City Hall uncovers 2nd golden deal

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A former political appointee in the administration of now-departed Mayor Martin Chávez will continue to collect his big-bucks salary while returning to his old job as a beat cop.

Mayor Richard Berry's office confirmed Monday that Lawrence Torres, formerly the city's Employee Relations Director, will continue to be paid at the rate of $81,000 as an Albuquerque Police Department patrol officer.

That is $30,000 a year higher than what police patrol officers normally make.

The Berry administration was quick to criticize the deal approved in the waning days of the Chávez administration.   Chávez finished second in the three-candidate mayoral election in November.

"I can tell you as a former law enforcement officer, I'd be very upset if the guy next to me doing the same job was being paid $30,000 more a year," Public Safety Director Darren White told KRQE News 13. "It's an issue of fairness."

The Berry administration has released an internal memo signed by former city Chief Administrative Officer Ed Adams approving the deal a week after the election.  The document is now being examined by city lawyers in the Berry Administration to see if it's legal.

The revelation of the Torres deal comes just weeks after it was learned that Adams himself accepted a transfer without a pay cut from his appointed job as the administration's CAO to a lesser staff position in the Municipal Development Department.

Due to deal cut between Adams and the Chávez administration several years ago, Adams remained at his $147,000 annual salary.

"It's not fair to the taxpayer," White said. "It's not why those positions were created, to provide some type of golden parachute."

Gene Moser, the city's new human-resources director, said he believes there are no more golden deals out there although he's not sure.

"To our knowledge, only these two are in place," Moser told News 13.

The Berry administration is still going through stacks of paperwork regarding moves made during Chavez's final days in office, he said.

News 13 has learned that Torres has put in for retirement effective at the end of the year. Because he is a police officer again, he can retire after 20 years of public service instead of 25.

His retirement, however, will be based on his $81,000 salary.

News 13 attempted to reach Torres for comment Monday evening but was unsuccessful.