Thick drama involving power plays, allegations of drug dealing and a secret recording is unfolding at City Hall this week.

The president of the city employee union remains on paid leave more than seven weeks after an investigator began looking into his alleged distribution of painkillers. Meanwhile, the union-friendly mayor says the matter has dragged on too long.

On Thursday, Mayor David Coss rebuked an assistant city attorney and human-resources investigator for accusing City Councilor Matthew Ortiz of trying to influence the investigation, but other city councilors say his actions were improper.

While Daniel Trujillo has not been charged by police, the president of the city's chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has been fingered by a distant cousin as the supplier of prescription medication that was sold to undercover police.

Trujillo has denied the allegations and says he wants to return to work.

Two city workers were arrested this spring on charges they sold the drug. The men said the pills came from a home where Trujillo lives. A few days later, Trujillo was also placed on leave.

Last month, the union president asked Ortiz to find out how long the investigation would take, Ortiz told The New Mexican on Thursday.

But when Ortiz paid a visit to the city manager and then the personnel investigator, the case took another turn. Investigator Ray Rael accused the city councilor of pressuring him and attempting to influence the investigation.

Rael recorded their mid-June conversation. Ortiz says it was a meeting arranged by the city manager to allow Rael to interview Trujillo before the union president left for a three-week vacation. Rael said he resents the intrusion and never heard about the issue from the city manager.

"I do not appreciate a councilor coming in here attempting to force me to conduct an investigation or conduct an interview when I am not prepared. I've made that clear," Rael is heard telling the councilor on the recording.

"If you think this feels like pressure, it is not," Ortiz replies on the tape. "What it is, is it's about being efficient in the role that you have as the investigator for administrative procedures and three weeks is enough time in my estimation to be able to come to some conclusion."

Around the same time as that meeting, the union filed a formal complaint to the Public Employees Labor Relations Board alleging that the city investigation of Trujillo was improper. This week, Assistant City Attorney Mark Allen filed a response to that compliant that included Rael's assertion about undue pressure from Ortiz.

The mayor sided with Ortiz, issuing a statement Thursday that he did not see Ortiz's actions as a violation of the law. "He had legitimate concerns about the amount of time taken to conclude an administrative investigation," said Coss.

Further, the mayor directed the city manager and the city attorney to immediately withdraw the city's pleading to the labor board.

Ortiz said he doesn't regret his actions. "I did nothing wrong," he said. "I was there for three reasons. Daniel has been my friend since I was 10 years old, and he's my constituent, and he's the union president. I undertook what I did because of those three things, and I would do it again."

Both Rael and his boss, Human Resources Department Director Kristine Kuebli, stand by the timeline for the investigation. "Every investigation is different and is determined by the facts and the number of interviews and the complexity of it," Rael said Thursday. "This is still in progress, and I hope to complete it soon."

Kuebli said she trust's Rael's process. The former city police detective has conducted 24 other investigations for the city during the past three years and has been working on another complicated matter at the same time as the painkiller case.

"We absolutely have not been dragging our feet in this. We have been following the natural course of the investigation," Kuebli said, noting she received several calls from city residents and other workers who were concerned about the allegations of drug-dealing on city time.

Rael said Truijllo is scheduled for an interview, but would not say when.

Trujillo, who recently returned from a three-week honeymoon, spoke only briefly Thursday. "I am not commenting on this anymore. I just want to go back to work," he said.

The mayor took another step this week, however, publicly calling Allen's response "improper and inappropriate."

Both Coss and Ortiz have reputations as union advocates and have had financial support from AFSCME for political campaigns. Before Ortiz became a city councilor 10 years ago, he worked on contract for the union as an attorney. Coss has 20 years of experience as a labor organizer and supporter.

Councilor Miguel Chavez said he sees clear impropriety in the ordeal. "I think it is crossing the line just a little bit, and it is blurring the line as far as how councilors would involve themselves in personnel matters," said Chavez, who has been on the council eight years. "I always understood that we were not to be involved with personnel matters."

Councilor Rosemary Romero, who was elected in March, said she wasn't aware of the situation until this week and didn't have enough information to make a judgment. "I can say for myself that one of the things I have been careful about as a new councilor is that I follow a steadfast line between what is policy and what easily becomes management issues," she said. "There is a process in place so that councilors don't have to intervene."

Councilor Chris Calvert said he did not want to comment on the issue. Other councilors did not return phone messages late Thursday.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.

Audio recordings were edited to remove telephone numbers spoken and a brief conversation about an unrelated personnel matter.