about two months ago Mexican Free Press attended a meeting in Espanola New Mexico where he directly addressed the mayor and Council one by one calling each of them by name [Music] okay now this right here is a perfect example of how to address any governing body with all of the respect and dignity that they deserve as an elected official you know that nobody has ever spoken to me like that in my life oh shortly after this Mexican Free Press was arrested what am I going to be arrested for sir no I'm not she acknowledged me I'm giving you one year acknowledge me you might want to leave sir now obviously members of the public have every right to make comments like these to public officials but I was curious so I asked Mexican Free Press if there was a specific reason that he made the comments that he did or if it was just because he could in order to understand Mexican Free Press frustration it's important to understand the political climate in Espanola New Mexico which is almost identical to the political climate in just about every town in New Mexico the place is ridden with corruption from top to bottom within the government and has been as long as anyone can remember however Espanola New Mexico has managed to make headlines probably more than any other city or town in New Mexico for their corruption a New Mexico Sheriff will spend the next decade in prison for roughing up a person he was supposed to protect Tommy rodella was sentenced in federal court today Tommy rodella the now disgraced former Rio Arriba County Sheriff wouldn't comment on his prison sentence rodella will spend the next 10 years in federal Lockup in September a jury convicted rodella of civil rights violations and gun charges it was early last year when a 26 year old man pulled out in front of Tommy rodella the sheriff chased him down wrestled him out of the car handcuffed him and held a gun to his head the victim complained to State Police and federal prosecutors took over the case in Espanola City Council is faced felony charges after police say he viciously attacked a man Matthew Lopez saw an elected official official goes up to the truck and he said he starts trying to cover his head like that Espanola City councilor Eric rodosovich is now facing aggravated battery and assault charges Saturday night rodosovich and his friends got into a fight with another group at a gas station in Pewaukee when one man threatened to take the other's wife and truck and so the victims left it could have ended there but they had to follow us they drove down the road to a restaurant and rodosevic followed deputies say that's when the city councilor pistol whipped the other man smashing his head with the gun over and over until the victim drove away investigators say rodosevic then fired the gun at the fleeing truck hitting it twice then about four years ago it was brought to the Public's attention that there was a sergeant within the Espanola Police Department that was costing the city an average of a hundred thousand dollars per year in tort claims and lawsuits all by himself police video obtained by News 13 shed light on a traffic stop encounter between then Espanola police Sergeant Greg Esparza and Virginia Valdez back in 2016. go ahead and get on your knees ma'am I'm telling you to right now I don't give a sh get on your knees when Valdez told another officer she couldn't get on her knees as far as it took matters into his own hands officers thought she may have been driving a stolen van they were wrong Valdez later threatened to sue for the way Esparza handled her but took a 25 000 settlement instead Valdez was not the only citizen to complain about Esparza who's named in at least seven use of force lawsuits or tort claims over the past six years the city of Espanola paid out more than 800 thousand dollars in settlements for complaints involving Esparza so in 2019 the city of Espanola brought in new police chief Roger Jimenez who is tasked with cleaning up the corruption from within and this is exactly what he did bringing multiple charges against his own City Council Members his own government and even his local sheriff a former Espanola City councilor has pleaded guilty to federal gun charges 39-year-old Philip Chacon was armed when Law Enforcement Officers went to execute his search warrant at his home last year chicon did drop the gun but barricaded himself inside at one point Rio Arriba County Sheriff James Lujan who was Francis Chacon tried to take over the crime scene which eventually surrendered but investigators learned he had a stolen rifle inside he faces up to 10 years in prison Espanola police say they initially wanted to talk to City councilor John Ramon v hill as a witness on a separate case they were working on last month but after talking to him they say they realized he had something to hide it does look like they are working directly with each other as partners for the uh for the purpose of a commission for Mr vigil Espanola police chief Roger Jimenez says they were trying to get more information for their investigation into Philip Chacon who has a long criminal history you might remember Chacon as the man who barricaded himself inside an Espanola house back in March when police say Rio Arriba Sheriff James Luhan showed up drunk and tried to take over the scene during police's investigation they found out Chacon was talking to Espanola City councilor John Ramon v hill when officers tried to ask vihil why he was talking to chicone police say he lied many times and even appeared to be interested in taking a bribe to get rid of the city manager who Jacon did not get along with the biggest concern for me is the fact that he was willing to take a bribe for the 25 000 in order for him to run for mayor B Hill's attorney tells News 13 these allegations are false he says the chief is corrupt and claiming claims that he's trying to get back at him politically he also claims he never knew chicone was being investigated for any crime in for his interference in the local police department's investigation the elected Sheriff was sentenced to three years in prison yeah yes break away Phil check one that's who you have a warrant for right pull everybody out huh I don't want to pull them back excuse me I'm not asking I'm telling you I will bring him in okay Lujan is charged with resisting evading or obstructing officers in those cases and scheduled to go on trial next month a New Mexico sheriff is headed to prison for the next three years James Lujan was sentenced today after a jury found him guilty of helping his friend evade police Lujan was on trial this week for helping former city councilor Phil chicon hide out from Espanola police in 2017 after chakon was involved in a chase people about concerns they had that sheriff Lujan had done other things among those other things refusing to hand over his cell phone when officers served a search warrant involving the chicon investigation in May of last year write to an attorney right now you understand that so take care booking for obstruction and in March of last year allegedly showing up drunk to a crime scene again involving Phil chicon so some of these more recent events and incidents in Espanola and Rio Arriba were the root of Mexican free presses frustration that caused him to tell the city council how he felt on that day police chief Roger Jimenez had investigated Philip Chacon and sent him to prison in the process of that investigation the local sheriff racked up some charges brought on by the same Police Department under the same chief for trying to help chicone also implicated was former city council member and current Mayor John V Hill now one person that's not talked about as much in these news stories is John v hill during the same time that Chacon and the sheriff were being investigated John V Hill ended up being charged by the police department under this same police chief with a felony for allegedly accepting a twenty five thousand dollar bribe from chicon to run for mayor so that he could remove the people from government that Chacon didn't like specifically the city manager the charges against John V Hill were eventually dropped and v hill won his run for mayor so the same day that v hill was sworn in as mayor the police chief who had charged him with felony conspiracy in bribery was fired this is a police chief that had investigated corruption within his own city and county sending multiple current and former public officials to prison and that was what Mexican Free Press was so upset about him and many other members of the community were glad to finally see corrupt public officials being flushed out and sent to prison under Chief Roger Jimenez and they feel that under the new mayor which was also being investigated by Roger Jimenez that Espanola will be back to business as usual [ __ ] you city manager [ __ ] you Denise [ __ ] you Peggy Sue okay that is my right I have every single right to do that so if you want to open up for for a lawsuit let me know sir because I'm willing to go to work and I'll paternities on on retainers um concerning uh what what we just heard um as an elected official you know nobody has ever spoken to me like that in my life I want you to hold up expecting this concert you don't need me again you can't do that I can protest all I want I can get protest All I Want You Gotta threaten me you can threaten me bro I can protest I can peacefully protest If I Want To Sir with all due respect this is awesome let me put this on camera somewhere let me put this on camera what am I going to be arrested for sir no I'm not she acknowledged me I'm giving you one day straight up officers are on their way you might want to leave sir so wait what's going to happen is this a threat of arrest that's not a threat I'm telling you is this the Third listen are are you gonna are you gonna threaten me with the rest if I don't leave are you acknowledge that I gave you a verbal warning I just need to acknowledge that no I don't acknowledge that guys let me know what you think about all this the mayor told news reporters that the former Chief of Police is the one that's corrupt while the former Chief of Police seems to think that it's the mayor that's corrupt I think they're all corrupt but one thing's for sure there's no better way to address a governing body anywhere in the world than this [ __ ] you city manager [ __ ] you Justin [ __ ] you know that [ __ ] you John [ __ ] you Denise [ __ ] you Peggy Sue okay