Confidential city of Albuquerque watchdog reports remain in limbo - Colleen Heild, Albuquerque Journal
City officials continue to keep at least six controversial investigative reports into alleged malfeasance at City Hall under wraps, despite months of delay and a $30,000 quality assurance review by an outside contractor.
The investigative reports from the city’s independent, nonpartisan Office of Inspector General, have been finished for months, but an oversight committee appointed by the mayor and City Council has yet to formally review and release them.
The director of the independent watchdog agency, Peter Pacheco, told the Journal Tuesday that he hoped at least several of the investigations, some of which were finished nearly a year ago, would be ready for release prior to the city’s Nov. 4 general election.
Back in June, city officials said the reports could be approved when the city’s Accountability in Government Oversight Committee met in late July. But that didn’t happen.
City Council President Brook Bassan told the Journal Tuesday that she isn’t concerned that the reports have yet to be made public.
“I don’t think up to this point there has been any shenanigans going on,” Bassan told the Journal. With the continued delays and the confidentiality involved in the approval process, she acknowledged, “It has the potential to look suspicious.”
But Bassan, who sits as a non-voting, ex-officio member of the AGO, said she hopes the reports, or at least some of them, will be ready for release before the election.
The Albuquerque firm, REDW, was hired under a $30,200 contract to evaluate the six reports, though Bassan said she couldn’t say in detail what the firm recommended other than there were “changes that needed to be made.”
But she said there will be no alterations of the original reports, just footnotes or separate statements issued.
Under city ordinance, the reports can’t be released until reviewed by the oversight committee, which doesn’t hold public meetings. The committee can either approve or disapprove the findings, but the reports are released either way.
In an “Update to Citizens of Albuquerque” posted in late March on the OIG website, then-city Inspector General Melissa R. Santistevan wrote that the pending reports “deal with fraud, waste, or abuse that impact our City.
Some of these reports have been completed for months without citizen awareness.”
In a Journal interview, she wouldn’t disclose the topics.
In a written response, AGO committee chair Victor Griego stated the committee had “multiple concerns” about the quality of the reports and the underlying investigations.
Within weeks, the AGO put Santistevan on paid leave, and decided not to renew her contract. Based on AGO recommendations for a new OIG, City Council voted June 13 to hire William Hoffman, owner of a workplace investigations firm in San Diego.
But because of pay issues, Hoffman later declined to take the job, Bassan said.
Hoffman couldn’t be reached by the Journal for comment.
The city is now advertising for new applicants for the OIG post, which pays between $116,396 to $141,981 a year.
Bassan said the delays in releasing the reports aren’t related to the vacancy created when Hoffman turned down the OIG job.
Santistevan’s attorney, J. Edward Hollington, sent Bassan and Griego, an Albuquerque accountant, a letter last week contending her removal was “improper and illegal.”
Hollington contended that the AGO had no authority to appoint an interim OIG, and that Santistevan “should immediately be reinstated to her position as Inspector General.”
He also said the city violated the OIG ordinance by failing to take a vote on whether she should have been reconfirmed before appointing Hoffman.
The current vacancy “offers the opportunity to the City Council and the AGO to reverse the blatant violations of City Ordinance...as Ms. Santistevan remains the only duly appointed IG for the City,” his letter states. Bassan disagreed, defending the process used.
She said the AGO, which also oversees the city’s Internal Audit office, has previously appointed interim directors.
Criminal charge against Jon Jones dismissed - Olivier Uyttebrouck, Albuquerque Journal
Prosecutors dismissed a criminal charge against Albuquerque mixed martial arts fighter Jon Jones alleging he left the scene of a two-car collision in February at an Albuquerque intersection.
The dismissal led to a cancellation of a bench trial that had been scheduled Tuesday in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. Jones, 38, had faced a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident without injuries.
Joshua Boone, chief deputy district attorney, filed the dismissal late Friday afternoon ahead of the Labor Day weekend.
“After further investigation, the State has reason to believe (Jones’) alibi defense is credible,” Boone wrote in the two-sentence dismissal.
Jones, an upstate New York native who has lived in Albuquerque for 16 years, announced his retirement from fighting on June 21.
Long considered one of the top MMA fighters of all time, Jones amassed a 28-1 record — with the one loss being a disqualification for a rule that has since been revoked — and last fought in November, beating Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight championship.
The criminal complaint accusing Jones of leaving the scene of an accident was filed June 17, just days before he announced his retirement.
Jones’ attorney, Christopher Dodd, said in a statement Tuesday that the dismissal “fully vindicated” Jones, who had argued that he had not been present at the scene of the crash.
“From the very beginning, we explained that a woman made a false allegation against Jon in an effort to avoid being arrested for DWI, and unfortunately, the police accepted that claim without properly weighing the facts,” Dodd said in the statement.
Jones said Tuesday in a social media post that he had been falsely accused and thanked the 2nd Judicial District Attorney Office for “vindicating me completely.”
“In this case, there was a rush to judgment before any real evidence was gathered,” Jones wrote on X.
“I understand that, in the court of public opinion, the allegations may have seemed believable, especially given my past mistakes. But by the time these claims were made public, I had just retired from competition, and that moment was stolen from me by someone who made false accusations to avoid a DWI and any real accountability.”
The case stemmed from a two-car collision on Feb. 21 at the intersection of Lomas and San Mateo NE, according to two criminal complaints filed in June in Metropolitan Court.
A June 30 criminal complaint charged Jones with leaving the scene of an accident and using a phone to make threats for allegedly making threatening statements by phone to a police service aide. That complaint was dismissed Aug. 13.
According to a June 17 complaint charging Jones with leaving the scene of an accident, the driver of one vehicle told police she was driving a red Ford east on Lomas and entered the intersection with a green light when she was struck by a white sedan travelling south on San Mateo.
The woman also told police the driver of the white sedan left the scene on foot, the complaint stated.
Albuquerque Police in June provided the Journal with portions of lapel video footage from police service aides and an officer from the scene.
The video showed a half-clothed woman, who admitted she had been drinking and had consumed mushrooms, seated in the passenger seat of a white sedan.
In the video, the woman repeatedly told officers that it was her car and that “Jon Jones, the fighter” was the driver, and that he fled after the crash.
Court records show police subpoenaed Jones’ phone records, which indicate his phone called the woman in the car multiple times that night in the time frame police were at the crash scene.
Jones’ attorney said the cellphone records “made it undeniably clear that he was nowhere near the scene of the crash.”
“We are grateful that the district attorney’s office took the time to conduct a full and fair review of this case, which ultimately confirmed Jon’s innocence,” Dodd said.
New Mexico Governor announces new federal quantum computing partnership - Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
New Mexico leaders said a federal partnership announced Tuesday will help launch the state as the “next Silicon Valley” in the frontier of quantum computing, a nascent technology that boosters say will revolutionize problem solving from cancer research to code-breaking.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a $120 million dollar partnership with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — the research and development wing of the U.S. military — will ensure companies can deliver on their proofs of concept for advanced computing.
The state and DARPA may contribute up to $60 million dollars each over four years to vet projects promising advanced computers. If companies can prove their prototypes work at a utility-scale, DARPA will award up to $300 million in development.
The partnership, called the Quantum Frontier Initiative, will push development, testing and validate emerging technologies, she said.
Lujan Grisham said she wanted New Mexico to be known as the “home of quantum computing,” during an announcement Tuesday in Roadrunner Venture studio, as Albuquerque hosts 1,500 researchers for a national Quantum Week conference.
After the announcement, Lujan Grisham told Source NM the state was looking to build the ecosystem for quantum to thrive, noting that DARPA’s certification program would attract companies from across the U.S.
“When companies come here to do a proof of concept, then my job is to keep them here,” Lujan Grisham said. “It creates a migration of companies, and that’s what Silicon Valley did.”
The promise of quantum computing would mean the power to perform calculations beyond a traditional computer’s abilities.
Even with recent developments in quantum computers, they remain expensive to build, error-prone and fragile to interference, since information is encoded into supercold atoms or in extremely small circuits.
If realized, quantum computing poses risks to the encryption that governments and companies use to protect sensitive information.
The State of New Mexico has made a series of investments totaling tens of millions of dollars in quantum computing in recent years.
In April, Lujan Grisham signed a bill to set up the Technology Innovation Division inside the state’s Economic Development Department with $40 million to seek private or federal investments in emerging technologies.
New Mexico is also a finalist for $160 million over 10 years from the National Science Foundation to develop quantum technologies for both civilian and military uses.
Last week, the state gave Roadrunner Ventures a $25 million grant to develop a downtown hub to build an “Innovation District” focused on quantum computing.
Officials said the state gets a boost from the development of projects at the state’s two national laboratories in Los Alamos and Albuquerque and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base.
“We bring the capacity of our national laboratories adding to those workforces, adding to that with our universities, tying that in with [Central New Mexico Community College] creating a quantum boot camp,” Economic Development Secretary Rob Black said. “We are building the workforce.”
DARPA, which has invested in research and development projects for everything from synthetic blood to manta ray-shaped submarines, will provide $60 million to researchers to stress-test quantum computer proposals, said Joe Altepeter, a program manager for Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.
Altepeter got his start in quantum research at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a graduate student in 1999.
He described himself previously as a “skeptic,” but said recent developments in the technology raise the question if it’s possible to develop a working quantum computer by 2033. He said the certification program aims to separate working proposals from hype.
“It is an extraordinarily difficult job to figure out to forecast, maybe 10 years in the future, whose phenomenal plan, which is great on paper, is really gonna work…really deliver or transformative change and which ones aren’t,” Altpeter said.
The validation process is a series of three phases to try and determine if quantum companies can develop a computer valuable enough to be worth the cost. DARPA will not necessarily keep an office in the state, but researchers and contractors evaluating the projects will frequently visit Albuquerque or live in-state.
Developing quantum will benefit the whole state, “not just Albuquerque or just scientists,” by increasing the tax base and diversifying the state’s economy, Nora Meyers Sackett, the director at the NM Technology and Innovation Office, told Source NM.
“Quantum is the next revolution of technology, and we’re working to make that revolution happen right here in New Mexico,” she said.
NM Gov issues emergency order after Mora County flooding - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has authorized $1.5 million in emergency spending to help Mora County residents recover from recent flooding, according to a Tuesday news release from her office.
Heavy rainfall between Aug. 26 and 27 caused flood damages on public and private property, according to the governor’s office. The flooding disrupted essential services such as transportation, emergency response and utilities, according to an emergency order the governor signed.
The order cites continued damage from the 2022 Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, which burned a 485-square-mile area, including much of Mora County, in Northern New Mexico.
County officials have requested the state’s help with procuring sandbags, along with emergency county-road repair and swift water rescue teams, according to the governor’s office.
National Weather Service reports show that flash flooding caused small creeks to flow above their banks in at least eight places along NM Highway 518, a major roadway, north of Cleveland, NM. Reports also show “extreme damage” to NM 434 prompted emergency responders to close it for repairs.
The emergency orders fund $750,000 apiece to the state’s emergency management and military affairs departments, according to the governor’s office. The governor can also authorize new funding, $750,000 at a time, as needed.
Post-fire flooding has occurred repeatedly in and around the burn scar since the 2022 wildfire, which is the biggest in New Mexico history. Those who see damaged or lost property due to flooding are eligible for compensation from the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire Fire Assistance Act, a $5.45 billion fund Congress created in late 2022.
The governor’s office said those who have an outstanding claim with the claims office should reach out to their “navigators,” who help claimants through the process, if they have damages from the flooding last week.
The governor’s office also said updates about the state’s response will be published to this Facebook page.
Albuquerque city councilor seeks purchase of San Mateo Walmart - Nob Hill News
The Walmart Supercenter located near Central Avenue and San Mateo Boulevard in Albuquerque has been closed since 2023. The property is for sale and is listed at $9 million.
Nob Hill News reports Albuquerque’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency was interested in the property, but could only come up with $2 million for the property, and so negotiations were not successful.
Albuquerque City Councilor Nichole Rogers has requested $10 million from New Mexico’s congressional delegation in Washington for the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency to buy the property.
The request is now among those scheduled for consideration by the House Appropriations Committee.
Rogers told Nob Hill News that she’s also interested in an ordinance to dis-incentivize the possession of vacant commercial properties in the International District.
City Councilor Joaquin Baca recently sponsored a successful measure addressing vacant properties in Albuquerque’s downtown.
Updated: New Mexico AG to take over rape, murder case in Gallup alleging DA failed to prosecute - Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
Last week, Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a petition for the state’s highest court to consider removing Martin from her position, citing violations of the law and a hostile work environment including “yelling, screaming, and belittling behavior.” Martin has denied all allegations of hostile work environments. On Sept. 2, following the initial publication of this story, the state Supreme Court directed Martin to submit a response to Torrez’s petition.
A voicemail, text message and email to Martin were not returned before publication.
The petition was sparked after state lawmakers voted to remove funding from Martin’s office and gave it to the neighboring district attorney in San Juan County, a move spearheaded by Senate Finance Chair George Muñoz (D-Gallup), citing turnover of Gallup prosecutors.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the budget, but Martin has refused to cede financial control and filed a lawsuit in Santa Fe court against lawmakers, the governor and San Juan District Attorney Jack Fortner in July, which remains ongoing.
Torrez said in a news release Friday the failure to prosecute cases with defendents accused of murder and rape endangers the community and trust in the office, and will be added to the petition for Martin’s removal.
“The decision to dismiss these cases without properly referring them to another prosecutor jeopardized not only the pursuit of justice for the victims and their families, but also the safety of our communities. By stepping in immediately, we are making sure these cases move forward and sending a clear message: no victim in New Mexico will be abandoned, and no community will be left unprotected,” Torrez said in a statement.
Further, the New Mexico Department of Justice requested the state’s highest court require the McKinley County District Attorney’s office to provide all information regarding case dismissals and refusals since Jan. 1 2021, saying it’s necessary to determine “how pervasive this problem is.”
Both cases are several years old, which pushes the clock for statutes of limitations in bringing charges or finding evidence, the news release said.
The first case was dismissed in 2023, against Tyson Long, now 28, who Gallup Police accused of murdering an unidentified man on Dec. 6, 2022.
In court documents, police say they saw Long confronting the victim with a gun before shots were fired and fleeing the area.
The petition to dismiss Long’s case noted that then-Chief Deputy District Attorney Mandana Shoushtari had stated there was a conflict of interest.
When reached by phone on Friday, Shoushtari told Source NM she was ordered by Martin to dismiss the case and send it to another district attorney’s office for prosecution.
“All the witnesses in the case were defendants I was prosecuting in other cases at the time, so by law, I couldn’t put them on the stand and cross-examine them,” she told Source NM.
Shoushtari said she was unclear on the timeline, but said she believed Martin tried to hand the case over to another office.
“Other DAs were not willing to take cases from her, for whatever reason, but I did know she tried to conflict it out,” Shoushtari said.
Shoushtari no longer works for Martin’s office, saying she was let go in September of 2024 after “butting heads because I disagreed with the way she was running the office.” Shoushtari is now a deputy district attorney for the 10th Judicial District overseeing De Baca, Harding and Quay counties.
The second case involves Valentino Roderick Johnson, now 30, who was arrested by McKinley County Sheriff’s deputies on Oct. 28, 2023. According to police reports, a passerby saw a car crash and said he came upon Johnson, heavily intoxicated and on top of a woman screaming for help and banging on the horn, saying that Johnson had raped her.
Just over a week later, Martin dismissed the case, writing “this complaint is dismissed without prejudice, for reason, conflict for District Attorney’s Office.”
In the news release, the New Mexico DOJ says that “Martin indicated the defendant was a friend of her children.”
“Whether it was negligent or intentional, I find it unacceptable that DA Martin dismissed this case [Valentino Roderick Johnson] due to a personal connection to the suspect and it was never refiled,” said McKinley County Sheriff James Maiorano III in a statement.
“The victim in this case deserves better, the deputies that worked this case deserve better, and the community deserves better. We are thankful to the NMDOJ for helping us to seek justice.”
This story was updated on Sept. 2 to include the state Supreme Court’s order.