DA executes search warrant for Alamogordo's water billing records

ALAMOGORDO – Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office investigators executed a search warrant on Alamogordo’s city water billing department Tuesday.

According to 12th Judicial District Court records, investigators obtained the search warrant to retrieve Alamogordo’s utility billing service records between March 1, 2012 and April 10, 2015 due to an ongoing investigation of former Alamogordo Customer Service Manager Armando Ortega.

Ortega was employed as the customer service manager when an audit allegedly showed Ortega allowed 17 water accounts of friends and family to go unpaid, according to a 2015 Daily News article.

Ortega was fired in June 2015 after a state audit raised even more questions about the water billing department’s system for billing resident’s accounts during Ortega’s employment from March 2012 to April 2015, according to Daily News articles at the time.

Ortega’s 16 charges of felony tampering with public records have been dismissed but can be refiled due to nolle prosequi by the DA’s Office, according to the state’s court website nmcourts.gov.

Twelfth Judicial District Attorney John Sugg said he can’t comment at this time due to the ongoing investigation.

“We cannot comment on an ongoing investigation,” Sugg said.

Mayor Richard Boss said the city will cooperate with the 12th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

“Most definitely, we will cooperate District Attorney’s Office,” Boss said. “There’s no question about that. Whatever records that we have that they request. We will provide them with, of course. I cannot comment due to the ongoing investigation by the District Attorney’s Office.”

According to court records obtained by the Daily News, the search warrant executed requests investigators be able to search the water utility service billing data base, systems or any other system used to store water billing account data, and all cancel bills between March 2012 and April 2015.

Also searched for and seized were meter misreads or meter replacements during the same time period, according to records.

Records show, DA investigators wanted the current city service records manager or designee to assist investigators or provide a walk-through of Alamogordo’s utility billing customer service software to include the city’s HTE water billing software.

The search warrant also demanded the city to provide a detailed explanation of all codes, values, symbols or other transactions used within the software systems, according to records.

According to records, DA investigators began assisting New Mexico State Police investigators regarding possible criminal activity by a city employee at the Alamogordo’s City Hall building, 1376 E. Ninth St.

Alamogordo city representatives requested State Police investigators look into the possible criminal activity Jan. 9, 2015, records show.

According to records, DA investigators learned through investigation and a criminal complaint filed on Dec. 30, 2015 by NMSP that city representatives were initially notified anonymously that Ortega was allegedly tampering with public records in the water billing division.

DA investigators also learned through investigation that the city had a water billing audit done by the independent audit firm of Hinkle and Landers which was used by State Police investigators to file charges against Ortega, records show.

According to records, the audit found 428 accounts as possibly being tampered with during 2012 and 2013 but the audit only showed a random sampling of 13 accounts out of the 428 accounts were selected and 11 accounts showed evidence of tampering.

DA investigators obtained the remaining unexamined accounts that Hinkle and Landers audited to inspect them for possible evidence of criminal activity, according to records.