$300,000 and the Trend is Downward!

Well, usually the first week of a New Year is a time of fresh air and new ideas. But as we've seen over the last few days, not only is it more of the same, but it's like a never ending visit of the Ghost of Christmas Past. It's dark, gloomy, and smells.

You see, illegally fired APD officer Russell Perea was ordered by a district court judge for reinstatement into APD and repayment of backpay. That finally happened and Officer Perea was paid over $150,000 by the city and is in the process of being reinstated into APD. Our Eyes tell us that the city has argued that Perea is not qualified to be a police officer any more because he hasn't kept up with training. But of course it was the city's fault that Perea was unable to keep up with training. 

That's a fun game the current leadership likes to play: we're gonna violate your rights but don't blame us if you don't like it.

(Funny how the city likes to micro-analyze and promote such requirements and regulations when its to their benefit; but what do they do when such little details are against them and show guilt? That's a little Eye hint about something coming down the line...)

So while Perea gets a nice check, almost the same day there's bizarre story about the city cutting yet another six-figure check because of what's described as a "secret arrest" stemming from a SWAT activation. Of course the money paid isn't so much because of the actions of the officers but the seeming deception and tampering of records by the city.

What, the city "loses" records?!?!?!?

Since the all-monied Alcade, RJ Berry, boasts about his CAO's effectiveness, we at the Eye think Perry's 2014 salary should be offset by what we all just paid Perea. That would leave Perry with about $33,000 in income for the year and seems about right for his "service" to the city. Oh wait, since Perry has his fingers involved in legal matters facing the city, he should also be on the hook for the $150,000 paid out in the secret arrest case.

Mr. Perry, please cut us a check for $117,000 by the end of the month please as you have no credit.

Folks, at the risk of pointing out the obvious, we're going to draw your attention to a painful truth. Every since Jim Baca was mayor, things have steadily gotten worse. And while many will hate this comment, it seems Mr. Baca's administration was the high point of the city's administration in the last 15 years. (Yes yes, we can hear the "Anybody but Baca" comments already). You see, Mr. Baca had a highly skilled and very professional CAO when he had Lawrence Rael as his top administrator. Mr. Baca also made it not about him, but about the institution. Then we entered the political era with Marty Chavez as mayor. While Dr. Perlman was effective as CAO, Mr. Adams was fairly limited and let's be real, both really worked angles for themselves (Adams took home over $103,000 in 2013). Perlman did his, hush hush out of country work, and Adams feathered his nest. And it was all about keeping Marty looking like a dignitary.

Then came Berry and we are now immersed in the era of cronyism. What else do you call it when $150,000 checks are routinely cut because of BAD decision made by personnel who give themselves raises or are promoted....? Jobs for friends here, contracts for friends there, is the way of Berry. And as Berry hands pieces of his pie out to all of his political hacks, we, the citizens, are left holding the bag.

Unforthcoming and Truth Distortion Revealed: Banks and Perea

"Grunt"                  "You make my head hurt"         "Lies!!!"

Faced with having to reinstate Russell Perea as a police officer with all back pay, benefits, seniority, and attorney’s fees, the City of Albuquerque and APD’s interim chief Allen Banks are spinning in crisis mode.  And there is no better evidence of this than City of Albuquerque attorney David Tourek’s statement on the matter:

“We’re evaluating this problematic ruling from the court that is forcing us to take back a Police Officer that we felt we had sufficient grounds to terminate. We’ll be reviewing Judge Bacon’s decision and exploring all appellate, administrative, and policy options that are available.”

We know the city lives in backwards land.

How else do you explain giving the city’s CAO a 22% raise (equal to $33,0000) when his police department has cost tax payers over $55,000,000 in judgments?

Or promoting a deputy chief to the rank of chief when he’s been caught lying in public, lying under oath, tampering with crime scenes, covering up crimes, violates his own officer’s civil rights, and can hardly speak a single sentence with proper grammar?

Or describing a city as operating efficiently when, duh, there are 30% fewer officers and morale is in the tank amongst all NON MANAGEMENT personnel?

Or maintaining the health and safety of fire department personnel when toxic fumes continue to bleed into several fire stations despite the public reporting of these issues?

Or in this case, claiming that not only was the hearing officer wrong, but the personnel board, and District Court Judge Nash, and District Court Judge Bacon. In fact, Judge Bacon wasn’t just wrong according to Tourek, but it was problematic.

Well, let’s put Tourek’s statement in the context of things. 

•Russell Perea was the target of an IA investigation shortly after Levi Chavez was indicted for  

  murdering his wife and interviewed by Commander Doug West on 5/10/11.

•7/18/11 DCOP Allen Banks adopts and supports the termination of Perea for untruthfulness.

•7/28/11 the Albuquerque Journal quotes Ray Schultz as saying an officer in connection with

  Levi Chavez will be fired.

•7/29/11 Russell Perea is notified by APD that he will be fired.

•8/8/11 DCOP Feist holds Perea’s Laudermill hearing and confirms Perea will be fired.
•8/15/11 Perea receives written notice of his termination signed by Feist.

•12/9/11 Perea appeals the termination through the city’s administrative hearing office and Dr. Zane Reeves is randomly selected as the hearing officer. Hearing to start on 12/9.

•12/29/11 the 12/9 hearing reconvenes because the city failed to provide all internal affairs documents to Perea. The hearing is rescheduled for 1/27/12.

•1/27/12 hearing concludes.

•2/6/12 Dr. Reeves issues his recommendation finding the city did not have just cause to terminate Perea because the city failed to demonstrate wrongdoing by Perea.

•2/13/12 City attorneys contact Dr. Reeves in private and ask that he recuse himself from the current case and not appear before the April meeting of the Personnel Board as required.

•3/5/12 City attorney and CAO ask the Personnel Board to remove Dr. Reeves

•4/11/12 the Personnel Board denies the city’s effort to remove Dr. Reeves and unanimously votes to accept Dr. Reeves’ recommendation and orders the city to reinstate Perea

•4/20/12 city attorneys appeal the Personnel Board’s decision to district court and seek a restraining order against Dr. Reeves from hearing other scheduled personnel hearings.

•5/1/12 District Court Judge Nash hears arguments and denies the city’s motions from the bench.

•5/1/12 Rob Perry terminates Dr. Reeves’s contract with the city by fax.

And of course Tourek/Perry resist the order of their own personnel board. Think about that for a minute. Doesn't this mean that for every hearing officer's recommendation that the city DID have justification to terminate an employee and the board adopted that recommendation gets to be reinstated if Tourek/Perry get their way?!?!?

But the secret to decoding the idiocy of the Perry/Tourek actions is not just looking at the obvious. But in looking at what isn’t being said. Paralleling Perea's case is another high profile matter:

•11/17/11 APD officer Rob Woolever receives notice of termination and files his appeal

•2/1/12 Woolever receives notice that his personnel hearing is scheduled for 4/18/12

•2/1/12 Dr. ZANE REEVES randomly selected as the hearing officer in the Woolever matter

•5/11/12 Woolever receives notice that his hearing is rescheduled to 7/20/12 and Bingham is the hearing officer.

These are things that not only make one go hmmmmmm, but they make one ill. 

Up until 2/1/12, Dr. Reeves had been a contract employee with the city of Albuquerque as a hearing officer for decades. And now Tourek/Perry would have us believe that after one decision he is biased and prejudiced when over 75% of his decisions were in favor of the city? Nah, it’s only too obvious. This isn't about Perea at all, it's about Doyle and Woolever.

Tourek/Perry/Schultz saw the writing on the wall. They knew that even though they had bungled up the investigation and termination of Perea they had done even worse with the matter involving officers Rob Woolever and John Doyle. They knew that if those cases were going to be held, and with Woolever’s scheduled to occur on 4/18/12 their lies and illegal actions were going to be disclosed as well.

So they did what bullies do, they tried to get others to fight their fight. In this case, first they went to the personnel board. When the board said no, they went to court. When the judge said no, only then did they do what they could’ve done all along and directly fire Dr. Reeves.

Except now, the proverbial chickens are coming home. Judge Bacon found Tourek/Perry’s actions not just dumb but unfounded. Dr. Reeves’s decision was found to be the correct one even after intense judicial scrutiny. And Tourek/Perry have failed. Again…… Our Eyes tell us, Mr. Doyle’s case is in district court where once again the actions of the city will be subject to intense judicial scrutiny. And we are told the lies and illegal actions by city personnel involved in this matter defy belief.

Remember the city’s argument to fire Perea was that he was unforthcoming in correcting facts asked of him by West. Funny, with current officer Brett Lampiris-Tremba not only did you have somebody who had blatantly lied to supervisors but falsified calendar records.

And there is no greater truth-distortionist than the grand poo-bah of unforthcoming actions than APD’s own Allen Banks. Perhaps Mr. Banks would like to go under oath and answer some very direct questions about his nefarious on and off duty activities?

Doyle and Woolever were cast away by APD as an offering to keep DOJ investigators from coming in. Schultz/Banks thought by making a huge publicity stunt it would send a message to DOJ that APD polices itself and doesn't need review by Washington. But like everything else Schultz has touched, this plan also failed but at the expense of two decent officers.

But don't take our word for it, hear what happened directly from an interview journalist Peter St. Cyr did with Dr. Reeves just last week:

https://soundcloud.com/peter505/zane-reeves-vindicated

Professional Truth Distortionist

Perhaps Banks, Tourek, or Perry would like to go on record and challenge these details? What's that? Crickets? Nah, we thought so....