A private investigator was the first to plead guilty to a host of federal charges that include racketeering and bribery in a corruption scandal that roiled New Mexico’s law enforcement community for over a decade, according to court records released Friday. Ricardo Mendez was involved in a yearslong scheme between a law firm he worked for that specialized in defending those charged with driving while intoxicated and the Albuquerque Police Department, the New Mexico State Police and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, authorities said. Mendez admitted that since 2008 he had been offering gifts and several thousand dollars in bribes to officers in exchange for having his clients’ cases dismissed.
