Is it fair to blame Bill Reed?

The new APS Police Chief Steve Tellez wants to hang the bungled investigation of corruption in the APS Police Department on his old boss Chief Bill Reed.

Reed was hired to replace Gil Lovato as Chief of the APS Police, when the scandal in the Police Department forced Lovato's departure, link.

A big part of Reed's new job was to complete the investigation into the felony criminal misconduct by APS senior administrators, link.

The APS Police Department should never have been put in charge of investigating its own corruption. The APS, BCSO, and State Police have jurisdiction and it makes no sense at all, to allow the leadership of APS' Praetorian Guard to investigate it's own corruption and criminal misconduct.

It goes way beyond the "appearance" of a conflict of interest; it is absolutely a conflict of interest.

Reed sat on the investigation for years and then finally left the post amid allegations of personal misconduct.

The case is still under "investigation" because public records requests can be denied - more APS Modrall "legal" weaselry.

Now Steve Tellez is in charge of the investigation. Except that he claims the investigation went away when Reed left.

Tellez was made acting Chief upon Reed's departure. He was made Chief a month ago by APS Supt Winston Brooks in secret. Tellez finally admitted it yesterday.

There isn't a word anywhere on the APS website about Tellez promotion. There has been a word in the establishment media.

Someone else first pointed out that, you say something when you say nothing. The leadership of the APS is ashamed of their appointment, or they would not be hiding it.

His promotion flies in the face of a recent vote of no confidence by the APS police officers union, in their "leader".

Tellez denies that he was promoted without interviewing even one other candidate, because he is a willing participant in the cover up of the public corruption and incompetence in the APS PD.


Even Executive Director of Communications Monica Armenta won't talk about it, and that's her job. She refuses to confirm or deny his promotion, though he himself has admitted it.

Armenta is seen here giving an illegal order to APS police officers, to arrest and eject me from the gubernatorial debate at Eldorado High School. In the background, with his eyes closed (not an uncommon occurrence in the "I see nothing" leadership of the APS Police Department), stands Steve Gallegos. He has been promoted to Deputy Chief in the same secret process. He also, was voted no confidence by the APS police officers he commands.

There is a mountain of corruption here; enough to compete with stories about the PRC Commissioner Gone Wild Jerome Block. Yet not a word in the "press".

The establishment media heavy hitters; the Journal, KRQE, KOAT, KOB, and KKOB, have an obligation to investigate and report upon credible allegations and evidence of public corruption and incompetence in the leadership of the APS. Yet they will not. Why not?

The Journal's piece of the cover can be attributed to managing editor Kent Walz. His close personal relationships with people like Marty Esquivel, Paula Maes and Winston Brooks have compelled him to turn a blind eye to their incompetence and corruption.

Maes heads the New Mexico Broadcasters Association. Her ties to the people who run the broadcast media has lead them to ignore her boast that as School Board President, she would "... never agree to any audit that individually identifies ..." corrupt administrators or board members.

Can you imagine a statement like that from any other public official, being utterly ignored by the media?

There is monumental corruption here, right in front of our eyes and the good ol' boys and girls in the media are in it up to their eyeballs.

Somebody should do something.




Walz frame grab and photos Mark Bralley
Armenta photo ched macquigg