An Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper who previously worked as a Bisbee Police officer was arrested Saturday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of money laundering and falsifying government documents.
Rene Algara was taken into custody by FBI agents in coordination with DPS officials. He is charged with 21 felony counts related to money laundering and five felonies involving government records, although the investigation remains active, according to the DPS press release which announced Algara’s arrest.
Algara (also known as Rene Algara-Godoy) has been booked into the Pima County jail. He was terminated prior to his arrest from his position with DPS’s Highway Patrol Division – District 9 based in Sierra Vista.
Records obtained by the Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training board show Algara, 42, was hired by DPS in February 2016 after working for the Bisbee Police Department for 22 months. Messages left for Bisbee Police Chief Albert Echave and Deputy Chief Christopher Long were not returned before press time.
News of Algara’s arrest comes less than three weeks after DPS announced that criminal charges were brought against a longtime trooper in Phoenix for using his position to solicit sex from nearly 10 women.
That trooper, Tremaine Jackson, was booked into the Maricopa County jail Sept. 10 on 61 counts, including sexual abuse, kidnap, and tampering with public records.