Martinez and Berry: 

Martinez: ¡No tiene sin vergüenza!

Berry: Same goes for you.

Translation: you do it without any shame!

We here at the Eye On Albuquerque agree.  People like Martinez and Berry do the little guy dirty and they do it without shame. 

Buckner, Kindle, Prostitute​s, Oh My

For many years, APD’s sergeant Ryan Buckner was Ray Schultz’s golden boy. From being handpicked in his assignment to ROP virtually upon lateraling over to APD from State Police, to going to Auto Theft upon promotion to sergeant, to serving on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, to ending up as the sergeant of APD’s Intelligence Unit. While at Intel, Buckner received highly privileged training where he spent several months in Langley, VA in training programs run by, what our Eyes tell us, the CIA. Buckner was flown back and forth from Albuquerque to Langley dozens of times and our Eyes tell us several tens of thousands of dollars of local and federal funds were spent on his training.

 

While in APD, Buckner was also Schultz’s chief hatchet man. From running the investigation on Brad Ahrensfield to the case involving former officer Matt Kindle and last year’s case against former officers Robert Woolever and John Doyle, it’s clear, Buckner was Schultz’s “go to” guy for hi-profile investigations involving APD cops. What’s ironic though is Buckner all but lacks any investigative experience in actual case work. Why would Schultz assign cases to personnel who lack any significant experience in the subject matter of the criminal allegations? Buckner never worked impact or violent crimes yet he was assigned the Doyle/Woolever case under the pretense that it was an incident of aggravated battery. Buckner never worked vice, yet he was assigned the Kindle case which involved nearly a dozen charges relating to prostitution and the Ice House prostitution ring. Bucker never worked internal affairs, yet he was assigned the Ahrensfield case.

 

There is also the matter of David Young. Our Eyes tell us Buckner was knee deep in reserve officer David Young’s old activities of unlawfully arresting prostitutes. Given Buckner’s status as a supervisor in SID, did Buckner have access to privileged information on Young? Was it Buckner who actually burned Young? And was Buckner acting on orders from Schultz?

 

Buckner’s activity clearly reveals a pattern and it is clear he was Schultz’s minion for officer investigations. It is also clear these actions are in violation of SOPs, but as we know, Schultz follows and disregards SOPs as he sees fit on a regular basis.

 

But now, with all this expectation of Kindle’s case headed to trial, a deal is cut where the former officer pleads “no contest” to the only standing charge the state could competently go after him on: public corruption. For that, Kindle received 50-hours of community service and 364 days of probation. But with so many charges leveled against Kindle why is it he was able to plea to such a simple misdemeanor?

Well, our Eyes tell us, that the State’s primary witness, Ryan Bucker, was not cooperating, perjured himself in grand jury testimony against Kindle and has all but disappeared. You see, he retired a few months ago from APD and we are told he now is a civilian contractor for Wackenhut, Inc. After years of special treatment, privileged assignments, and endless highly sought after training, Buckner abandoned the department that has spent so much time and money on him to be a….security guard?

 

Our Eyes tell us, this is status quo for any cases handled by Buckner. But while we are disgusted with the conduct of Kindle, who was caught on video doing bizarre sexual conduct, we are left with significant questions for Buckner:

 

Why has the city not pursued him for reimbursement for training costs?

Why has the DA not gone after him for perjury charges?

What has happened to all the “cases” Buckner worked on?

Why has the state’s LEA Board not gone after Buckner’s certification for untruthfulness?

Why has Schultz remained silent on all of these issues?

What files did Buckner take with him to Wackenhut?

What is Buckner’s involvement with reserve officer David Young?

What is Buckner’s relationship with T.J. Wilham?

Berry Makes Pitch to Legally Ruin Bosque

Berry has managed to re-direct tax payer money to his river boutique.  In a Journal article (READ IT HERE) Berry starts out with a photo showing everyone how he has sacrificed by getting his penny-loafers dirty by standing at the Bosque.  The public VOTED no to Berry’s boutique but he has decided to defy the voters and do whatever-in-the-hell he wants.

The article starts out by stating, “Mayor Richard Berry shows where walkers have cut a trail through the brush at the Rio del Norte Riverside Trail to get to the riverbank, which adds to the deterioration of the Bosque.” 

Now Berry is a botanist and an expert in deterioration.  Could it be possible that animals made the step off the trail to get a drink of water? Or maybe a person who enjoys fishing in a natural undisturbed environment made the step off the trail?  To make such a ludicrous statement is proof this mayor has no idea of what is going on and refuses to respect the will of the people.

Many groups, such as, the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club and the West Side Coalition Neighborhoods Association (which represents around 20 neighborhoods) oppose Berry’s plan. Berry is neither a biologist, an expert on causes of trail deterioration, ecosystem specialist or a wildlife specialist. Notwithstanding, why is Berry still talking about this river boutique, the voters VOTED it down.

The Bosque has a delicate ecosystem; what affects will the construction and erection of this river walk boutique have on the Silvery Minos? This is a bad idea at this point in time.

The pictures on ABQ: The Plan, show lavish greenery and an abundance of water.  We are in a drought. The Mojave Desert received a half inch more water than we did last year.  Do you see any River Walk Boutique’s there? Of course Berry’s home has a huge amount of greenery like a south Florida estate.  Berry doesn’t care if he wastes our precious water; but then again Berry is rich unlike the majority of Albuquerque where we have to work every day just to get by.

Berry promised during his first election he would not spend any money on a project (like his boutique) until police and fire were taken care of.  Both the police and fire departments have been without a contract for years now.  For the record; an Albuquerque women was assaulted at knife point, robbed and RAPED at the same location as where Berry wants his River Walk Boutique (READ IT HERE). Can anyone see why we need to take care of police and fire first?

Berry stated he wanted this out on the table for people to talk about. We should not even be speaking about this river boutique. The voters already told him NO! But elitist Berry is just that; an elitist.

 

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

 

Every single day is a great day to be a father!

 

Carry on Troop!

 

Best Wishes to All,

The Staff @ The Eye On Albuquerque

Are Berry and Schultz Guilty of Crimes against Humanity?

Painfully, here we go again; another child in Albuquerque is fighting for their life after what appears to be drug addicted parents who left the child in a roasting car.  According to KOB 4 (READ IT HERE), the seven-month old baby was left in the car by the child’s parents.  We all know the weather has been hotter than hell here in Albuquerque.

According to KOB 4, the mother was going to a mandatory drug test and left the baby with the father.  The father stated he did not remember anything and that he has used “heroin” before.  Anyone wonder why the mother had to go for a “mandatory drug test?”

Two hours later the mother found the baby in the car.  The baby was blue and barely breathing.

Now let’s discuss the truth of the matter. Let’s start with the police statement to 4, “A tragedy like this is entirely preventable police say, but requires parents to check and re-check their car to make sure they have not left anything or anyone behind.”  We can see from reading this statement that not only are the offenders using drugs but the person from the “police department” must also be using illicit drugs.  The preventable part of this tragedy is the parents should not be using drugs.  People who do not use drugs do not need to go for mandatory drug tests.  The police spokesperson is trying to wash this situation down like it was a big mistake; make no mistake about it, they are druggies! 

We here at the Eye On Albuquerque have said this before and we will keep saying it till these types of tragedies stop.  Mayor Berry and Chief Schultz are as guilty, if not more guilty, for the damage to this child.  This mayor and chief have done nothing to save these children.  Berry ordered Schultz to start a property crime unit and enlarge it.  Property crime is only a symptom of the massive drug problem that plagues our city. Is this what Berry means when he states, “Common Sense Leadership for Albuquerque?”  Allowing innocent children to get hurt and in some cases die is considered “Common Sense Leadership?”  Or is "Common Sense Leadership"  when you publically state your retiring but stay in hopes that by some slim chance Berry wins and you get to stay and finish the job of ruining a once great police department? You decide.

The only Mayoral Candidate that has offered a plan to stop this type of tragedy and actually help the drug addicted person in this town is Paul Heh.  Since announcing his candidacy, Heh has repeatedly spoken about the drug problems in this city and how it affects everyone from a child (like the one in this case) to overcrowding at the county jail.  Heh’s plan is to reform the system and overhaul it.

SIDEBAR

As far as the piece of gum on the bottom of Berry's shoe staying around; both Heh and Dinelli have publically stated Schultz and the rest of incompetent chain of command in APD will be gone day one and replace with competent personnel.

END SIDEBAR

Heh knows we cannot throw everyone in jail. Heh’s plan includes a rehab center where an addicted person is sent in lieu of jail.  That person will spend enough time there to recover.  When that person gets out they will have a GED, if they need one, and some type of trade or skill set.  This way when the person is released they do not return to a life of crime because they have nothing else to fall back on. This type of reform will stop property crimes, identity theft, abuse to children, overcrowding at the jail and much more.

Berry and Schultz are guilty of crimes against humanity by not being responsible or accountable and standing idle by not doing something to stop the atrocities that keep repeating themselves.  This may sound harsh but think about it; if what is written here is true wouldn’t that make them guilty? And be honest.

This baby is still in critical condition with severe brain trauma.  Please say a prayer for this baby's speedy recovery or offer a moment of thought out of respect for this innocent baby.

Levi Redux

Sadly before Tera Chavez was even memorialize, we at the Eye were calling the scene down in Los Lunas for what it was: A crime scene. Thanks to our many Eyes, we called it then (READ IT HERE) and we’re standing by it now. Except now we are almost six years later. Justice truly has been delayed in this matter. But not for lack of effort by the many people involved in trying to make things right for a young mother of two who was taken well before her time. And the nefarious efforts of crime ring that spans the state and involves many former and current office holders.


You see, much of all this could’ve been avoided if the people who ran (and still run) APD acted like professionals. A frequent lurker reminds us that “integrity is what you do when nobody is looking.” And sadly in the case of Levi Chavez, lots of people were looking. The problem is APD’s chief, Ray Schultz could’ve cared less. He failed to act then, and he continues to fail to act now. In fact, when confronted by the few who do not fear him, we are told he gets so perplexed his arrogance almost makes him implode.  What the frustration; simple arrogance from a simpleton.


When Levi collided his car into a child riding their bike in the foothills and then failed to report it, Schultz failed to fire him. When  Patrolmen Second Class Levi was taken to task for carrying a Kimber .45 instead of his issued Glock 17, Schultz did nothing (guess what gun was used to kill Tera Chavez; Levi Chavez issued Glock 17). When Levi lied about where he was on the night of October 20^th while supposedly on patrol with Russell Perea but cannot be accounted for over two hours, Schultz did nothing. Each and every single offense mentioned here is a punishable by termination. Three strikes and your out? both Schultz and Chavez should have been terminated. Chavez should have been terminated for the multiple offenses listed and Schultz for incompetence.

As we all watch and listen to the horrors of the details of this murder during  a trial that will take us well into summer (you can hear it streaming live here) remember Levi Chavez never should’ve even been an APD officer in October 2007. He should’ve already been fired.

But even worse than those that fail to do the right thing when nobody is looking, APD’s Ray Schultz refuses to do the right thing even when in the spotlight.  Here again arrogance.

Schultz refuses to step down while he and his policies have decimated the department’s staffing and effectiveness and efficiency of APD.  Filled with toys and nepotistic underlings, APD has all but lost its credibility as an effective agency. And the details of Schultz’s mismanagement will be highly scrutinized during this trial. It is no surprise that our Eyes tell us there were personnel from DOJ in the gallery and out of state reporters as well.  Schultz's lack of true leadership will be the standard of training of what NOT to do as a chief of police.

Valencia County deputy district attorney Brian McKay began the trial by saying “A perfect murder is one that does not look like a murder.” That too could be said about the endless harm Schultz has perpetrated upon the employees and officers of APD and the citizens they serve.  When Schultz is gone we will all look back and say to ourselves, "Oh my gosh, he (Schultz) was terrible and ruin APD under our noses."

Schultz, Berry, and Perry have committed the perfect crime by making their actions appear as if they were "not criminal." But when you step back away from the trees, and see the larger picture, the mess we have here now is only the result of criminal activity.  This will be another story we will refer back to in the future that we called it JUST LIKE WE DID WITH LEVI CHAVEZ.

Justice demands that things be made right. The cesspool of intertwined relationships within APD's supervisors and subordinates contributed to a climate of looking away (a culture of corruption). Enough.

Thick as Thieves

As we reported yesterday here on the Eye On Albuquerque there is clearly a conspiracy between Republican City Councilor Don Harris and Albuquerque’s Mayor Berry.  Here is the deal, Berry knows there will be a run-off election and he will not win, so he is doing what every sneaky and conniving thief does; cheat!

Berry has decided to bed with fellow Republican Don Harris.  As you recall Harris proposed a $20,000 study by a paid city employee to find the reason why APD has a shortage of officers or why they cannot recruit.  Yes folk, he wants to pay PAID employees to do their job.  The entire purpose of this charade was to mask all of Berry’s blunders.  Now Harris has made a new proposal to save Berry in a run-off election.

On Monday night Harris proposed to change the City election to give Berry an unfair and undue advantage.  According to Channel 4 News (READ IT HERE) Harris’s proposal in his legislation will change the voting period leading up to the run-off election from 20 days to just 7 days.  This would clearly give an advantage to the incumbent candidate.

Our Eyes tell us the public, whom were in attendance, were outraged! Harris ended up eating crow and withdrew his proposal to give Berry an unfair and undue advantage over the other candidates.  It makes us wonder why Harris would "sell his soul to the devil."  It appears, Harris has been promised something in return for kiss the A-finger ring on King Berry's hand.

Mayoral candidate Paul Heh stated, “Why would he want to change it from 20 days to 7 days?”  Heh also stated, “I smell politics all over this thing, I think it would absolutely benefit the mayor in some way or another.”

Candidate Dinelli stated, “It’s changing the rules in the middle of an election cycle” Dinelli continued and stated, “This is clearly an effort by the Republicans to have voter suppression and it will favor the incumbents.  I think it is ill-advised and I would hope that the mayor would quickly denounce it.”

In response Berry’s office sent out an email.  The statement in the email claimed Berry “Strongly supports early voting and will evaluate the bill on its merits once it is further through the legislative process.”

Berry’s office plays a smooth game starting off the email with “strongly support” and then ends it with the; we will do anything to win statement (will evaluate the bill on its merits).  Game over Berry, even cheating Berry will still lose because of Berry’s bad leadership.  Harris is working hard to ruin what little credibility he once had.

DOES AN INCOMPETENT “LEADER” ALWAYS TAKE THE PATH OF AVOIDANCE?

Now all three mayoral candidates have further separated themselves from each other.  Two of the candidates have vision and fortitude while Mr. Berry hides.  Paul Heh and Pete Dinelli offered positive change in the correct direction while Berry; well, let’s just say he stayed in the restroom till everyone left the building…

Here is some of the data given in a story (READ IT HERE) by Channel 4 News (Bravo to 4; it was an accurate and great report.)  APD is authorized 1,100 police officers.  APD currently has 958 officers.  This includes over 100 retirees who are re-hires.

A city the size of Albuquerque should have in the neighborhood of 1,400 police officers to adequately protect the city. As the 100 plus retirees who are re-hires start to age and attrition continues this valuable resource will slowly disappear.  The new PERA laws are very strict and prohibit police departments hiring back retirees.  Realistically this places APD and Albuquerque in a huge quandary.  This does not include the 50 to 100 officers who will become eligible for retirement this year.  At this point APD can shrink down to as low as 758 sworn officers.  This is more of a worst case scenario but nevertheless, it is a factual reality that should be discussed.

According to the story on Channel 4, Republican Don Harris who sits on the City Council is deep in Berry’s pocket looking for excuses to bail Berry out of the mess that Berry has created.  Harris wants the tax payers to shell out $20,000 to conduct a study.  This study would analyze such things as salaries, retirement, benefits and quality of life and compare them to other police departments in other cities.   The results would not be released till 2014.  Does this sound wonderful to you?

Don’t fall for Don ‘Ho’ Harris’s song and dance.  Yes, tiny bubbles in the wine will make you feel happy but when you sober up you will see it is all “smoke and mirrors.”  Albuquerque one day is going to wake up from Berry’s intoxicant of lies and we will all have to deal with the hang-over aliments he will leave us with.

The APOA sharply responded to Berry’s administration and Harris.  The APOA stated in part,   “…. However, this crisis at APD should be familiar to anyone in the current administration. The City and this Association had agreed on giving APD the most comprehensive and competitive pay package in the SW United States. This was done AFTER a study was conducted by UNM saying that based on crime rates, assaults, and other key factors; The APD needed to boost the salaries and benefits of the officers who worked in ABQ. The Berry administration has decimated the ranks of the APD and put Public Safety on the back burner all while the crime rates and the levels of violence increase here in ABQ. …”  Mister Harris; there was already a study.  As an attorney and a city councilor you should have researched it and you should have known about it before suggesting the waste of public money.  Harris should be embarrassed by this lousy ploy to take the pressure off of Berry for ruining the City and APD.

 Kudos to the APOA for taking a stance for the department and the rank and file.

According to the story, “One reason Harris believes the police department has fallen short of its goal is morale.”  Harris also stated,  “Some of the problems we've had recently, some of the police officers feel that there's not the respect or admiration for police officers that there used to be and I don't know if that's just the City of Albuquerque."

Harris’s statements are true.  Mayoral candidate Paul Heh told Channel 4 during his interview that morale was low and to fix the vast majority of problems in APD, “You replace the top chain of command and I mean the whole top chain of command…” He also stated that APD needs a chief that is respected by the officers and a chief who respects the officers.

In addition Heh stated, as part of his plan to correct the problems in APD, “You drop the college requirement.  I’m also against giving sign-on bonuses to police officers.  Either you want to be a police officer or you don’t.”  Heh was adamantly opposed to spending another $20,000 on a study when we all know what the problems and issues are in APD.

Candidate Dinelli stated, “I would think that we need to reinstate the incentive program to pay officers with 20 more years of experience the $5,000 or $7,000 that they used to have in place.” Dinelli also stated, “I also believe they need to take a look at the admission requirements…I think that the requirement on the college education should be reconsidered.”  It appears Dinelli has a grip on how he would solve APD’s woes.

Now the conversation turns to our current mayor.  Channel 4 asked Berry for his input on his fellow Republican Harris’s proposal.  This is a serious issue confronting our city and knowing what our leader thinks is important to all the citizens in Albuquerque.  Berry’s response, “He was busy!” Our police department is in melt down and a local station asks for his input and guidance, Berry’s response, “He was busy!”  What could Berry be doing that he would be SO BUSY that he could not take five minutes to talk to Channel 4? Watering his grasslands in Four Hills? No, that’s not it, Berry has a grounds keeper. Is Berry attending another $500 per person fundraiser?  No, that’s not it Berry never showed up to that fundraiser either. We know the answer; he is an incompetent “leader” who always takes the path of avoidance.  Look at Berry’s pattern; he always avoids the public or public issues when he knows he is wrong.

Berry instructed Shultz to provide a response for him.  Let’s see, he spent 5 to10 minutes refusing to meet with Channel 4 because he was “busy.” From there Berry drops a dime on Jay McCleskey, Gov. Martinez’s pet snake.  This takes another 30 minutes. And then Berry spends another 30 minutes on the phone discussing with Schultz what he wants him to say.  That brings the total time lost on Berry avoiding Channel 4 to a grand total of one hour and ten minutes for an interview that would have taken five minutes. Berry should know, when you play with snakes it is only a matter of time before you get bit.

You can’t hide forever varmint! We got our Eye on you…