ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque attorney Thomas Clear III, who is at the center of a DWI dismissal scandal, is trying to avoid being disbarred from the federal court in New Mexico, saying he is no longer practicing law. Clear argued that answering the accusations against him would make him give up his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Clear asked that he be allowed to resign from the federal bar.
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The New Mexico Supreme Court and a federal judge recently issued orders for Clear to “show cause” why he should not face disciplinary action at both the state and federal levels after his paralegal, Ricardo “Rick” Mendez, took a plea deal last month implicating clear in the scandal. According to federal documents, Mendez worked directly with Albuquerque police officers, New Mexico State Police officers, and Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputies to funnel their drunk-driving defendants to his boss, who KRQE News 13 believes is Clear. Investigators believe drunk drivers would get their cases dismissed by paying off police and the attorney.
Clear’s response to the court states he hasn’t practiced law since last summer and as of January 24, he no longer is an active member of the New Mexico State Bar. He goes on to state that if he has to prove his case, he would have to plead the 5th.
Clear has not been charged in connection to the scandal.