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A pair of former Albuquerque police officers have pleaded guilty to federal charges in relation to
intoxicated driving arrests . Officers
Joshua Montaño and
Honorio Alba appeared in U.S. District Court on Friday, Feb. 7. Both pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy, five counts of receiving a bribe, and a count of extortion. Alba was the second officer to resign in February 2024, on the eve of his internal affairs interview at Albuquerque police. Montaño was the fifth police officer to resign amid a
yearlong FBI investigation into DWI cases within the department. A written statement was provided by Montaño's attorney after his court appearance. "Today, Joshua Montano appeared in Federal Court and fully admitted his involvement in the DWI scandal. "He regrets his actions and is deeply remorseful," attorney Lisa Torraco said. "He knows he let down his community and he failed to uphold his duty as a police officer. He apologizes to the community and to his friends and family." Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina released a statement in response to the guilty plea deal agreements. "It has been exactly one year since the first officer resigned from APD as a result of this investigation," Medina said. "Shortly after that, Officers Alba and Montaño resigned, rather than being interviewed by our investigators. As I initially told the FBI and said when this investigation became public, a key turning point appears to be the procedural changes made by the Supreme Court in 2022. Mayor Keller and I advocated for those changes. Officers Alba and Montaño now admit they purposely missed pre-trial interviews in exchange for cash and gifts, and they had to modify the conspiracy after those procedural changes by the Supreme Court. "I had faith that the federal investigation would get to this point and hold these officers accountable for their criminal conduct. I appreciate the hard work of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. I wish I could say this is the end point, but we continue to discover details of this conspiracy and those who participated in it. We will leave no stone unturned. I hope others who were part of this conspiracy pay close attention to the prison sentences these officers agreed to serve in exchange for their cooperation." At least
13 officers have been named in the investigation for their possible involvement.
Federal court records also named New Mexico State Police and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office. Those references came after a
law firm investigator pleaded guilty to his role in the
ongoing DWI investigation . Alba and Montaño are the first law enforcement officers to be federally charged amid the FBI investigation. A
Target 7 Investigation previously found Alba was the arresting officer on 19 DWI cases, working with attorney Thomas Clear. All but one case was thrown out. Similarly, Montaño was the arresting officer on 29 DWI cases with Clear and 76% of those cases were dismissed. Federal documents released Friday show Alba accepted at least $75,000 as part of the scheme, while Montaño accepted cash and other items totaling $70,000 over a five year period. Both face up to 110 years in prison and up to $2 million in fines. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said the scheme dates back decades in his written statement. "The actions by those involved in this decades old scheme are a betrayal of public trust and law enforcement integrity," Keller said. "While we won’t realize full justice until everyone involved in this conspiracy is held accountable, all known participants at APD are no longer serving with the department, and today brings us closer to justice. I appreciate the thorough investigation by the FBI and the leadership at APD, who worked with the FBI since day one to get to the bottom of this corruption and make reforms to protect against future misconduct." A sentencing hearing has not yet been set for either Alba and Montaño.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available. Stay updated on the latest news with the KOAT app. You can download it here .
