BCSD' Tellez investigation enters 9th week

Former APS Police Chief Steve Tellez is suspected of stealing public property.  It really doesn't make any difference how much the property is worth.

What makes a difference is that the second or third highest ranking cop in the city is alleged to have betrayed the public trust.  Reason dictates that in the people's interests, the criminal investigation enjoy some priority.

The delay could be innocent; it could be delayed by factors beyond the control Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston.  But unless those factors are shaming or indicting, it is fair to wonder why he won't share them with interest holders.

There is no money to follow here, so let's follow the players.  Who benefits from an unnecessary and apparently indefensible delay? 

Steve Tellez has as much to gain as anyone trying to stave off the day.  But frankly, it's unlikely he has the juice to delay a criminal investigation.  The lone possibility is that he has some dirt on some powerful people and is threatening to make it public.

When the last APS Chief of Police left in disgrace, APS' lawyer Art Melendres repeated Sam Bregman's boast that, when the truth got out, there wouldn't be a single senior APS administrator left standing.

No reason to think Tellez doesn't have a body map every bit as damning as former APS Police Chief Gil Lovato's map. If nothing else, Tellez' body map includes the cover up of the Lovato scandal.

Dan Houston has a personal interest in prolonging the release of his fact finding.  It was his lack of oversight that led to an administrative atmosphere in the APS that into led powerful people to believe they could betray the public trust without notice or consequence.

Houston is fully aware of the APS Police force's complicity in a cover up of felony criminal misconduct involving senior APS administrators.  If it becomes public knowledge before the election, it will cost him votes.  Don't be surprised if the investigation "can't" be completed before the election.  Be disappointed, again, but don't be surprised.

Tellez reported directly to Brad Winter

APS COO and City Counselor Brad Winter benefits from the delay.

His interest is in delay is to allow all of his retirement with honors parties to take place before the shit hits the fan over his personal oversight failure.

He was Tellez' boss.  Winter knows about the cover up; he is complicit or complacent; he corrupt or incompetent.

APS Supt Winston Brooks is fully aware of the cover up and needs therefore, to prolong it for as long as he can. They are his orders that are being followed by APS' lawyers in the efforts to hide public records like Caswell I and II from public knowledge.

He has ordered his lawyers at great taxpayer expense, to hide public records from public knowledge for no better reason than to continue to enable the cover up.

The law, at best, (and it is being litigated as we speak) allows them to hide the truth in Caswell I and II from public knowledge, it does not require them to.  If there is no ethical reason to hide the truth, then the truth is being hidden unethically; however "legal".

There is in the end, only one reason to hide the truth and that is
to escape the consequences of the truth being told.

Politicians and public servants, because they enjoy the trust of the people, are not entitled to help themselves to delays is sharing the truth about the public interests and their public service.  It is a betrayal of that very trust.

As to why the leadership of the APS feels no pressure to explain why they need to hide ethical redactions of Caswell I and II; the truth about felony criminal misconduct involving senior APS administrators, see; Kent Walz et al., below.

Former APS School Board President and enforcer, First Amendment expert and Defendant Marty Esquivel has a great deal to gain in delay and the juice to make it happen.  If nothing else, he spends from an unlimited budget of operational dollars to use in his effort to litigate an exception for himself, from accountability to the law.

Tellez was supposed to be Esquivel's star witness in his effort to defame me into the forfeiture of my First Amendment rights.  Esquivel has also been fully aware of the cover up of the corruption in the APS Police force leadership.

When the truth finally comes out, his dream of running for Attorney General is in the crapper no matter how much free exposure he gets from Kent Walz' Journal.

Esquivel has spent or caused to be spent, more than $750K in the defense of his ego.  He and the APS School Board are apparently willing to spend yet another $750K in their "legal" efforts to escape the consequences of their misconduct.

It is noteworthy; KRQE is touting an upcoming Larry Barker expose of APS' mismanagement of fewer dollars than these, but won't report on KRQE's own lawyer Marty Esquivel's squandering in his own interests, far greater sums.

Kent Walz et al; KRQE, KOAT, KOB TV, benefit from public ignorance of the scandal.  When the scandal becomes public, people are going to wonder why they never read about it in the paper or saw it on the news.  Kind of like they're wondering how all the problems in the Albuquerque Police Department are coming as such "a big surprise".

Before Walz, or any of the rest of the "credentialed" press can report credibly on the corruption and incompetence in the leadership of the APS, they must first report credibly on their failure to report credibly heretofore.



photos Mark Bralley