Police officer admits accepting bribes from defense attorney in DUI cases in widespread scandal
A New Mexico police officer is the latest to be convicted in a corruption scandal in which defense attorneys bribed police officers to ensure that their clients got off on DUI charges. (Image from Shutterstock)
A New Mexico police officer, once honored by the nonprofit organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving, is the latest to be convicted in a corruption scandal in which defense attorneys bribed police officers to ensure that their clients got off on DUI charges, according to Reason.
Two dozen people—including defense attorneys; Albuquerque, New Mexico, police officers; and Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies—have been implicated so far, according to KOAT, and a dozen have pleaded guilty, Reason reports. Federal prosecutors described it as the biggest law enforcement scandal in New Mexico’s history, going back 30 years.
In September 2021, Albuquerque police officer Timothy McCarson arrested an intoxicated driver who had been hospitalized after being injured in a crash. But McCarson never filed charges against the driver. He explained in a federal plea agreement last month that defense attorney Thomas Clear paid him $5,000 to make the case go away.
McCarson’s guilty plea is the latest example of the corruption revealed by a federal investigation of a long-running scheme in which Clear bribed police to ensure that his clients would not be convicted of DWI charges, according to Reason.
The story noted that Clear handled about 2,500 DWI cases in the past 30 years. He pleaded guilty last February to federal bribery, extortion and racketeering charges.
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