If anyone ever doubted how intractable a problem DWI is in New Mexico, the events of the past months have underscored its seriousness.

First came the November hit-and-run that claimed the life of pedestrian William Tenorio, and the shock that followed because of the prominence of the car's occupants. One was a former aide to U.S. Rep. Tom Udall and U.S. Sen. John McCain, and the second a state police officer who had served in Gov. Bill Richardson's personal security detail.

If that weren't confirmation enough, then we discover that a deputy district attorney — from the very office charged with prosecuting DWIs — was arrested on suspicion of driving drunk on Jan. 9 in Rio Rancho.

Barbara Romo, a respected career prosecutor, is accused of blowing a .12 on her breathalyzer test (the legal limit is .08) and having a loaded gun on the car seat beside her.

Most troubling about that case is that Romo came back to work in Santa Fe, told her boss, new DA Angela "Spence" Pacheco, of the arrest and went back to work. No announcement from the DA's Office occurred. Romo wasn't suspended from work pending the outcome of the trial. Transparency, so essential in politics and prosecution, was non-existent.

The incident would have remained secret were it not for Albuquerque Journal North reporter Vic Vela, who broke the story a month after the arrest.

Again, troubling reactions and actions followed.

When asked about it, Romo said she "has the same presumption of innocence as anyone else" and referred other questions to her boss. That boss, Pacheco, had this to say: "I don't comment on personnel matters, but as far as I know she hasn't been convicted."

That's beside the point, as both prosecutors should know. Romo might be cleared — her trial has yet to occur — but like Caesar's wife, prosecutors must be above reproach. The best practice, when a member of the District Attorney's Office is arrested, is to suspend that person pending the outcome of the case. And, for the DA to announce the arrest herself, rather than wait for an intrepid reporter to dig it up.

Since the story broke, Romo figured out that she had become a drag on the office — or her boss helped her decide — and resigned her job last week. That step might not have been necessary had Pacheco done the right, and the politically smart thing, and suspended her deputy from the beginning.

Finally, as if all the local shenanigans with drinking and driving weren't enough to drive us to distraction, witness this story from Albuquerque, broken by New Mexican reporter Sue Vorenberg.

Craig A. Tucker, head of the federal organization that transports nuclear weapons around the United States, has been charged with drinking and driving. His arrest took place Jan. 29, where he blew a .15 — he was driving to pick up a child from a sports event. He's been removed from his management responsibilities but still has his job, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration.

That agency, just like DA Pacheco, was keeping the arrest to itself. That, our friends, is another reason we need newspapers.