APD employee charged with embezzlement

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The Albuquerque Police Department arrested on of its own employees on Thursday for allegedly pocketing thousands of dollars of APD's money.

Arturo Martinez, a citizen employee, is a supervisor at APD's shooting range out on the West Mesa. As part of his duties, Martinez takes thousands of brass shell casings to a recycling center in the North Valley. In exchange for the metal, Martinez is given cash that is supposed to be going back into APD's budget.

But according to the criminal complaint, Martinez pocketed nearly $7,000 for personal use.

"It goes back to early 2010 that it was identified, some of the discrepancies," said Dep. Chief Paul Feist.

Feist said another supervisor cross-checked some purchases for good measure. But a quick look at the books showed Martinez was underreporting how much he was collecting for the spent shells. Records show Martinez deposited some money into his own personal bank account.

"What we found in here was there were other expenditures being made, charged to that, which is not appropriate," said Feist.

Martinez was charged with embezzlement. He bonded out of jail for $500 and is on paid suspension for now.

Police said they're taking the charge very seriously.

"We do background checks on all of our employees," said Feist. "We had no reason to believe that Mr. Martinez, at the time he was hired, was anything other than an outstanding, responsible supervisor."

Martinez has been with APD for 5 years.