NM Attorney General asked to join overtime fraud investigation at APD. Is it criminal?

The state Auditor's investigation into overtime problems at the Albuquerque Police Department has now turned into a possible criminal probe.

State Auditor Brian Colón told ABQReport on Wednesday that he has asked the state Attorney General's Office to join his office in investigating possible overtime fraud at APD. Colón said it's the first time in his year-and-a-half in office that he has asked the AG's office for help in an investigation. And Colón said there is more than than one person his office is looking at at APD in terms of overtime fraud.

“We think it is important that we have law enforcement expertise in our investigation,” Colón told ABQReport in a phone interview. “We are looking at a number of processes and protocols. There is more than one person” who is under investigation.

Colón added: “This is the first time I have engaged his office (NM Attorney General Hector Balderas). This is the first time that we have asked the Attorney General to assist us.”

This all means big problems for Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, APD Chief Mike Geier and APD's overtime king, former officer Simon Drobik.

Drobik, whom we have dubbed APD's “Human Robot” for his massive overtime claims, abruptly retired from the department on Friday (July 10). On June 24, Colón's office notified Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller that it was ordering the city to do a special audit of APD's overtime practices.

Yesterday (July 14) APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos told us that the department has been conducting an Internal Affairs investigation into overtime fraud at APD.

Stay tuned.