We've long believed that former Officer Ben Kirby was APD's patsy in the Daskalos paddy wagon affair. Yesterday, the former officer plead no contest to interfering with a public official (krqe.com). [hat tip: Eye Reader] Kirby was initially charged with 3 felonies - assisting escape, tampering with public records and conspiracy tampering with public records.
We have long believed that Kirby's actions in the August 2006 Daskalos day trip (yeah we know it was night but we couldn't help it - the alliteration was too tempting) from the paddy wagon was initiated by a third party. One of the questions that neither APD nor the DA's office has ever answered is - if there's a conspiracy (even to tamper with public records - something the 5th Floor should know all about) - who are the conspirators (read it here)?
Kirby was drummed out of APD rather quickly following the incident (unlike probationary officer Levi Chavez who's a "person of interest" in his wife's death). However, the DA didn't charge Kirby for some 14 months after the DA had initially decided not to prosecute and after he had filed suit to get his job back (read it here).
A well connected developer - friend and major contributor to The Almighty Alcalde - gets special treatment after a DWI arrest (read it here), and APD would have you believe that Kirby acted alone even after initially charging him with conspiracy. Now Kirby pleads no contest to misdemeanor charges that will be dismissed if he stays out of trouble for six months.
The only conspiracy we see here is the CYA conspiracy to cover-up yet another 5th Floor mess. We hope after six months Kirby files suit to get his job back and spills everything that happened that fateful night - August 25, 2006.
Showing posts with label Ben Kirby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ben Kirby. Show all posts
Aug 25, 2009
Feb 7, 2008
Arraignment Kirby
We got a heads-up that former Officer Ben Kirby is set to be arraigned Friday (today) at 10 am. Apparently, he's being charged with assisting escape, tampering with public records and conspiracy to tamper with public records.
Looks like the DA found it a bit too difficult to answer the whole "who's the other conspirator" question that according to our Eyes, was raised by an astute member of the grand jury. For a while it looked like Officer Fisher was going to be on the hook for the conspiracy role in the whole fiasco, but as of early January that option seemed to be taken off the table (read it here).
The DA has obviously changed tactics and decided to directly charge the former officer which is interesting in its own right, but what about the escapee? Amateur (or immature) race car driver, developer, and general traffic menace Jason Daskalos was the prisoner who made his own prison break. Despite his acquittal on DWI charges, to our knowledge he hasn't been charged with his own escape.
It's hard to imagine Kirby dragging a struggling Daskalos away from the paddy wagon against his will. Perhaps it's time for the DA to show a little equity in prosecution. Shouldn't all of the parties involved in a crime be prosecuted for that crime?
Looks like the DA found it a bit too difficult to answer the whole "who's the other conspirator" question that according to our Eyes, was raised by an astute member of the grand jury. For a while it looked like Officer Fisher was going to be on the hook for the conspiracy role in the whole fiasco, but as of early January that option seemed to be taken off the table (read it here).
The DA has obviously changed tactics and decided to directly charge the former officer which is interesting in its own right, but what about the escapee? Amateur (or immature) race car driver, developer, and general traffic menace Jason Daskalos was the prisoner who made his own prison break. Despite his acquittal on DWI charges, to our knowledge he hasn't been charged with his own escape.
It's hard to imagine Kirby dragging a struggling Daskalos away from the paddy wagon against his will. Perhaps it's time for the DA to show a little equity in prosecution. Shouldn't all of the parties involved in a crime be prosecuted for that crime?
Jan 7, 2008
Fisher - Off the Hook
We told you right before Christmas that the Eyes had it that Officer Matt Fisher was being implicated as the co-conspirator in the Jason Daskalos DWI duck-out from APD custody (read it here). Today our Eyes found out that Officer Fisher is off the hook so to speak.
Apparently, there are no plans to indict Officer Fisher at this time. Of course there were no plans to indict former Officer Ben Kirby until he had the temerity to sue to get his job back.
Speaking of Kirby... We're wondering exactly where this development leaves the DA's case against the former officer. We're not a lawyer but don't you need more than one person for a conspiracy? You'll remember that our Eyes had it that the Kirby grand jury came to a screeching halt when a juror decided to ask exactly who the other conspirators were (read it here).
We'd think at this point the DA is going to have a tough time of getting around this particular elephant in the room. Either they're going to have to start naming people involved in the conspiracy or settle for indicting a ham sandwich - 'cause they don't seem to be able to get Kirby without it.
Apparently, there are no plans to indict Officer Fisher at this time. Of course there were no plans to indict former Officer Ben Kirby until he had the temerity to sue to get his job back.
Speaking of Kirby... We're wondering exactly where this development leaves the DA's case against the former officer. We're not a lawyer but don't you need more than one person for a conspiracy? You'll remember that our Eyes had it that the Kirby grand jury came to a screeching halt when a juror decided to ask exactly who the other conspirators were (read it here).
We'd think at this point the DA is going to have a tough time of getting around this particular elephant in the room. Either they're going to have to start naming people involved in the conspiracy or settle for indicting a ham sandwich - 'cause they don't seem to be able to get Kirby without it.
Dec 21, 2007
Conspiracy Revealed?
Sixteen months after the Jason Daskalos DWI diversion from APDs paddy wagon, we finally found out who is accused of conspiring with former Officer Ben Kirby. Of course, the whole conspiracy thing didn't show up until fourteen months after the incident and just coincidentally right after Kirby filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city (read about it here).
According to our Eyes, Officer Matt Fisher is the officer being accused of conspiring with Kirby to release Daskalos. Interestingly enough, Daskalos himself isn't being investigated for his role in the whole affair. It seems as if the DA's office is treating Mr. Daskalos - who was under arrest at the time - as an innocent victim even though he was the one escaping at the time.
As we've said before, this whole thing has been kind of strange. Daskalos was arrested for DWI; he is then taken on a field trip from the DWI paddy wagon, returned to the paddy wagon, booked on DWI, tried for DWI, and ultimately acquitted. As you all know, Officer Kirby was fired for his role; but what gets us is that the DA initially chose not to prosecute but fourteen months latter ended up deciding to begin a grand jury investigation that didn't involve Daskalos.
Seemingly, the conspiracy is revealed and those who conspired are APD rank and file officers. To us this just doesn't add up. Two APD officers decide - on their own - to bust Daskalos out of DWI custody with no orders from above and no indication of any personal ties to Daskalos himself.
Folks, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that there's a lot more to this story and that we'll probably never know what really took place August 25th, 2006.
According to our Eyes, Officer Matt Fisher is the officer being accused of conspiring with Kirby to release Daskalos. Interestingly enough, Daskalos himself isn't being investigated for his role in the whole affair. It seems as if the DA's office is treating Mr. Daskalos - who was under arrest at the time - as an innocent victim even though he was the one escaping at the time.
As we've said before, this whole thing has been kind of strange. Daskalos was arrested for DWI; he is then taken on a field trip from the DWI paddy wagon, returned to the paddy wagon, booked on DWI, tried for DWI, and ultimately acquitted. As you all know, Officer Kirby was fired for his role; but what gets us is that the DA initially chose not to prosecute but fourteen months latter ended up deciding to begin a grand jury investigation that didn't involve Daskalos.
Seemingly, the conspiracy is revealed and those who conspired are APD rank and file officers. To us this just doesn't add up. Two APD officers decide - on their own - to bust Daskalos out of DWI custody with no orders from above and no indication of any personal ties to Daskalos himself.
Folks, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that there's a lot more to this story and that we'll probably never know what really took place August 25th, 2006.
Dec 13, 2007
Indictment Follies or Indictment Folly
If you've watched enough Law & Order (and we have) you know that a District Attorney can indict a ham sandwich. That's why we were so interested when we heard about the goings on with the grand jury looking in to conspiracy charges against Officer Ben Kirby.
Kirby is the officer that was fired for taking Jason Daskalos who was in custody on charges of DWI (later determined to be not guilty), on a detour from the paddy wagon. Just this past year officer Kirby filed a wrongful termination suit against the city and shortly thereafter was notified that he's the target of a grand jury investigation (read it here) on suspicion of tampering with public records and conspiracy.
According to our Eyes the promised grand jury investigation began on Wednesday. Apparently the proceedings came to a screeching halt when one of the grand jurors asked the same question we've been asking - if conspiracy is the charge, who is the co-conspirator? Seems like a logical question to us but at that point our Eyes tell us that the DA's office decided to continue the case rather than answer the question.
We don't know why the ADA decided to do what they did but it would seem to us that you'd have a hard time proving conspiracy without conspirators. We haven't seen the DA's case and we certainly can't begin to tell you why they waited over a year to move on a case that they'd already decided not to prosecute, but their case must be shaky indeed if they can't handle the question of conspirators in a conspiracy case.
Kirby is the officer that was fired for taking Jason Daskalos who was in custody on charges of DWI (later determined to be not guilty), on a detour from the paddy wagon. Just this past year officer Kirby filed a wrongful termination suit against the city and shortly thereafter was notified that he's the target of a grand jury investigation (read it here) on suspicion of tampering with public records and conspiracy.
According to our Eyes the promised grand jury investigation began on Wednesday. Apparently the proceedings came to a screeching halt when one of the grand jurors asked the same question we've been asking - if conspiracy is the charge, who is the co-conspirator? Seems like a logical question to us but at that point our Eyes tell us that the DA's office decided to continue the case rather than answer the question.
We don't know why the ADA decided to do what they did but it would seem to us that you'd have a hard time proving conspiracy without conspirators. We haven't seen the DA's case and we certainly can't begin to tell you why they waited over a year to move on a case that they'd already decided not to prosecute, but their case must be shaky indeed if they can't handle the question of conspirators in a conspiracy case.
Nov 13, 2007
Target Kirby: Timeline for Retaliation
We've been following the story of Officer Ben Kirby for some time now. Kirby is the officer that got canned for springing developer Jason Daskalos from the DWI paddy wagon last year. A couple of weeks ago we told you that Kirby had become the target of a grand jury investigation into his actions (read it here).
We mentioned in that post that the timing of the investigation seemed curious. We'll we've gotten a little more information on the events following the notorious trip and it's got us even more intrigued. As we told you (here), the decision to target officer Kirby for indictment comes almost immediately after the city was notified that Officer Kirby intended to sue the city in order to get his job back. What's more interesting is that Chief Ray Schultz indicated in a letter to the Director of the NM DPS Center Thomas Lyon, that the District Attorney's office had reviewed the case and decided not to prosecute officer Kirby. The DA's decision was included in a letter concerning the revocation of Kirby's Officer Certification way back in March.
Let's take a quick look at the timeline:
Our Eyes tell us that originally, the grand jury was to meet last Thursday and that at the last minute the session was canceled. The rumor is that the DA wanted to present evidence pertaining to the here to fore unnamed co-conspirator and that conspirator was Jason Daskalos for assisting an escape.
Now we don't know what's going on here. It seems strange that Daskalos could be charged as a conspirator in his own escape. We'd think he'd be charged with unlawful flight from prosecution or some such legalese.
However one thing is sure, whether Daskalos is in the DA's crosshairs or not, Ben Kirby certainly is and from the timeline above it looks as if they mean to get him. More importantly, it appears as if they went after him criminally and for decertification after he had the temerity to sue for his job back. Can you say prosecutorial misconduct? Can you say retaliation?
We mentioned in that post that the timing of the investigation seemed curious. We'll we've gotten a little more information on the events following the notorious trip and it's got us even more intrigued. As we told you (here), the decision to target officer Kirby for indictment comes almost immediately after the city was notified that Officer Kirby intended to sue the city in order to get his job back. What's more interesting is that Chief Ray Schultz indicated in a letter to the Director of the NM DPS Center Thomas Lyon, that the District Attorney's office had reviewed the case and decided not to prosecute officer Kirby. The DA's decision was included in a letter concerning the revocation of Kirby's Officer Certification way back in March.
Let's take a quick look at the timeline:
- August 25, 2006 - Kirby springs Daskalos
- October 25, 2006 - APD terminates Officer Ben Kirby
- March 21, 2007 - APD requests NMDPS Decertify Kirby
- September 5, 2007 - Kirby files lawsuit requesting reinstatement
- September 11, 2007 - DPS sends notice to Kirby at APD that he is subject to continued action regarding his law enforcement certification
- October 22, 2007 - Kirby is notified that he is the target of a grand jury investigation
Our Eyes tell us that originally, the grand jury was to meet last Thursday and that at the last minute the session was canceled. The rumor is that the DA wanted to present evidence pertaining to the here to fore unnamed co-conspirator and that conspirator was Jason Daskalos for assisting an escape.
Now we don't know what's going on here. It seems strange that Daskalos could be charged as a conspirator in his own escape. We'd think he'd be charged with unlawful flight from prosecution or some such legalese.
However one thing is sure, whether Daskalos is in the DA's crosshairs or not, Ben Kirby certainly is and from the timeline above it looks as if they mean to get him. More importantly, it appears as if they went after him criminally and for decertification after he had the temerity to sue for his job back. Can you say prosecutorial misconduct? Can you say retaliation?
Oct 25, 2007
Kirby Case Connection?
We've been scratching our head over this whole Kirby grand jury thing since last night. It seemed strange that suddenly some 14 months after the Daskalos DWI Dash occurred, a grand jury would be impaneled to investigate charges of conspiracy and tampering with public records.
Some time back we heard that former Officer Kirby was considering suing the city in order to get his job back. As it happens Mr. Kirby filed suit in District Court September 5th naming as defendants the City of Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Police Department, and the City of Albuquerque Personnel Board (you can find the filing at nmcourts.com or by clicking here.)
Could this grand jury thing and the civil suit filed by Mr. Kirby be connected? Being of a somewhat suspicious nature it's pretty easy for us to connect the dots. There's an old saying "the best defense is a good offense." What could be more offensive than an indictment? Sure would make it difficult to get your law enforcement gig back if you're on trial for breaking the law.
Some time back we heard that former Officer Kirby was considering suing the city in order to get his job back. As it happens Mr. Kirby filed suit in District Court September 5th naming as defendants the City of Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Police Department, and the City of Albuquerque Personnel Board (you can find the filing at nmcourts.com or by clicking here.)
Could this grand jury thing and the civil suit filed by Mr. Kirby be connected? Being of a somewhat suspicious nature it's pretty easy for us to connect the dots. There's an old saying "the best defense is a good offense." What could be more offensive than an indictment? Sure would make it difficult to get your law enforcement gig back if you're on trial for breaking the law.
Oct 24, 2007
Daskalos Files: Target Kirby
Just as we thought we'd heard the last of Albuquerque's most famous developer/amateur race car driver/playboy, up pops a domestic violence allegation. Now the fallout from the infamous Daskalos DWI debacle continues.
If you will remember, Daskalos was sprung from the DWI paddy wagon by an off duty officer while awaiting transport to the west side jail. When the developer was found missing by on-duty officers, somehow the officer that removed Daskalos was contacted resulting in a return trip to the paddy wagon (ABQ Journal - Subscription). The officer in question turned out to be Officer Ben Kirby.
Kirby was ultimately fired for his role in Daskalos' little side trip. Now our Eyes tell us that Kirby is the target of a grand jury investigation; specifically containing allegations of conspiracy and tampering with public records.
The Daskalos arrest and subsequent joy ride with officer Kirby happened well over a year ago. Since that time, Daskalos has gotten a pass by a jury of his peers and our Eyes tell us that Kirby is out of state looking for a new life and employment.
Look, we're for prosecuting evildoers and criminals as much as the next Eye, but the move to impanel a grand jury over a year after the fact has us scratching our head and wondering what took DA Brandenburg so long. What is more interesting is the allegation of conspiracy.
Look, we're not an attorney but we're pretty sure that no matter how you define conspiracy, there's a basic requirement that someone else be involved. Originally, Chief Schultz played this as if Kirby and Daskalos were friends and that officer Kirby acted alone (ABQ Journal - Subscription). Now we're hearing talk of conspiracy which leads to the obvious question... who are the conspirators?
This wouldn't be the first time that we've heard of special treatment for "special" people. Back in April we told you the story of retired AFD Captain Ralph Ortega. Ortega, the brother of AFD Chief Robert Ortega was allegedly given preferential treatment when he was personally escorted to the west side jail by an on-duty DWI officer despite the availability of a transport from the Prisoner Transport Center (read about it here). According to our Eyes the order to provide the AFD Chief's brother came from Chief Schultz and former public safety czar Nick Bakas. Could someone other than Kirby and Daskalos be involved here?
We don't know whether or not the grand jury will hand down an indictment and we certainly can't predict the contents of an indictment that doesn't yet exist. However, we can't wait to find out who the alleged conspiracy includes. Looks like there may be even more entries in the Daskalos Files.
If you will remember, Daskalos was sprung from the DWI paddy wagon by an off duty officer while awaiting transport to the west side jail. When the developer was found missing by on-duty officers, somehow the officer that removed Daskalos was contacted resulting in a return trip to the paddy wagon (ABQ Journal - Subscription). The officer in question turned out to be Officer Ben Kirby.
Kirby was ultimately fired for his role in Daskalos' little side trip. Now our Eyes tell us that Kirby is the target of a grand jury investigation; specifically containing allegations of conspiracy and tampering with public records.
The Daskalos arrest and subsequent joy ride with officer Kirby happened well over a year ago. Since that time, Daskalos has gotten a pass by a jury of his peers and our Eyes tell us that Kirby is out of state looking for a new life and employment.
Look, we're for prosecuting evildoers and criminals as much as the next Eye, but the move to impanel a grand jury over a year after the fact has us scratching our head and wondering what took DA Brandenburg so long. What is more interesting is the allegation of conspiracy.
con·spir·a·cy (kn-spîr
)
n. pl. con·spir·a·cies1. An agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act.2. A group of conspirators.3. Law An agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime or accomplish a legal purpose through illegal action.4. A joining or acting together, as if by sinister design: a conspiracy of wind and tide that devastated coastal areas.
This wouldn't be the first time that we've heard of special treatment for "special" people. Back in April we told you the story of retired AFD Captain Ralph Ortega. Ortega, the brother of AFD Chief Robert Ortega was allegedly given preferential treatment when he was personally escorted to the west side jail by an on-duty DWI officer despite the availability of a transport from the Prisoner Transport Center (read about it here). According to our Eyes the order to provide the AFD Chief's brother came from Chief Schultz and former public safety czar Nick Bakas. Could someone other than Kirby and Daskalos be involved here?
We don't know whether or not the grand jury will hand down an indictment and we certainly can't predict the contents of an indictment that doesn't yet exist. However, we can't wait to find out who the alleged conspiracy includes. Looks like there may be even more entries in the Daskalos Files.
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