ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A newly appointed commander at the Albuquerque Police Department has been put on administrative leave amid ongoing investigations into alleged corruption within the city’s DWI unit. This scandal has already drawn the attention of federal authorities and has triggered an internal review, causing significant upheaval within the department. Several officials have faced serious consequences, including the dismissal of at least one commander, with a number of resignations and the dropping of numerous cases.

According to reports from local sources, Gustavo Gomez, who serves as the deputy commander of internal affairs, was placed on paid leave as of Wednesday. Gomez, who has been with the police force since 2008 and took up his current position in January, previously worked in the DWI division from 2010 to 2013.

The police union has redirected inquiries regarding Gomez to his attorney, John D’Amato, but there has been no immediate clarification from him on the matter. A contact number for D’Amato’s office appears to be inactive, leaving questions unanswered.

Investigations by the FBI have surfaced issues relating to DWI-related criminal cases initiated by specific officers that were subsequently dismissed by the courts. Reports indicate that more than 150 impaired driving cases have been dropped during the federal probe, resulting in concerns about the integrity of the arrests.

Notably, three officers from the Albuquerque force were responsible for filing 136 of these 152 DWI cases, which means a significant portion—over 70%—of these filings were attributed to them. Furthermore, a striking 107 of these cases were recorded last year alone, amounting to 10% of all such cases processed by the department during that period.

As things currently stand, no criminal charges have been filed against anyone involved, and it remains to be seen if the U.S. Attorney’s Office will pursue any violations of federal law related to these incidents.