County HR chief resigns after probe
Torres denies nepotism accusations involving son, daughter-in-law
Bernalillo County’s longtime director of human resources, Renetta Torres, agreed to resign this year after an internal investigation accused her of violating the county nepotism policy, according to documents released this week.
The investigation also raised questions about whether her son and daughter-in-law — both county employees at the time — had received special treatment despite absences and complaints about their productivity.
A review of their computers, for example, found that the son and daughter-in-law had long stretches — about 100 days each, altogether — in which they didn’t use the software programs they would have needed as part of their jobs, according to the
investigation.
Torres, for her part, denied violating the nepotism policy or trying to ensure special treatment.
And the daughter-in-law said she worked hard and produced important data-driven work, though it went unappreciated for political reasons.
The allegations are “absurd,” Nicol Moreland, the daughter-in-law and a county special projects coordinator, told the Journal. “I think it’s a smoke screen for incompetence.”
Moreland contends that not only did she and Daniel Torres not receive any special treatment, but they were targeted because of their connection to Renetta Torres.
Renetta Torres didn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in a separation agreement outlining her resignation, which will take effect May 15. The contract also prohibits Torres and the county from speaking negatively about each other.
Even though her resignation doesn’t take place until May, she isn’t allowed at county offices unless the county manager approves, but she is available to help with the transition, according to the documents.
Torres agreed to waive any age-discrimination claims she could make against the county, and she will continue drawing her $103,000 annual salary through May 15.
The Journal obtained the separation agreement and internal investigation through requests under the state Inspection of Public Records Act.
The separation agreement doesn’t say why Torres is leaving. It was signed in late January, about three months after completion of the internal investigation that focused largely on Torres; her son, Daniel; and her daughter-inlaw, Moreland.
Fears of retaliation
In the 80-page report, investigator Debra Moulton said county employees described Renetta Torres as a powerful person within county government — someone they didn’t want to cross. The report is addressed to a county attorney, Robert Kidd, who oversees ethics compliance for the county.
“Certainly there is a perception by many of those I interviewed,” the investigator wrote, “that Ms. Torres has power and influence and that she used that power and influence to keep her son and daughter-in-law protected in their positions.”
County employees also raised concern about retaliation, though Moulton didn’t say whether that fear was justified.
“It is important to point out that the majority of people I interviewed expressed concern about retaliation from Ms. Torres, or HR,” Moulton said in her report. “Whether Ms. Torres retaliates or not, or whether she provides direction to her employees to take actions that are retaliatory or not, the perception exists.”
Torres told the investigator that she never engaged in retaliation or tried to ensure that her son or daughter-inlaw got special treatment. In fact, she suggested it was others who singled out her son.
“In Ms. Torres’ opinion,” the investigator wrote, “Daniel’s only crime is that he is Ms. Torres’ son.”
Lengthy absences
The investigation includes a variety of complaints about Daniel Torres and Nicol Moreland. Both of them worked with data and statistics for public safety programs. Moreland has a doctorate in psychology research.
At one point, an employee who shared an office area with Daniel Torres estimated that he was there less than 25 percent of the time. A co-worker of Moreland’s estimated that Moreland was gone about half the time during one stretch.
Moreland told the investigator that was at least partly because her job involved meeting with judges and others in the criminal justice system outside the office, and she had permission to work from home sometimes.
Moreland contends that she was the target of complaints because of her research into the effectiveness of county public safety programs, which didn’t come to the conclusions that program supporters wanted.
She described it as preposterous that anyone would question her performance.
“I often worked well over 40 hours a week without compensation,” Moreland told the Journal.
The investigation, she noted, made no formal finding that she had violated a county policy.
Daniel Torres didn’t agree to be interviewed by the investigator, and the Journal couldn’t reach him this week. But others told the investigator that he had permission to work from home sometimes, too.
Nevertheless, there were complaints about the couple’s productivity. There were substantial periods of time in which neither employee had used the Microsoft programs on their computers, suggesting that they did little work, according to the investigation.
There were also numerous concerns raised about the accuracy of their time cards.
And at one point, Moulton, the investigator, wrote that it’s “very likely Dr. Moreland was paid, but did very little work during the 108 days referenced, because, according to her, she had no work to do.”
Moreland said former Deputy County Manager Tom Swisstack had stopped giving her work to do — a reflection of rival political factions in the county public safety division.
Daniel Torres resigned last year. He was making, at one point, about $17.65 an hour, or about $36,700 a year.
Moreland now works as a special projects coordinator in the county’s emergency management department, with a salary of about $79,000 a year.
The nepotism finding against Renetta Torres was based on a 2008 memo she wrote to Swisstack, then-deputy county manager, explaining what Daniel Torres’ county job and salary were supposed to be. The younger Torres had been misplaced in a temporary job, the memo said, and he was supposed to have a regular full-time position, according to the investigation.
The investigation report said the memo showed that Torres had “direct influence” on her son’s compensation, a violation of the anti-nepotism policy.
The Journal was unable to reach Renetta or Daniel Torres after leaving a message with a member of the Torres family. Her agreement with the county, in any case, has a confidentiality clause.
APD reform advocacy
Renetta Torres has served as Bernalillo County’s human resources director since 2001.
She and her husband, Stephen, emerged in recent years as leading advocates for reform in the Albuquerque Police Department.
Their son, Christopher, was shot and killed in his own backyard in 2011 by plainclothes officers trying to confront him with a warrant.
The city of Albuquerque agreed to pay a $6 million settlement after a judge ruled that officers had created the dangerous situation that led to Christopher’s death.