Albuquerque Journal
Five months after retiring from a 36-year career with the Los Lunas Police Department, former chief Nick Balido was given probation and a suspended sentence for allegedly receiving $5,500 for work he didn’t do while with the department.
Balido, 63, pleaded no contest in March to two felony counts of permitting false public vouchers and two counts of paying or receiving public money for services not rendered. Balido, who retired in December after serving 20 years as chief, had put in for overtime for working DWI checkpoints that he didn’t work.
District Judge George Eichwald in Bernalillo ordered that Balido receive a suspended sentence and gave him a conditional discharge, meaning if the former chief successfully completes his probation, the charges would be dismissed. He also put Balido on 18 months’ probation and ordered him to serve 100 hours of community service.
Copyright 2009 Albuquerque Journal