Staggering amounts of fentanyl hit streets as the DEA watched and took no action, records show - By Jim Mustian and Joshua Goodman, Associated Press
Even as it battled the deadliest drug epidemic in American history, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration permitted hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to hit the streets of New Mexico between 2023 and 2025, according to three current and former DEA agents and government records reviewed by The Associated Press.
DEA agents repeatedly monitored shipments of fentanyl pills — but did not seize them — as federal prosecutors sought to bring bigger criminal cases against traffickers of a synthetic opioid that the White House last year designated a " weapon of mass destruction."
Agents and experts, however, said the tactic amounted to a gamble with public safety that potentially imperiled communities in and around Albuquerque and may have violated U.S. Justice Department rules intended to safeguard the public.
"We poisoned our community to make cases," DEA Special Agent David Howell told AP in a series of interviews in New Mexico. "Through our own willful blindness, we get to say, 'We don't really know what happened to the drugs.' But we 100% got people killed."
The DEA has long contended it would not be plausible to seize every shipment of every drug. But the strategy of allowing staggering amounts of counterfeit painkillers to hit the streets shocked several veteran agents who spoke with AP.
Ridding the streets of illicit fentanyl, manufactured mostly in Mexican labs, became DEA's top priority over the past decade as overdose deaths surged. At the same time, its lethality — a few milligrams can kill the average adult — upended time-tested tactics that had been used to combat drugs like cocaine and heroin. Those methods have included allowing drug transactions to be completed so agents might follow the narcotics through the supply chain. Fentanyl, however, is so dangerous that the U.S. Justice Department developed guidelines for agents in such circumstances, encouraging them to seize the opioid whenever "practicable."
Albuquerque, which has a neighborhood so besieged by drugs it's known as "War Zone," and other regions in New Mexico remain at the epicenter of the fentanyl epidemic. While overdose deaths nationwide fell 14% last year, government data show New Mexico tallied a 21% spike.
Alex Uballez, who served as U.S. attorney in New Mexico from 2022 through last year, said authorities at times allowed drug shipments to go unseized as part of a broader effort to gather intelligence and build cases against major drug traffickers. He said the approach reflected his office's limited resources and his belief that prosecuting larger organizations can have a bigger impact than interdicting every suspected drug transaction.
Last year, DEA recorded the largest fentanyl bust in its history in Albuquerque.
"The bigger fish are worth catching," Uballez said, "and that will save more lives."
The DEA said in a statement that "the investigative decisions at issue were lawful, reasonable under the circumstances and consistent with Department guidance."
"Public descriptions suggesting that DEA knowingly permitted fentanyl to reach communities are false and fundamentally mischaracterize the facts," DEA spokesperson Amanda Wozniak wrote in an email. She said the investigations involved court-authorized wiretaps "in which agents and prosecutors conducted real-time surveillance, intelligence gathering, and operational analysis targeting larger drug trafficking organizations."
Precise intelligence on drug deliveries
In some cases, the DEA had such detailed intelligence about drug deliveries that agents were able to tally precise pill counts, according to reports reviewed by AP.
Agents, for example, deciphered coded chatter over cellphones and closely surveilled a transaction at a mobile home park in Albuquerque in June 2023, according to a 66-page report reviewed by AP. Agents wrote in the report that traffickers delivered 74,000 pills as part of that deal, a figure federal prosecutors later confirmed in a court filing.
Days earlier, another DEA report showed, investigators watched the same distribution ring deliver a spare tire hiding another suspected fentanyl shipment that similarly went unseized.
"We did nothing, but sit back and watch," said Howell, who filed an official whistleblower complaint in 2023 to bring attention to what he thought was a tactic that risked public safety.
Months passed before federal authorities busted the traffickers, and Howell, who participated in the surveillance, said authorities today cannot account for the unseized shipments.
"It's outrageous to put that many lives at risk in hopes of making a big case," said Tristan Leavitt, president of Empower Oversight, a whistleblower advocacy group that has asked the Senate Judiciary Committee and Justice Department's Office of Inspector General to investigate Howell's claims.
A former DEA supervisor, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said he and his Albuquerque colleagues allowed "millions" of pills to go unseized during a multi-state investigation last year.
Howell reported in his whistleblower disclosures that agents on that case permitted the delivery of at least 1.8 million fentanyl pills.
That investigation, the former supervisor and Howell told AP, culminated in the largest fentanyl bust in DEA history, a takedown announced in May 2025 by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi that resulted in the seizure of more than 3 million pills.
"The amount we ultimately seized was hitting the streets every month while that case was going on," the former supervisor said, adding that the DEA could have dismantled the organization six months earlier.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Albuquerque did not answer questions about the unseized fentanyl shipments but, in a statement to AP, said the "conduct" Howell brought to light happened during the prior administration.
"The current leadership of this office is focused on aggressively investigating and prosecuting fentanyl trafficking and disrupting the criminal organizations responsible for distributing these drugs," Tessa DuBerry, a spokesperson for the office, wrote in an email.
Uballez, the former U.S. attorney, said estimated pill counts "based on intercepted phone calls are not reliable."
"I don't think I'd contest that drugs are 'walked,'" he said, referring to the law enforcement tactic of allowing contraband to go unseized to further an investigation. "How much and how frequently — and with what certainty — is incredibly difficult to answer in retrospect."
To seize or not to seize
As fentanyl overdoses became an epidemic over the last decade, the U.S. Justice Department developed an internal playbook for combatting the deadliest drug ever to cross the Mexican border. The game plan coincided with a publicity campaign that warned Americans that "One Pill Can Kill," a DEA effort to highlight fentanyl's unique dangers.
Adopted in 2017, the department's two-page "Fentanyl Protocols" called on agents to "seize or otherwise prevent the distribution" of fentanyl "as soon as practicable." The rules, which have not previously been made public, said that "protecting public safety is paramount," irrespective of whether seizures compromise investigations.
The Justice Department rewrote the rules in 2024 to afford law enforcement more discretion in such cases. The updated protocols say investigators "may exercise discretion in determining whether to take action to prevent the trafficking of fentanyl," balancing public safety risks against "the benefits to be achieved through preserving the investigation."
The DEA rarely discusses the tactic of allowing drugs to go unseized. Its agent manual describes taking drugs off the street as "the usual course of action" but adds "there may be instances where the investigative objectives can be better achieved by not doing so."
The agency has long used "controlled deliveries" in which constant surveillance of the drugs — and often replacing them with fake narcotics — is followed by a takedown to recover them, according to current and former agents.
In interviews, several current and former agents likened the decision to permit fentanyl to hit the streets to the infamous "Operation Fast and Furious," a 2011 gun-walking scandal in which straw buyers smuggled some 2,000 assault weapons into Mexico with the intent of tracing the firearms to cartel leaders.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was savaged with bipartisan criticism after two of those guns surfaced at the scene of the fatal shooting of a Border Patrol agent, and the Justice Department explicitly forbid agents from allowing firearms to be trafficked.
Blowing the whistle
Howell became so unnerved by his agency's failure to seize fentanyl that he began flagging overdose deaths that might have been caused by the very pills DEA permitted to flow to dealers. One of those cases included a 15-month-old toddler who died after ingesting burned fentanyl residue last year in Española, a New Mexico town ravaged by grinding poverty and addiction.
Howell, who joined DEA 19 years ago after a decade in the Navy, took his allegations to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. The agency, tasked with protecting whistleblowers, initially found a "substantial likelihood of wrongdoing" and asked the Justice Department to investigate.
In early 2024, Howell told the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility that DEA agents had observed — yet not seized — separate deliveries of 150,000 and 50,000 fentanyl pills.
DEA and federal prosecutors, he added, "are placing themselves in a precarious position where they will not be able to prove that the fentanyl they could have stopped did not result in the death of a person."
The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility found in 2024 that the DEA and U.S. attorney's office had made reasonable decisions in deciding to allow drugs to go unseized and that their inaction posed no "specific danger to public health."
The Office of Special Counsel, which critics say rarely pushes back on agency findings, deemed the Justice Department's report reasonable.
Howell, meanwhile, paid a price after coming forward. The DEA relegated him to desk duty for more than a year and docked his performance evaluations, according to Howell and DEA records. Internal records also show prosecutors barred him from testifying in federal court, citing his "pattern of refusing to heed" admonitions to allow drugs to go unseized during long-term investigations.
Pointing to DEA's own "One Pill Can Kill" campaign, current and former agents said they could not understand the watchdog's finding that the tactics had not put the public in danger. They noted the drug is so dangerous it has to be handled in a specialized laboratory.
___
Goodman reported from Miami.
Las Cruces man accused of detonating pipe bombs near Tortugas Dam - Algernon D’Ammassa, Albuquerque Journal
Allegedly, David Curtis set up his camping trailer on a patch of land near Tortugas Dam flood pool. From Dripping Springs Avenue, one could even make out the wooden fence surrounding the camper on Friday — a fence lined with barbed wire and “no trespassing” signs.
In April, the Elephant Butte Irrigation District, which owns the property, served a notice for Curtis to leave the property and is now seeking a court order to remove him.
Meanwhile, Curtis, 46, is in custody at the Doña Ana County Detention Center facing a felony charge after allegedly setting off pipe bombs in the area.
The irrigation district manages the Rio Grande distribution system for members holding water rights in the region. In district court filings, EBID complained that in addition to trespassing and interfering with management of the Tortugas Dam, Curtis has been “a menace to the area,” requiring multiple police responses “for exposing himself and acting inappropriately while teams such as the University Rodeo team practice in the area.”
The lot is adjacent to New Mexico State University veterinary and rodeo facilities and across the road from a residential neighborhood.
“NMSU (police) officers were dispatched to an area of the desert south of the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum on the evening of June 9 after reports of two explosions near an RV camper west of the rodeo facility,” NMSU Police Chief Justin Dunivan said in a statement.
Police encountered two men later identified as Curtis and his adult son. With assistance from the Las Cruces Police Department and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad, police executed a search warrant and allegedly found piping, chemicals and other material needed for explosive devices including fuses, as well as a book titled “Blasters’ Handbook.” A crater was also located in the area where a witness reported seeing an explosion.
Curtis was charged with possession of an explosive or incendiary device, a fourth-degree felony with a potential penalty of 18 months in prison. The son was detained but not arrested or charged.
EBID has held the title for a flood pool area since 1960, according to court filings, while police said Curtis insisted the property belongs to his family.
State District Judge Douglas Driggers granted prosecutors’ request to hold Curtis through his trial, finding that he was dangerous and that no conditions of release would reasonably protect public safety.
In addition to the evidence gathered when Curtis was arrested, prosecutors and EBID testified in court about Curtis’ behavior through his arrest and detention as well as previous criminal history, including a conviction in Texas for possession of stolen explosive materials.
Driggers noted in his ruling that prosecutors alleged Curtis displayed “violent tendencies” by kicking a police unit door while he was held inside, screaming, throwing food across his holding cell and threatening detention center staff.
The case remains pending as it moves through the court system, while the trailer continues to sit in the flood pool area among creosote and other vegetation.
Military jamming disrupted a medical plane's GPS system before it crashed last month in New Mexico - By Josh Funk, AP Transportation Writer
The GPS system on a small medical plane that crashed into a mountainside last month in New Mexico malfunctioned because the military was jamming that signal throughout the area at the time although pilots had been warned to expect that, according to federal investigators.
Four people died in the pre-dawn crash on May 14 that sparked a wildfire that burned for weeks in the rugged Capitan Mountains around Ruidoso where the plane was trying to land that night.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report on the crash Wednesday that described the GPS problems the pilots encountered, but investigators won't identify the cause of the crash until they finish their final report sometime next year.
Experts say the pilots should have been able to land safely by relying on ground-based navigation systems or flying visually, but relying on GPS is popular because it is so precise.
"The loss of GPS should not result in the loss of an airplane, so there's got to be more to it than that," said retired airline pilot John Cox, who is now CEO of Safety Operating Systems.
The NTSB said that after the pilots of the plane operated by Trans Aero MedEvac started having problems, the air traffic controller gave them headings to follow into the airport so they could get lined up for an approach relying on the airport's instrument landing system. Three other planes in the area also reported GPS problems around the same time.
The warning the Federal Aviation Administration sent out to pilots beforehand made reference to the Army's White Sands Missile Range, which is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) from Ruidoso. The Army did not immediately respond Thursday to questions from The Associated Press.
At one point, the controller even contacted the military and got it to shut down the jammers. But then shortly before the crash, the pilots told controllers they had the airport in sight and planned to land visually, so controllers gave the military the OK to resume jamming.
"If you can see the runway, you can see the mountain. Why would you fly into it?" Cox asked, because even with the new details in this preliminary report, there are still many unanswered questions about the crash.
Ruidoso, a mountain town with a year-round population of less than 8,000, sits at the base of south-central New Mexico's Sierra Blanca range. The surrounding area, which includes Lincoln National Forest, is heavily forested and rural. The wildfire that started after the crash burned 49.8 square miles (128.9 square kilometers). Forest Service officials said the fire was 100% contained on June 12, but it has not been declared totally out. No structures were damaged in the fire.
The FAA published a Notice to Airmen ahead of time warning any pilots flying into the area that the military would be jamming GPS signals, so aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said the medevac pilots should have been prepared to rely on other navigation systems.
But Arroyo said pilots often rely on GPS because it can safely guide them even in challenging territory where there is a narrow margin for error while navigating around obstacles.
"GPS can bring you in precisely with a margin of safety that's required and bring you down for landing. But if you don't have GPS, you can't make that approach within those margins and you may drift outside using conventional navigation," said Arroyo, who was a longtime pilot for United Airlines.
But when the pilots decided to attempt a visual approach they were taking responsibility to avoid any obstacles on their way into the airport.
The NTSB said the airplane descended to 9,400 feet (2,865 meters) as it approached the airport before climbing several hundred feet. But then the plane struck a mountainside at 9,950 feet (3,000 meters). The point of impact was about 230 feet (70 meters) below the Capitan Mountains Summit Radio Facility.
Trans Aero MedEvac has operated in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas since 1966. The victims who died in the crash were identified as pilots Keelan Clark and Ali Kawsara with the company Generation Jets and flight nurses Jamie Novick and Sarah Clark with Trans Aero MedEvac. The plane was en route from Roswell Air Center to Sierra Blanca Regional Airport when it crashed.
___
Associated Press writer Jessica Hill contributed to this report from Las Vegas.
Five years after a Navajo elder vanished, the man who robbed her was released from prison - By Savannah Peters, Associated Press
Five years to the day that Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay disappeared from her home in a remote corner of Arizona, the man who acknowledged beating her, stealing her truck and leaving her on the roadside is free from prison.
Preston Tolth pleaded guilty to robbing Begay and was sentenced on May 8 to five years in prison with credit for three years already served. He was released Monday, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Begay's relatives, who expected Tolth to remain in custody until at least 2028, said they were shocked when they heard Monday. The eldest of her three children, Gerald Begay, learned of Tolth's release while wrapping up his workday on a construction site and reflecting on the somber anniversary of his mother's still-unsolved disappearance.
"This is just another slap in the face," Begay said.
Begay, a prolific weaver of Navajo-style rugs and a grandmother of nine, was 62 when she disappeared from Sweetwater on the Navajo Nation. Family and community members searched for her, pressured law enforcement for action and drew national media attention to the case that's been symbolic of the crisis of violence against Indigenous people.
Shortened sentence
Scott Taylor, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, said Tolth received credit for good conduct while incarcerated and under a statute that counts time served after the commission of a crime but before sentencing, including on unrelated charges.
"The release was calculated in full accordance with federal sentencing law and Bureau of Prisons policy," Taylor said Thursday.
According to New Mexico court records, Tolth was incarcerated while facing multiple state charges between the time he robbed Begay on June 15, 2021, and his April 2023 arrest. Those separate charges ultimately were dismissed.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona and a public defender who represented Tolth confirmed the conditions of release but otherwise declined comment.
Mark Osler, an expert on sentencing at the University of St. Thomas, said the Federal Bureau of Prisons routinely shortens sentences to reduce overcrowding and recidivism. The bureau has no obligation to notify victims and their families of releases.
"What's unfortunate here is the lack of communication," Osler said. "These are people that have been hurt and society owes more to them."
An elder vanished
On the morning of June 15, 2021, Begay's daughter, who lived next door to her, called 911 to report a break-in at her own home, according to the Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations. By the time officers arrived 90 minutes later, Begay told them the intruder had left and something else that struck her as odd: She had just seen her mother's truck leave the driveway, even though it was well before sunrise.
According to the department, officers "checked on" Begay's house and noted that the doors were locked but did not confirm if Begay was home. Nine hours later, she was declared missing and tribal police began investigating.
Begay's family pointed law enforcement to Tolth, whose father was dating Begay's sister. Investigators twice interrogated him, and Tolth admitted stealing Begay's truck with her in it, repeatedly punching her in the face and leaving her on the road. He acknowledged he may have hit her hard enough to kill her.
But a federal judge later ruled that confession inadmissible, saying the FBI failed to honor Tolth's right to refuse questioning. Federal prosecutors then opted to negotiate an agreement rather than go to trial.
"A miscarriage of justice"
Court documents outlined an unstable childhood for Tolth, marked by homelessness, early substance abuse and parental neglect. A sentencing memo noted he planned to seek mental health treatment once out of prison. He is required to spend six months in a residential reentry center, better known as a halfway house, and will be supervised for three years, under his conditions of release.
The Associated Press left messages for several of Tolth's relatives on social media platforms this week seeking comment.
Begay's case received more resources and attention than most involving Indigenous people who are missing or have been killed, said Mary Kathryn Nagle, a Cherokee Nation citizen and attorney who has advocated for Begay's family. The timeline, however, is emblematic of widespread failures, she said.
"Most never have their case investigated at all," Nagle said. "It's troubling to see (Begay's) case, even after making it this far, end in a miscarriage of justice."
Begay has never been found. At the May sentencing hearing, Tolth's attorney said he made a good faith effort to lead investigators to where he left Begay when he fled in her truck.
On Monday, Begay's niece, Seraphine Warren, walked over 100 miles (161 kilometers) from Sweetwater to the Navajo Nation capital of Window Rock, Arizona, carrying one of her aunt's weavings to mark the anniversary of her disappearance. The news of Tolth's release "gutted" her after an emotional day, she said.
"That date will haunt us forever," Warren said through tears. "Now it's not just the day my auntie went missing, it's the day we were told, 'You aren't worth anything.'"
——
This story is published through the Global Indigenous Reporting Network at The Associated Press.
Lightning causes Deer Canyon Fire near Mountainair, NM Forestry Division spokesperson says - Gregory R.C. Hasman, Albuquerque Journal
An over 100-acre fire near Mountainair prompted evacuations for residents on Deer Canyon Road between Daklugie Trail and Jumano Trail over the weekend.
At 4 p.m. on Saturday, a fire was discovered in the Deer Canyon subdivision, south of Mountainair, causing evacuations to be ordered. As of about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, residents were allowed to return to their homes; however, proof of residency was required for re-entry, Mountainair Mayor Peter Nieto said in a Facebook post.
“The fire remains active, but crews have successfully kept it contained within the established fire retardant lines,” he said in a separate post.
As of 6:26 p.m. Sunday, 117 acres burned with 0% containment. About 140 firefighters — including those from Los Alamos, Sandoval and Santa Fe counties — are assisting with the fire, according to a New Mexico Forestry Division news release.
Lightning was determined to be the cause of the fire and while no structures were impacted, many are being threatened, New Mexico Forestry Division spokesperson Emery Veilleux said in an email.
“Crews continue to provide structure protection, and more retardant drops have been ordered,” Veilleux said.
If people require assistance, he said, they should contact the Torrance County Emergency Manager at 505-544-4727 or 505-297-9981, or reach out through the town of Mountainair's Facebook page.
NMHU accuses ousted president of nepotism, religious favoritism and financial mismanagement - Natalie Robbins, Albuquerque Journal
Officials at New Mexico Highlands University accused ousted President Neil Woolf of nepotism, financial mismanagement, procurement code violations, retaliation and a pattern of religious preferential treatment with employees who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This is the latest in weeks of turmoil for the university, beginning May 1 when Woolf was placed on administrative leave without explanation, along with several high-ranking staff members at NMHU, including Provost Dann Brown and men’s basketball coach Zach Settembre. Woolf was terminated June 2.
Vice Presidents Paul Grindstaff, Johnny Montoya and David Lepre were terminated in May. Deanne Todd, executive assistant to the president; staffers Jessi Breitenstein and Vanessa Tenorio; Chad Mano, interim director of the graduate computer science program; and Chief of Police Clarence Romero were also terminated, court documents allege.
Kimberly Blea, who most recently served as vice president of student affairs at NMHU, has been appointed interim president.
The state auditor launched an investigation into NMHU on May 12, citing “substantial concerns indicating systemic failures in procurement, contracting authority, financial management, and governance” at the university.
In a response to the state auditor dated May 27, Highlands administration accused Woolf of bypassing the required processes to hire employees by posting hidden job links that were sent directly to preferred candidates.
The letter alleges Woolf, who is a member of the Latter-day Saints church, created new positions for Latter-day Saints candidates, and showed favoritism toward Latter-day Saints employees, whom he shielded from discipline while retaliating against those who were not Latter-day Saints congregants.
The regents allege that Grindstaff and Settembre were selected via inappropriate hiring methods because of their Latter-day Saints faith. The letter also alleges Woolf showed favoritism to other staffers who are members of the church. Woolf also allegedly awarded a contract to a Latter-day Saints-owned company, and sought to recruit for the football program in areas where the church maintains a significant presence in Hawaii and American Samoa.
Settembre told the Journal that the situation was the opposite: Woolf and other Highlands staff members had been discriminated against because of their affiliation with the Latter-day Saints church, not the other way around.
“It's been the most glaring, obvious example of religious discrimination in the workplace that I've ever seen,” he said.
Settembre said both he and Woolf were terminated without cause.
“I’m being paid according to my contract and am receiving severance pay, and feel really bad about what’s being done to an unbelievably strong president and a great man,” Settembre said.
Settembre was hired in April 2025. Regents allege that NMHU’s human resources was told Settembre would be selected for the position before he applied. His position was subsequently posted and he applied the same day. A hiring proposal followed two days later and he started three days after that, which the board characterizes as pre-selection. Settembre said he was unaware of any potential hiring violations.
“I was interviewed by a committee, and the athletic director at the time, Shanna Halalilo, let me know that I was the committee’s choice. I have no idea who else was interviewed,” he said.
Halalilo filed a lawsuit against the embattled university on May 21, alleging racial, religious and sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation.
Settembre received a three-year contract extension just days before he was placed on leave. NMHU’s letter to the auditor alleges that Athletic Director Scott Noble — whose signature was required on the contract — was against Settembre’s contract extension because of NCAA violations and “other personnel issues.” Regents allege Grindstaff forged Noble’s signature electronically, therefore he is not entitled to his $22,500 severance payment.
Settembre said he committed no NCAA violations, but was asked by Woolf to sit out one game because of “a handful of technical fouls.” As for the alleged forged signature, Settembre said it’s not possible to fake an electronic signature on DocuSign, a program that allows official signatures via computer, sent directly to the recipient’s email.
“I love Highlands,” Settembre said. “I’m really heartbroken, what’s happened.”
Alleged nepotism and hiring discrimination
The letter alleges Woolf bypassed required hiring practices for Grindstaff’s position as well. Grindstaff was appointed interim vice president of advancement in August 2024 at a salary of $185,000, then Woolf appointed him to the full-time position eight months later without consulting the Board of Regents.
Grindstaff was simultaneously employed as an athletics official at Vanderbilt University, according to the letter, a violation of NMHU policy.
Regents also allege that while employed, Grindstaff attempted to drive a university vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, but was stopped by NMHU police.
Grindstaff did not return a phone call from the Journal seeking comment.
The regents accused Woolf of nepotism, alleging that he hired his wife’s cousin at an annual salary of $150,000 in March of this year. Prior to the cousin’s full-time employment, he was a vendor and a contractor at NMHU and received about $25,000 in payments. The hiring of a family member is a violation of the New Mexico Nepotism Act, regents allege. The cousin was terminated after Woolf was placed on leave.
Woolf filed his own lawsuit against the NMHU Board of Regents May 28, alleging he had been fired for refusing to comply with nepotism of another sort.
Woolf alleged in the suit that he received a directive from Board of Regents Chair Frank Sanchez to direct more than $600,000 in state funds to a local contractor who is a “friend and ally” of Sanchez and his brother-in-law, Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas.
Last year, NMHU received $1.2 million from the Legislature for the construction of a new track facility at the university’s Las Vegas campus. The complaint alleges Woolf received a request from Sanchez to award a construction contract to Franken Construction, a company with offices in Las Vegas operated by a friend of Sanchez and Campos.
Woolf alleges in the complaint that he refused to comply, telling Sanchez the contract would go through the competitive bidding process. Woolf awarded the contract to Ampere, a Missouri-based construction firm specializing in sports design.
Campos declined to comment about the allegations when reached by phone at the beginning of June. Sanchez did not respond to a Journal email.
‘Full of inaccuracies and misrepresentations’
Nicholas Hart, an attorney for Woolf, said in an email that he met with university attorneys on May 20 about Woolf’s suit, and that NMHU general counsel Doajo Hicks told Hart that Woolf could “quietly take the severance pay he was owed under his contract or be terminated for cause.”
Hart alleges Hicks sent the letter to the auditor as retaliation for Woolf’s refusal “to be bullied.”
“It is not a shock that a letter sent in retaliation for Dr. Woolf’s lawsuit is full of inaccuracies and misrepresentations. To be absolutely clear, the allegations against Dr. Woolf are false. Dr. Woolf will be amending his complaint to include this as a retaliatory act, and he will also add a religious discrimination claim for the letter’s disgusting attack on his faith,” Hart said.
Hicks denied that the letter was retaliatory and said he was simply fulfilling a May 27 deadline to respond to the state auditor or face fines.
“The letter speaks for itself,” Hicks said. “There’s nothing in a point of retaliation, and all of the stuff that’s in the letter can be substantiated with a point of evidence.”
The letter also alleges financial mismanagement, alleging Woolf spent $1 million over the budgeted amount for financial expenditures, and alleges a $1 million deficit in the athletics department. NMHU is on fiscal watch by the New Mexico Higher Education Department and is prohibited from accumulating additional debt.
HED spokesperson Auriella Ortiz said in a statement that the department was aware of the shakeup at Highlands and that its priority was ensuring stability for students, faculty and staff.
“We are working closely with the university to ensure the higher education institution is meeting state requirements, strengthening communication practices, and providing all necessary information in a timely and transparent manner. Full cooperation is required as corrective actions move forward,” Ortiz said.
Faculty issues
Woolf was appointed to the presidency in 2024 after a national search. He most recently served as the executive vice president at Southern Oregon University.
NMHU has just over 2,800 students. The public, state-run university’s flagship campus is in Las Vegas, with satellite locations in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Farmington and Santa Fe.
NMHU faculty union President Kathy Jenkins told the Journal in May that university employees had problems with Woolf since his appointment in 2024.
“We’ve had union issues. They’re not following our (collective bargaining agreements),” Jenkins said. “We wrote the Board of Regents two months ago expressing our concern, and they told us to basically stay in our lane and that they supported the president. And then all of a sudden this happened.”
Jenkins said discontent worsened after faculty and staff raised workplace safety issues at the university’s Ivan Hilton Science Building, which closed for several months starting Sept. 3, 2024, after reports of a chemical spill, the Las Vegas Optic reported.
Marty Lujan, a custodian at NMHU who worked in the building, died 11 days later. An autopsy report obtained by the Optic found Lujan died of complications from diabetes, though union officials said he showed signs of chemical exposure.
“We’ve been really upset,” Jenkins said.
Old I-25 bridge at Montgomery to be demolished - Gregory R.C. Hasman, Albuquerque Journal
In the coming days, Interstate 25 travelers in Albuquerque can expect some inconveniences.
Starting on June 28, crews will begin demolishing the old bridge on Montgomery NE. The work, which is expected to take five days, will take place between 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and result in the following closures and detours:
- Northbound and Southbound I-25 will be closed from the Montgomery off-ramps to the Montgomery on-ramps. Traffic will be detoured onto the frontage road at the Montgomery off-ramps, over Montgomery, and back onto I-25 via the Montgomery on-ramps.
- Eastbound and westbound Montgomery will be closed between Culture NE and the northbound frontage road. Traffic will be detoured to Comanche through Carlisle and Jefferson on the east side of I-25 and Culture and Edith on the west side of I-25.
The demolition is part of the I-25 Montgomery to Comanche improvements project that began in 2024 and is expected to be completed in spring 2027.
NAME A U-TURN: The New Mexico Department of Transportation will be putting in, what some call, the “Texas U-Turn” at the Comanche and Montgomery interchanges by I-25.
The advanced U-turns (AUTs) will help improve traffic flow and reduce congestion at the interchanges, NMDOT spokesperson Kristine Bustos-Mihelcic said in a news release.
While it is unclear when work will begin, NMDOT is asking for help in naming the U-turns.
“Texas has famously named the AUTs ‘Texas Turnarounds,’ but we obviously aren’t Texas, and we honestly think we can do better,” she said. “Plus, if our snowplow names have taught us anything, it is that there is a lot of creativity in the Land of Enchantment.”
People have until Friday to submit ideas. No vulgar or inappropriate language or politically-inspired names are allowed.
“This contest is meant to be fun and nonpartisan,” Bustos-Mihelcic said.
AS THE U-TURNS: Reader Jane Schwendeman said she wanted to learn more about the rules regarding U-turns.
There are a few items listed in Albuquerque’s city code that address U-turns. For example, drivers can’t make a U-turn near a fire station, nor can they perform one unless it can be made safely “and without interfering with any other traffic or vulnerable road user, and there is no sign so prohibiting a U-turn.”
Additionally, it is illegal to make a U-turn into oncoming traffic if your vehicle cannot be seen by other drivers from at least 300 feet away.
‘STOP FOR EVERYONE’: The city of Albuquerque is offering an online training program called “Stop for Everyone” that will help people “understand our updated traffic safety laws, pedestrian crossings, and protections for vulnerable road users,” Department of Municipal Development spokesperson Dan Mayfield said in a news release on June 16.
“The online training gives practical guidance for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians on new roadway rules, including the proper use of HAWK (or high-intensity activated crosswalk beacon) signals, Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) and updated protections for vulnerable road users,” he said.
The training is available online.
REHAB PROJECT: Travelers in the Gallina area may experience traffic delays as a roadway rehabilitation project on N.M. 96 is scheduled to begin on Monday.
Gallina is about 25 miles north of Cuba.
The project will span from milepost 8 (south of Regina) to milepost 25 (east of Gallina) and is expected to take 15 working days to complete, weather permitting, NMDOT District 5 spokesperson James Murray said.