Schultz continues to expedite his departure with more Mis-management

"We need to restore public trust, public confidence and reach out to the community."
—APD Chief Ray Schultz, May 27, 2005.

In the wake of APD’s Evidence Room scandal APD Chief Gil Gallegos resigned and APD’s current chief, Raymond Schultz, walked in to save the day. Chief Schulz made the above remarks in an Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce meeting days after coming in as the chief of the state’s largest law enforcement agency. Yet, here we are, almost 7 ½ years later, and public trust and public confidence is at an even lower level than it was back when Chief Schultz made these remarks. We would think it was ironic if it weren’t for the fact that the original evidence room scandal occurred and unfolded while under the watch of then Deputy Chief Schultz.

As we reported earlier this year, the fiasco that happened in the evidence room, where money, guns, and drugs were stolen occurred under Deputy Chief Ray Schultz’s command. Despite concerns being raised by officers and the initiation of IA investigations, all efforts to objectively and thoroughly resolve the issue were suppressed by APD’s current chief: Raymond Schultz. The city’s own report (here) confirms this.

Yet now, it seems problems in the evidence unit are unfolding once again. As many of our Eyes, in colorful fashion, posted, there appears to be highly…inappropriate behavior going on in what is supposed to bean otherwise secure storage facility. There also appears to be video records of these activities that have been erased. Changing public records and tampering with evidence, we’d like to remind our readers, are serious felony offenses. In a city where its mayor actively promotes “Transparency” it seems the transparent thing to do would be to have NMSP or the AG’s office come in, and once again, conduct an investigation. In a department that its chief says earns an “A” we’d expect nothing but blue ribbon investigation when it comes to problems of its own. If APD wants to earn the respect of its citizens, its officers, and other departments, then it needs to hold itself to a higher standard. That specifically includes the executive staff.

If personnel are illegally gaining access to the warehouse and committing inappropriate acts, what else are they doing with evidence that is being held for pending or other criminal offenses. How many cases have now been put in jeopardy because of APD’s or the crime lab’sdirectory, Marc Adams, inaction?

Our recommendation to those folks that are witnesses to these suspected crimes are get in touch with the appropriate law enforcement authorities outside of APD or you can forward proof to us here at the EYE and we will get it to the appropriate authorities. Cell phone camera shots, videos,documents, or even dates of the events will help us ascertain what exactly is going on. As you’ve seen, posts with detailed personal information DO NOT get posted and we at the EYE fully believe in keeping the confidence of, and supporting, people who are trying to do the right thing…..

Doing it Again

It looks like there are problems down at APD's Evidence Room... again. Over four years ago APD was rocked with allegations that evidence stored at the facility was being mishandled and/or lost (presumably right out the back door)(ABQ Journal - Subscription). Humorously, then AG Patricia Madrid determined that there wasn't enough "evidence" to prosecute (and you wonder why she lost the last election).

APD's Evidence Room is the repository for evidence taken from a crime scene or as part of a criminal investigation. Evidence held at the facility can be just about anything from drugs and money, to TVs and computers. The Evidence Room not only stores all of the evidence collected by the Albuquerque Police Department but also any evidence collected by BCSO. When evidence is lost, so too are the cases that they are associated with.

Our Eyes tell us that just recently the DA's Office was forced to drop several drug cases because the evidence room had "lost" the methamphetamine seized in the investigation. In addition, our Eyes tell us that the situation down at evidence has degraded to the state that it was when the scandal first broke four years ago. Of course it's not like this is a new problems. We told you about one of the problems just over a year ago (read it here).

To make matters worse, the sloppiness over at evidence seems to have moved next door to the crime lab - APD's CSI. According to our Eyes the over-worked unit has been cutting some corners procedurally speaking that could result in the lab's results being challenged. The concern in 5th Floor circles is that a defense attorney will discover the procedural shortcuts and have their client's convictions thrown out. If even one conviction is overturned, you can bet that any criminal convicted using evidence processed at the crime lab will be challenged (as it should be).

Cutting corners is not an option in forensic science. It undermines the credibility of the findings. If the crime lab is truly overworked then we need to add the necessary personnel and facilities to handle the load. Allowing a criminal to go free because of a procedural error is unacceptable - and so is convicting someone who's innocent based on faulty science.

Lack of Evidence

Way back in March of 2004 (ABQ Journal -Subscription) Attorney General Patricia Madrid agreed to look into APD's evidence room. There were allegations of theft, mismanagement, and lost evidence. There were scapegoats (Subscription) and reprisals (Subscription) and promises made by the mayor to fix the evidence room problems.

The scandal even claimed one victim, Chief Gilbert Gallegos, who was fired and then drawn and quartered in a 1,000 page report for failing to "launch an immediate criminal investigation into the alleged thefts from the evidence room, despite the recommendation of senior staff" (ABQ Journal - Subscription). The mayor then brought in current Chief Ray Schultz then lured former Sheriff Joe Bowdich out of retirement to lend credibility to the APD makeover that was supposedly underway.

We have been concerned that the moves by the media conscious mayor were more about creating the impression of fixing the problems than about actually correcting them. Our Eyes tell us that we were right to be suspicious. You see, it seems that the media spectacle created for the benefit of the masses hasn't resulted in the elimination of the underlying problems.

According to our Eyes the APD evidence room is still a sloppily run outfit. Evidence is often mis-tagged, misplaced, and improperly recorded. Evidence including money and jewelry can often be found on the floor with no indication where it came from or which case it belongs to.

Most disturbingly, the Eyes have it that when a defense attorney for Brandon Craig visited the APD evidence room to review their client's case evidence, many of the items were missing.

(Sidebar)
Brandon Craig stands accused of the 1999 murders of Kevin Shirley, Luis Garcia, and Matthew Hunt. Craig was arrested back in November after BCSO cold case detectives took a fresh look at the case and found enough evidence for the arrest. Read more about the investigation in the Albuquerque Journal (Subscription) here.
(End Sidebar)

Anyone who has ever watched a single episode of Law and Order knows that the first thing any defense attorney will claim is that the evidence no longer in the prosecution's possession or that is not made available to the defense is somehow exculpatory. The evidence room's main function is to make sure that any evidence stored within its confines remains secure, in good condition, and can be found for trial.

APD seems incapable or unwilling to correct the chronic problems associated with the evidence unit. Perhaps that's what happens when the Chief of Police hired to clean up the evidence room used to be in charge of the evidence room. That's certainly what happens when the mayor decides to fix a public relations problem during an election, rather than fixing the very real systemic problem in the evidence room.

The Legacy of The Evidence Room Scandal

How Government Grows and Politicians Prosper

The Evidence Room scandal should be a long time in our rear-view mirror. The problem with scandals like this is that they have long-term consequences. If you remember, Sergeant Cynthia Orr and Captain Marie "Sisi" Miranda came forward with accusations of misconduct in the evidence room. Evidence was missing, reports gone, cases placed in jeopardy, and all going on right before the 2005 Mayoral Election. The Mayor promised that heads would roll and Chief Gill Gallegos got the axe.

In order to restore confidence in APD and provide cover for the administration, Mayor Marty hired retired Bernalillo County Sheriff Joe Bowdich to serve as interim chief while a search for new APD chief. The administration worked quickly to hire a new Chief and brought in (or back) Ray Schultz to fill the post. Once Chief Schultz was hired Joe Bowdich stayed on as Schultz's 2nd in command and holds the title of Deputy Director, a civilian position making somewhere around $100,000 a year. (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required)

Our Eyes on the Inside tell us that Joe Bowdich is hearing the call of retirement once again. After all he was called out of retirement and has since done his duty to god and country. Now he probably wants to do the things that retired people do, like well retire. So we're going to have a high paying job opening up for a civilian... what to do?

Well if you're in politics, you hand the job to an ally and if necessary you re-write the job description in order to make it fit. That's exactly what our Eyes are telling us is going on with Joe's position in order to fit recently retired APD Captain Rob Debuck. The real question is, how many chiefs does APD really need?

Maybe you can make an argument that creating a permanent position for Joe Bowdich was a good idea... maybe. But we've got 3 Deputy Chiefs, a Deputy Director and a Chief AND Deputy Chief Administrator Nick Bakas. How many Chiefs do we really need? This is how government grows and politicians prosper. Create a position with a big title, bigger paycheck, and limited responsibilities, then stick a friend in it. The beauty of it all is everybody wins... except us.

Here's an idea... in light of the projected $22 Million budget shortfall, ($15 Million is attributed to increasing payroll costs) perhaps we should just eliminate the position? Government gets smaller, we save around $100,000 a year AND the Mayor avoids allegations of cronyism. What do you bet it doesn't work out that way?

Eye Alert - More Evidence

Our Eyes on the Inside have it that an EEOC lawsuit will be filed as soon as tomorrow. This former employee who was allegedly placed on medical retirement worked in APDs evidence room. As you remember the APD evidence room was rocked with scandal when items tagged in as evidence which included cash, went missing. The mayor promised heads would roll and so one (Chief Gil Gallegos) did.

Lawsuits are a messy business filled with claims and counter claims that come in the form of depositions and/or testimony under oath. Our Eyes are seeing some very nervous faces on the 5th floor, as anyone connected with the evidence room directly or indirectly, could be called to testify. We'll see what happens and if this lawsuit is filed, how long it takes the city to settle.