Complaint: Former city CAO Rob Perry led conspiracy against APD reform process
An activist who is part of the federal reform settlement agreement with the Albuquerque Police Department has filed a complaint against the city's former chief administrative officer, Rob Perry, saying he orchestrated a conspiracy to undermine the reform process.
That conspiracy resulted in 12 secret recordings of the independent monitor in the reform case, James Ginger, by former city attorney Jessica Hernandez, former Assistant Police Chief Rob Huntsman, and others, said the complaint which was filed against Perry's law license at the Disciplinary Board of the New Mexico Supreme Court by activist Maria Bautista.
(Photo: Rob Perry.)
“Robert Perry orchestrated the miscarriage of justice, using illegal unwarranted surveillance, that amounts to Noble Cause Corruption; for the good of it all,” the complaint said. “Robert Perry is a New Mexico licensed attorney and needs to be compelled to disclose what he knows, and who ordered the recordings. Regardless of his current employment, laws regarding attorney behavior are just as important going forward as they were in past employment. If a pattern of behavior exists, it lends to the fact that Robert Perry mislead and padded the way for the miscarriage of justice.
“Upon information and belief, Robert Perry coordinated a CONSPIRACY to undermine the Court Ordered Settlement Agreement (CASA). The number of taped SECRET Meetings (12) over a two-year period, IMPLICATES Perry, Hernandez, Huntsman and Eden to Obstruct Justice, and would have succeeded if it had not been for Judge Brack’s careful examination of the Evidentiary Motion, where he discovered the discrepancies.”
The complaint continued: "Robert Perry former CAO for the City of Albuquerque should be investigated for violation of Rule 16-303 Candor Toward the Tribunal, Rule 16-401 Truthfulness in Statements to others, Rule 16-803 Reporting Professional Misconduct, Rule 16-804 Misconduct."
The complaint said that Perry was ultimately responsible for the secret recordings of Ginger because he was Hernandez's boss.
The federal court judge who is overseeing the reform case, Robert Brack, said that that a secret recording that Huntsman made of Ginger in March of 2016 was probably a violation of the settlement agreement and an attempt to undermine Ginger and the reform effort.
(Photo: Maria Bautista.)
Brack also said that Hernandez tried to deceive him when she filed a motion in late October of 2017 accusing Ginger of being biased against APD. Attached to that motion was a 14-minute video that Huntsman took with his department-issued lapel camera and a transcript of the video. But Judge Brack said the transcript covered only nine minutes of the video and that Hernandez had tried to deceive him by not providing the full transcript.
On Nov. 16, 2017, Brack denied the city's motion for an evidentiary hearing to determine if Ginger was biased against the city. He also ordered the city to turn over to him any other recordings that were made of Ginger.
On Dec. 22, 2017, Hernandez turned over audios and transcripts of 11 other recordings that she and others made of Ginger.
In January, Bautista filed a complaint with the Disciplinary Board against Hernandez's law license.
