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?

How Not to Learn

We've been resisting the urge to comment on today's story about developer Jason Daskalos. It's simply amazing to us how someone who can be so successful on one level can't seem to figure things out on another. By this evening, our resistance failed and we just can't help ourselves.

Jason Daskalos made the front page of the Albuquerque Journal today... again (Subscription). A prominent man with at least 37 speeding citations, a recent DWI charge (and acquittal), and a pending domestic violence charge (read it here), should probably consider laying low for a while, but instead he took a rental car for a lap and managed to get himself back in the papers for driving 83 in a 40 MPH zone.

He's probably the only person we know that has his misdemeanor traffic citations making the front page of the state's largest newspaper. It's tempting to question the news judgment of the Journal - which might be warranted - but his continued disregard for the law simply amazes us in light of his prominence and the fact that he's obviously under public scrutiny.

There's really only one way to characterize Daskalos' continued misbehavior... stoooooopid. Someone needs to convince him to hire a driver, or a keeper even to keep him out of the papers before he jeopardizes one of his many developments by having to cash-in just one too many of his political chips.

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.

con·spir·a·cy (kn-spîr-s)

n. pl. con·spir·a·cies

1. 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.

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.

State of New Mexico vs. Jason Daskalos

You probably remember Jason Daskalos from his recent brush with the law when the prominent Albuquerque developer and amateur race car driver was accused of DWI (ABQ Journal - Subscription). Daskalos was ultimately cleared of all charges stemming from the 2006 incident (ABQ Journal - Subscription).

It's a good thing that Mr. Daskalos is a wealthy individual because he's may find himself back in court again, this time on domestic violence charges. A criminal complaint has been filed against the fast driving (and apparently fast living) Daskalos alleging battery against a household member (read the Metro Court case activity here).

According to the criminal complaint, Daskalos and his friend Jason (whose last name is unknown) got into a verbal confrontation at a local bar. The victim, Chrystal Buzzard tried to intervene in the argument and allegedly got shoved to the ground by the defendant (Daskalos). Apparently, the three left the bar and headed over to "Jason's house" (we assume the friend of Daskalos not Daskalos himself) where they resumed the evening's main event with Ms. Buzzard ringside. The complainant tried to intervene a second time in the continuation of the argument where the defendant allegedly pulled Ms. Buzzard's hair and punched her in the face.

Officer C.D. Baker took the complaint from Ms. Buzzard and was able to reach Mr. Daskalos in order to arrange for him to return to we believe, Ms. Buzzard's residence in order to give the officer his side of the story. According to the complaint, Mr. Daskalos failed to return and could not be located by the end of Officer Baker's shift in order for him to take Daskalos' statement. The result is a Criminal Complaint and a Summons for Jason Daskalos.

First of all let's remember that Daskalos despite his numerous brushes with the law and his amazing propensity for finding himself in Metro Court is innocent until proven guilty. Second, it's not unusual for the victims of domestic violence to shall we say, forget to show up in court; resulting in a dismissal. However, there are a couple of troubling aspects to these allegations particularly if you happen to be Mr. Daskalos' wife.

The bar where this whole thing allegedly started is located at 6001 Brentwood Ln. NE. The business at that address is TD's North - a local strip club. More troubling is the nature of the charge, Battery Against a Household Member. Our Eyes tell us that the 26 year old Ms. Buzzard is not Mr. Daskalos' wife, but in order to be charged with Battery Against a Household Member there has to be an established relationship between the two parties. When you put two and two together, it's easy to assume that Ms. Buzzard is Mr. Daskalos' girlfriend.

Why is any of this important to anyone other than the parties involved? Mr. Daskalos has a long history of using his political influence and personal connections to make his traffic violations go away (ABQ Journal - Subscription). Daskalos' DWI charges resulted in an investigation that revealed 20 of his 36 traffic citations had been dismissed and resulted in the resignation of city attorney Ellen Argyres, and the firing of officer Ben Kirby. He clearly has very little regard for those who are harmed by trying to help him out of a tough spot. We would hope those who might be tempted to bend the rules in his favor and for his favor remember that.

In addition, Domestic violence carries its own unique stigma and considering Mr. Daskalos' history and willingness to use his political influence to get himself out of trouble, it would be incumbent upon the successful developer to put pressure on everyone from DA's to judges in order to make this thing go away. Frankly, we're not willing to just let that happen.

It's more than likely that should this go to trial, Ms. Buzzard will not show up; it happens a lot and certainly wouldn't be unusual for domestic violence cases. But we believe that it's important for everyone to bound equally by the law, despite their political connections or lack thereof. Mr. Daskalos' alleged actions are part of the public record, he has retained an attorney and the legal process should continue without interference from outside parties whose only interest is to see their friend and benefactor kept out of the hooskow.

----- UPDATE -----
Our Eyes tell us that this post had the powers that be up on APD's 5th floor spittin' nails on Friday. We wonder... since the allegation is part of the public record and since Mr. Daskalos is just another citizen, why would the revelation of these allegations bother anyone at APD? That is of course, assuming that the mayor and 5th floor didn't have other plans like say... making the charges disappear.

Speaking of public records, we found out that one of our deep links to the Metro Court case look up system isn't functioning properly. We've made a change to the link so hopefully it will work but just in case it doesn't, here's how to find the information:

1. Go to this link: http://www.metrocourt.state.nm.us/casemanagement/
2. In the field marked Name of Defendant enter: Daskalos Jason [No comma]
3. Click on Search
4. You'll need to scroll past the other 42 misdemeanor charges to the one marked DV416407. (Yes you read that right - 42 other misdemeanor charges most of which are traffic violations.)

Speaking of Breaks...

The Albuquerque Journal led today with yet another story about developer Jason Daskalos. Apparently Mr. Daskalos, after using his Prosche in his own version of the Albuquerque 500 and evading (temporarily) Albuquerque Police officer Josh Otzenberger, tried to use his political connections to get himself a "break." This particular connection is with none other than Mayor Martin Chavez.

"He was just asking for breaks, to let him go, he was already home, he won't drive anymore, things like that. I said 'no man, you got to go to jail,' '' Otzenberger said in the deposition.
"And he said, 'Come on man, give me a break. I just gave a ... building to and ate dinner with the mayor' or something like that." - Albuquerque Journal (Subscription Required)

Seems the amateur race car driver and speeding ticket collector, believed that giving the Chavez Campaign what amounts to $7,500 entitled him to some special treatment when it came to reckless driving and DWI.

According to campaign finance reports, Chávez used a Daskalos building in Nob Hill as his campaign headquarters in 2005.

The campaign paid $4,500 in rent for the building, and, shortly afterward, Jason Daskalos Properties gave the campaign a check for $4,500. An additional $3,000 in rent was forgiven by a Daskalos company, La Sierra Construction. That was listed as an "in-kind contribution" on campaign finance reports. - Albuquerque Journal (Subcription Required)

Mayor Chaves' only response was to admit he may have had dinner with Daskalos that night and to claim that not even his mother gets a break.

(SIDEBAR)
Mayor Chavez has a full-time APD body guard and driver paid for by (you guessed it) the citizens of Albuquerque. Determining whether the mayor had dinner with Jason Daskalos should be a simple task. If he did, what role did Mayor Chavez play in this whole affair? Was Mr. Daskalos intoxicated when he left dinner?
(END SIDEBAR)

Let's see if I understand this, a prominent developer, from a prominent family, with connections in the City Attorney's Office and a history of getting breaks, who donates at least $7,500 to the Chavez campaign, isn't treated any differently than the rest of us? Why would anyone believe that?! Remember, this is the Mayor that brought us the Sunport Observation Deck debacle and the ABQ PAC scandal.

Give US a break!!