Second New Mexico defense attorney implicated in DWI scheme
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A second New Mexico defense attorney has been publicly identified and accused of taking part in a scheme to get accused drunk drivers off the hook.
A New Mexico board that disciplines attorneys said Rudolph 'Rudy' Chavez was part of a public corruption scandal that dates back to 1995.
According to state law, an attorney's law license may be suspended when the disciplinary counsel is investigating that attorney for an alleged violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. On March 6, the state's chief disciplinary counsel filed a petition for summary suspension saying Rudy Chavez is under investigation, so it wants the NM Supreme Court to suspend him. In the document, the Disciplinary Board claimed Chavez worked with former Albuquerque Police officer Honorio Alba, Jr. and paralegal Ricardo 'Rick' Mendez to get an accused drunk driver's case dismissed.
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Both Alba and Mendez admitted in plea agreements that they worked with an unnamed Albuquerque criminal defense attorney, who the state's chief disciplinary counsel recently identified as Chavez, to get the case dismissed.
KRQE Investigates obtained video from the DWI case in question, where Alba conducted a DWI stop on a Sunday night in April 2023. In the video, Alba is seen conducting a field sobriety test on a driver he pulled over on I-25 north near the Jefferson exit.
Alba claimed the driver swerved in and out of lanes and almost hit other cars while traveling 90 miles per hour. Alba then arrested the driver, who later blew a 0.14 and 0.15 on the alcohol breath test, nearly twice the legal limit.
At that time, the driver already had two DWI convictions on his record. From that arrest, he was facing a 3rd DWI offense, along with reckless driving, no proof of insurance, and possession of open container charges.
According to the petition submitted to the New Mexico Supreme Court, the driver then hired defense attorney Rudy Chavez to represent him in the case—a move that caught the attention of federal investigators.
The driver told KRQE Investigative Reporter Ann Pierret that he found Chavez from a Google search. He reiterated several times that Chavez didn't make any promises, or do anything that raised red flags, or would make him question the attorney's integrity.
The driver told KRQE Investigates that he paid Chavez $8,000 to represent him, which he claimed was lower than other attorneys he spoke with. The driver added that Chavez told him the price was that high because it was his third DWI.
The driver's case was dismissed in January 2024, and according to court documents, the decision was 'in the interest of justice.'
The driver explained to KRQE Investigates that he had his suit on and was ready to go to his court hearing when Chavez told him the news of his case getting dismissed. The driver said he thought he was just lucky, until the FBI called him last year.
He said he told investigators that he didn't know anything about a scheme.
The federal investigation had shown some clients were left in the dark, but KRQE Investigates learned one way Alba carried out the scheme was by taking their driver's license and/or email and giving those items to Mendez. Mendez, who worked with Defense Attorney Thomas Clear III, would later contact the driver and in exchange for payment, help get their case dismissed by making sure officers missed their court appearances.
In this case, the driver said Alba took both his license and email, but he said he never heard from Clear's law office.
The petition for summary suspension submitted to the New Mexico Supreme Court requests that Chavez be suspended from practicing law.
KRQE Investigates called and emailed attorney Chavez for a comment on the petition and did not hear back.
The court previously revoked Clear's law license for being the 'mastermind' of the DWI dismissal scheme.
In February, Clear took a plea deal, admitting that he worked with DWI officers from around the metro to funnel drunk drivers to his office and convince them to pay him thousands of dollars to get them off the hook.
While looking through court records, KRQE Investigates noticed Chavez took over a number of Clear's cases after the feds raided Clear's law office in January 2024. The two also worked on several cases together going back to June 2006.
The State Bar of New Mexico shows Chavez joined in 1981 and practices in Bernalillo, Sandoval, and Taos counties. Chavez's website mentioned The National Advocacy for DUI Defense, LLC recognized him as one of the 'Top 50 DWI Attorneys' in New Mexico.
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