Did Senator Klein Really Point Her Loaded Hot Pink Pistol at a Reporter? Yep!

Sen Klein with her laser-sighted  Pink Ruger

Transcript of the interview wiht Senator Klein:

Klein: A friend of mine said, it looks like a water pistol. I'm like, yeah, wait until you see the laser pointer.

Henle: It has a laser on it?

Klein: Yeah. Yeah. I showed it to you.

Henle: I didn't see the laser part.

(Simultaneous) Klein: I pointed it at him.

(Simultaneous) Ruelas: She pointed it at me.

(laughter)

Ruelas: With the safety on, you pointed it at me.

Klein: No, there is no safety on that.

Ruelas: OK.

Klein: I just didn't have my hand on the trigger, god.

Ruelas: Oh no, but it does look, I mean, if I could see it again, it does look like a, like a, makeup bag . . .
Henle: There's no safety on that?

Klein: Yeah, no. There is no safety.

Ruelas: ... it looks like you're carrying sunglasses in there, I mean . . . actually, yeah.

Klein: I won't point it at you.

Ruelas: I have sunglasses. It's about that size . . .

Klein: So OK, this is the laser. Look, look, that's the laser. But see this gun is basically for self protection.  You're really accurate 20 feet away from you. Do you know what I mean? That's basically ... now, notice, I don't have my hand on the trigger. There is no safety on this gun. But you have to really pull the trigger, to you know, it's a harder trigger. That's part of your safety.
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At the AZCentral website you can follow this controversy which is a fascinating sidelight to the larger article I linked to yesterday about the gunslinger legacy in Arizona. 

Oh, and more on Senator Klein.  At her campaign website Klein first listed endorsement....?  Sheriff Joe Arpaio, big surprise, there, uh huh?

Police Brutality

Yesterday, at Scott Greefield's Simple Justice blawg, Scott featured the astounding assault on a handicapped man by two DC police officers.  The characterization of the assault by the DC police was a classic in the use of euphemism.  Since I'm not going to plagiarize Scott go to the link.  But let me give you this story from WSAV-TV Savannah, Ga.


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Why do we tolerate this in our police?  I figure it's the same reason that Maricopa County tolerates Sheriff Joe Arpaio and OurTown tolerates, Jimmy Shoot'em.  We suffer the delusion that these violent/tough cops keep us safe.  Think again.

Maricopa County Is the Laughing-Stock--Another Sheriff Joe Shocker

There's so much that can be said (and the Bad Lawyer Blawg has said it) about the disasters, frauds and follies perpetrated on the taxpayers of Maricopa County by "America's Toughest Sheriff" Joe Arpaio and his thuggish troops, lawyers and apologists.  Every week, new revelations of misfeasance and malfeasance trickle out of Maricopa County via the Arizona Republic or Phoenix New Times.  This week alone, the Bad Lawyer planned a post on the failed persecu....prosecution by Arpaio of one of Arpaio's political enemies, County Superviosr Don Stapley.

I always believed that Maricopa County taxpayers put up with Joe and his cronies criminality (racism, misappropriation of millions of dollars, Stalinesque-law enforcement) because the taxpayers believed, mistakenly as it turns out, that Sheriff Joe was protecting them from the invasion of them wet backs.  The feds won't enforce the immigration laws, well by-God, Sheriff Joe will!  Now as it turns out, Arpaio was failing in even that task. 

Here's the link to this morning's AZCentral story account of the arrests among the Sheriff's own staff for smuggling "illegals." Sheriff Arpaio can't even supervise his own people.  Congratulations, Maricopa County, you deserve Sheriff Joe.

The Arizona Republic's Robert Robb on What Arpaio Cost the Taxpayers

Yesterday, I brought you the story of Andrew Thomas' shameless shakedown of the Maricopa taxpayers for funds to pay for his defense against ethics charges; today I bring you a link to the Arizona Republic's outraged columnist Robert Robb on Sheriff Joe Arpaio's role in what Robb terms, the Maricopa County "cesspool."  Prompting Robb's May 11th column was the release of the independent investigation conducted by the Pinal County Sheriff's office. 

AZCentral.com's links to the Pinal County investigation.  Mind-blowing.  But hey, it's worth it to have America's Toughest Sheriff working for you, right?

Is Maricopa County Nuts? Consider the Evidence

According to a report at AZCentral, Maricopa County, AZ's Board of Supervisors is considering allocating more dough to former County Attorney Andrew Thomas to defend himself over ethics allegations thus calling into question their collective sanity. 

Thomas, (Sheriff Joe Arpaio's legal water carrier) spent nearly all of the $100,000 previously budgeted to him to pay for his defense.  This astounding story is by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez (<---hmmmmm, new married name?) which follows in excerpt:

"Former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has spent a large portion of $100,000 in public funds earmarked for his defense against a State Bar of Arizona ethics complaint, prompting discussion among county officials about whether to allocate more. Public records show Thomas has spent about $86,000, and no hearing date has yet been set.

[Former County Attorney Thomas] was [ . . . ] charged with multiple ethics violations after a lengthy investigation into his political and legal fights with the county Board of Supervisors, judges and other officials. The state Bar, which licenses and polices attorneys, accused Thomas and two former deputies of having conflicts of interest and filing criminal and civil cases without probable cause or sufficient evidence.

Days after Thomas was charged, the county Board of Supervisors approved a $100,000 budget to defend him against the charges despite its sharp political and legal differences with him. [ . . . ]  Now that Thomas has nearly exhausted the amount set in the initial budget, the Board of Supervisors is unsure how to proceed.
[ . . . ] Don Wilson, Thomas' attorney, said his client 'is entitled to a meaningful defense, and we remain hopeful the board will do the right thing.'
'As one person that witnessed his offensive behavior so directly, it makes it hard to give him anything,' [according to the Board of Supervisor Chair.]  'I don't know how he can defend his actions. That being said, we defend the professional licenses of a number of people. You'll never be able to capture my disdain for doing this.'

County officials said it is unclear if the county is legally obligated to continue paying for Thomas' representation given the Bar investigation that found he acted unethically.  But Jerry Cobb, a spokesman for Montgomery, said the office has historically provided defense for attorneys facing disciplinary hearings."
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Completely outrageous!  This lawyer conceived and participated in the ransacking of Maricopa County's coffers to fund baseless political prosecutions at the behest of his dark master, Joe Arpaio.  Thomas' actions were so offensive that the notion that the taxpayers are on the hook to defend his license defiess common sense.  Thomas quit the Maricopa County post, ostensibly, to run for Arizona Attorney General.  He lost.

What a sweet deal, you the lawyer commit unethical acts prohibited by your profession and oath, but the taxpayers will pony up to defend you!  Is that nuts?

Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Other Maricopa County Law Enforcement Liars Begin to Fall

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, America's Toughest Sheriff has been repeatedly outed on Bad Lawyer as a extra-legal law enforcement thug.  He countenanced constitutional abuses by his deputies and he created a reign of terror that has cost and will cost Maricopa County and the State of Arizona millions.  And yet, like the birthers--Arpaio is a darling of the right and Republicans throughout the United States--often flown into to raise money for the Republicans.

Corruption was so rife in Maricopa County that another Arizona County's (Pinal) Sheriff was detailed with conducting an investigations.  When Arpaio received the investigation which confirmed wholesale corruption by his chief deputies he stonewalled media requests to release the report.  The report has now been released and Deputies involved in corrupt and illegal activities are beginning to lose their jobs, including chief deputy David Hendershott.  

Obviously, the question that remains is how long will Arpaio himself be free from federal indictment?  Stay tuned.  At the link, excerpts from the Pinal County Sheriff's investigation.

So What's Sheriff Joe Been Up To?

One of the many threads I lost track of during my 5 month-sabbatical was the Maricopa County follies. I see that Sheriff Joe continues despite shocking revelations of financial malfeasance, misfeasance and outright fraud, and his standard craziness--his brilliant crime fighting with a new Mugshot Contest.  This is William Hermans's AZCentral.com's report on Arpaio's fun new law enforcement game:

"Maricopa County's Joe Arpaio may be 'America's Toughest Sheriff,' but he's clearly a fun guy.  First he put inmates into pink underwear, then into striped jail suits like the Beagle Boys. Then he put dogs into cooled jail cells and humans into tents in the heat. And he fed inmates green bologna.

Now the sheriff is letting everyone in on the fun. Arpaio's office says the public can go to the Maricopa County Jails website, 'peruse all the mug shots of the people arrested each day,' and choose a favorite. The most popular mug among mugs will be 'Mug Shot of the Day.'  One day it's a murder suspect, the next a drug suspect, and the next a child-molestation suspect.  Arpaio says there's a serious side to it: 'More eyes on arrestees may result in more leads to criminal investigators.'

Similar schemes in the past have met with mixed results. Federal courts rejected Arpaio's attempt to stream video of inmates, but the sheriff maintains inmate mug shots online."
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And Andrew Thomas?  How's the wanna be attorney general of Arizona doing?

Prosecutions Worth Writing on Toilet Paper!

Former Maricopa County attorney, Andrew Thomas (pic), pursued prosecutions and lawsuits against the political opponents of his boss, um, Sheriff Joe Arpaio (pic), that senior prosecutors in his office said were worthy to have been written on toilet paper according to emails and memos obtained by the Arizona Republic.  Arpaio (America's toughest Sheriff) and his Boy Andy are currently under federal and state investigation following a reign of Stalinist terror targeting local public officials and judges--which certain Tea Party activists profess to want to take national, if Arpaio's popularity on the campaign circuits of various states is any indication.  Here's a short excerpt from Yvonne Wingett and Michael Kiefer's story at AZCentral, this AM:

"Top prosecutors in the Maricopa County Attorney's Office had repeatedly cautioned Andrew Thomas over the last year and a half against filing criminal charges and a racketeering suit against judges and county officials.  But according to detailed interviews and e-mails gathered for an administrative investigation of a prosecutor at the center of those cases, Thomas ignored the advice and instead bypassed experienced prosecutors to assign the cases to attorneys who would prosecute them.

Lawyers in and out of the County Attorney's Office told Thomas that he did not have sufficient evidence. One prosecutor later said he was shocked the agency had filed a complaint against a judge. Another told Thomas the racketeering suit was so bad, it should have been written on toilet paper. Supervising prosecutors warned Thomas that lawyers he assigned to handle the cases were too inexperienced.

Thomas pursued the cases in spite of the warnings; all were later withdrawn or dismissed."
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There are so many facets to this incredible tale of public abuse and private profiteering.  The story has been continuously featured on Bad Lawyer since the inception (read the archives) of the blawg--but, truth be told I have barely scratched the service of the sickness and depravity of these so-called "public officials." 

If you ever wondered if the satirical and prophetic cautionary notes of Orwell in Animal Farm and 1984 were overblown, witness Maricopa County, Arizona.  Arizona is just one of the places in the US where this sort of wholesale abuse of power and corruption in the name of "law and order," is taking place.  Thomas and Arpaio proved that you could rarely disappoint the voters by oppressing the dispossessed and immigrant classes.  Arpaio and Thomas got away with discarding individual constitutional rights, spending the tax payers' dime like drunken sailors on all manner of toys, travel and armament--but, they stepped over the line with the frivolous indictments and federal racketeering lawsuits of other elected public officials and Maricopa County judges.

As I said when Thomas filed the RICO lawsuit, ill-advisedly--Thomas and Arpaio's days are numbered.  You don't file frivolous lawsuits in federal court and rationally expect that you will get away unscathed.  The RICO action was summarily dismissed.  The arrogance of Arpaio and Thomas has proven to be their downfall.  Thomas lost his bid to win the Republican nomination for Arizona Attorney General to a Republican lawyer who was barred from the securites industry for ethics violations.  How bad must the voters think you are--to choose your opponent with this kind of history over you? 

False Allegations of Crimes Made By Arpaio and Thomas--US Attorney Confrims

OK, you can read the Bad Lawyer archive of Maricopa County, Arizona stories to get the context if you haven't been following this carnival. 

Sheriff Joe Arpaio (America's Toughest Sheriff) and his boy Andy, (former Maricopa County Attorney, Andrew Thomas') engaged in a Stalinistic terror campaign to indict and prosecute all other elected Maricopa County officials not-named-Arpaio-or-Thomas--but, as we suspected all of the charges, indictments, and arrests were false.   Reporters Yvonne Wingett and JJ Hensley at AZCentral relate and supplying links to the US Attorney's summary of his investigation of cases Arapaio and Thomas forwarded to the feds for followup, after numerous dismissals by Arizona courts.  The conclusion by the feds, no evidence of any crimes by any of the Maricopa officials persecuted by Arpaio and Thomas.  

Here's the article:

"There is no evidence of federal crimes by county officials in material forwarded to federal prosecutors by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas, U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke says.  Last March, Arpaio and Thomas forwarded nine cases of suspected county corruption to the U.S. Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section for review. Though an attorney working on behalf of Arpaio and Thomas said federal officials promised to review the material, a Justice Department section chief later chastised him for giving the impression that federal agents would likely take on the investigations.

The cases instead were sent to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix for review.

'Our thorough review has shown that there is a total lack of evidence of the commission of any federal crimes by the individuals listed in the materials,' Burke wrote in a letter to Interim County Attorney Rick Romley. 'Furthermore, in several instances, the evidence was so lacking as to make the theory of liability nearly incomprehensible.'

However, Burke recommended the matters be reviewed for any potential violations of state statutes. Romley, who cannot review the matters because of conflicts of interest, has asked the Navajo County Attorney's Office to perform that task.

Robert Driscoll, an Arpaio attorney, said Arpaio and Thomas filed a wide-ranging racketeering suit after failed attempts to get an outside prosecutor to review their allegations against other county officials. When the racketeering suit was withdrawn, Driscoll said Arpaio and Thomas wanted a prosecutor to review the cases.

'I don't think it would be fair to say that a declination (to prosecute) means there's nothing there,' Driscoll said. 'There's been a review and people are better off than they were at least knowing it's been reviewed.'

The material included Arpaio and Thomas' investigations into the county's project to build a new court tower, and use of public funds to search for listening devices in county offices. Those cases were presented to a grand jury, which determined there was no probable cause that a crime was committed."
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So now you have an overwhelming finding of pure political malevolence by these two clowns, Arpaio and Thomas.  Andrew Thomas was soundly defeated in a bid to be the Republican nominee for the position of Arizona attorney general and a bar investigation is underway.

Arpaio's profligate spending on guns and lawyers, including Big Law--ended when the County Supervisors he and Thomas repeatedly and unsuccessfully indicted recently regained control of the county spending authority.  And Arpaio's Sheriff's department is itself on the verge of collapse in the face of corruption investigations and denunciations from former trusted associates. 

You gotta give it up for Sheriff Joe, he is the darling of the Tea Party.  He's on the road raising money for all the tin foil hat types, that is until he ends up in U.S. District Court. 

But Arpaio's victims: county officials who were arrested, smeared and indicted; and, the taxpayers of Maricpa County, they just keep paying.

"Use Creative Writing!"

The Deputy County Attorney who was singularly most instrumental in Sheriff Joe Arpaio is being fired according to the Arizona Republic.  According to reporters Yvonne Wingett and Michael Kieffer Lisa Aubuchon (pic, lwft) received the letter required under Arizona law, preliminary to her discharge as a "merit" employee:

"A controversial prosecutor faces imminent firing after a five-month inquiry into her role in filing criminal charges and a civil suit against judges and county officials on behalf of then-Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.   The Arizona Republic has learned Deputy County Attorney Lisa Aubuchon was sent a 'pre-termination letter last week, an initial step in the firing process.

Aubuchon has been on paid administrative leave since April, when Thomas resigned as county attorney to make a failed run for Arizona attorney general.   Interim County Attorney Rick Romley fired two high-ranking prosecutors from Thomas' tenure when he took office. The other prosecutors served at the pleasure of the county attorney. Aubuchon, however, was protected as a 'merit' employee and could be fired only for cause. Romley ordered an internal investigation into her conduct.

Aubuchon has until today to respond to facts stated in the pre-termination letter. The office would not reveal those details.   Aubuchon is entitled to a meeting with top officials within the County Attorney's Office to plead her case. Barring last-minute evidence, she likely will be fired.

Aubuchon has worked in the County Attorney's Office since 1996 and was head of the office's charging division under Thomas. In that capacity, she determined if and when criminal charges would be filed. Aubuchon generally was regarded as the go-to lawyer in the political-corruption cases pursued by Thomas, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Arpaio's chief deputy, David Hendershott. All of those cases were dropped or dismissed, and in at least one case, a grand jury refused to hand up indictments and ordered Aubuchon to 'end the inquiry.'

Calls to Aubuchon and her attorney went unanswered Thursday.

In past conversations with The Republic, Aubuchon asserted she had done nothing wrong, saying, 'I would never file anything for a political purpose.'

The County Attorney's Office would not comment on its investigative findings leading to the pre-termination letter, but Aubuchon has been involved in numerous recent legal battles:

• She was the prosecutor who obtained indictments against County Supervisors Mary Rose Wilcox and Don Stapley. The Wilcox case, regarding financial transactions, was thrown out by a judge who ruled that it was politically motivated. One Stapley case, also regarding financial issues, was subsequently dropped. Another was thrown out on technicalities, and during an appeal, a special prosecutor discovered that many of the charges had been filed after the statute of limitations had expired.

Aubuchon also tried to obtain indictments against Superior Court judges and other county employees but was rebuffed by a county grand jury. And, at the request of Thomas and Arpaio, she authored a civil-racketeering lawsuit against county officials, Superior Court judges and private attorneys, alleging a conspiracy to keep Thomas from investigating the supervisors and a $340 million court building under construction. The suit was dropped.

• Along with Arpaio, Thomas and Hendershott, she is being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department for alleged abuse of power. The State Bar of Arizona also is looking into possible unethical conduct by Aubuchon.
• Last month, The Republic learned that Aubuchon's attorneys in the Bar investigation had hired private investigators to research and follow an out-of-state investigator who was in Arizona conducting the Bar inquiry.
• Aubuchon has filed a $10 million notice of claim against the county, alleging that county officials smeared her reputation and destroyed her career. 

New details about Aubuchon's actions emerged this week in an internal Sheriff's Office memo in which Deputy Chief Frank Munnell asked that Hendershott be placed on leave and investigated for alleged misconduct, mismanagement and criminal activity.

Munnell alleges in the 63-page memo that Aubuchon told sheriff's investigators to use 'creative writing' to write a search warrant allowing them to search the offices of all five members of the county Board of Supervisors.  Investigators were incredulous, Munnell wrote, and one lieutenant pointed to each of his subordinates and said if he  'found out that any one of them used creative writing, or wrote a warrant without the facts, he would fire them.'

Munnell alleged that during that meeting, Aubuchon pulled out a previously written search warrant used for a case against County Supervisor Don Stapley.  The lieutenant countered that the warrant looked like a 'press release and not a valid search warrant.'  Aubuchon's response, alleged Munnell, was, 'Why don't you just do good police work? " Munnell wrote, 'The most shocking moment of that meeting took place when Aubuchon, who is supposed to be an impartial and ethical prosecutor, stated during the meeting, to the effect that if they couldn't get charges on Stapley, that he would be tried in the media.  The result of this contentious meeting was . . . the sheriff's personnel present in the meeting refused to author a warrant to search the offices of all the members of the Board of Supervisors,' Munnell wrote.

Munnell's memo also confirmed previous reports that Hendershott in April tried to create a position within the Sheriff's Office for Aubuchon."
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There are almost always public prosecutors like Aubuchon.  Lawyers who use their license as cudgels to achieve ends regardless of the means.  I think of he California prosecutor Benjamin Thomas Field who received a 5 year license suspension for comparable conduct.  Young lawyers and young judges can have too much power, it can poison egos and pervert justice.

When a lawyer is blessed to have a position of public trust, the power to convene grand juries, obtain warrants, and have citizens arrested and jailed, it's good to exercise these powers with wisdom; otherwise find another line of work.  Creative writing?

Munnell's Memo to Arpaio

At the link you can read the original +60 page memo of Deputy Chief Frank Munnell to Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  I recently referred to the existence of this document. The memo provides an insider account of the recent reign of terror in Maricopa County.  It is one of the most extraordinary documents of its type that you will ever see.  I feel lucky to be able to link to it.

Meanwhile In Maricopa County, A Train's A Comin'

Things appear to be (further) crumbling on the floor of the Justice Center where Sheriff Joe ran/runs his regime of terror.  Chief Deputy David Hendershott (pic, right) is being called out by one of the Sheriff's other chief loyalists.  The story and its follow-up are by reporters Yvonne Wingett and JJ Hensley, this morning's report brings us news that Sheriff Joe is finally taking action against his closest allies,--because his hand is being forced by other Arpaio loyalists who can apparently read the writing on the wall:

"The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has placed two of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's top aides on administrative leave after they and another aide were accused of misconduct and mismanagement.  The move comes as Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu determines the merits of the allegations against them.  The deputy chief who wrote a memo containing explosive allegations that triggered the inquiry said Thursday that he supports the sheriff's decision to have Babeu review the matter.

A spokesman for the Pinal County sheriff said Babeu has not yet reviewed the 63-page memo, which alleges widespread wrongdoing by Chief Deputy David Hendershott and others.  The memorandum, authored by Deputy Chief Frank Munnell, describes an oppressive work environment in which Hendershott is alleged to have threatened [yestereday's story, at the link, reports that Chief Deputy Hendershott threatened to "machinegun" other sheriff's deputies who balked at serving harassing summons on elected County officials in the Stalinsist raids of last year] and [Hendershott] retaliated against subordinates who questioned him and browbeat others into refusing to cooperate with federal and state investigations into the Sheriff's Office. Hendershott is the office's second-in-command and runs the sheriff's day-to-day operations.

Assistant Chief Deputy Munnell asked Arpaio to place Hendershott, Deputy Chief Larry Black and Capt. Joel Fox on administrative leave pending an independent investigation by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Black and Fox were placed on leave with pay Thursday. Hendershott remains on medical leave and is expected to return in several weeks.

Rather than involve the DPS, Arpaio sent the memo to Babeu, a political ally, for review.

Munnell, one of a group of high-ranking officers subordinate to Hendershott, on Thursday spoke briefly about his memo, telling The Arizona Republic he was pleased with Arpaio's decision.

'I believe a fair and appropriate and impartial investigation will take place, and I'm going to let it take its course,' Munnell said. [ . . . ]

[Chief Deputy] Hendershott [long Arpaio's right hand man] makes $165,000 a year, which does not include retirement earnings. Fox makes $103,000 and Black $80,000.  [ . . .]

[Assistant Deputy] Munnell's memo said Hendershott's conduct jeopardizes the stability of one of the largest sheriff's agencies in the nation. He alleges Hendershott pressured subordinates on a corruption task force to write a questionable search warrant and then repeatedly threatened that he would "machine gun" them if they refused. Munnell also asserts that Hendershott retaliated against those who acted against him and protected those who remained loyal.

The memo was turned over to the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice, which for nine months have presented evidence before a federal grand jury. The agencies are working together on an abuse-of-power inquiry into Arpaio, former County Attorney Andrew Thomas and others in their agencies.

On Thursday, The Republic obtained the personnel files of the three longtime sheriff's officials named in the memo from both Arpaio's office and county human resources.

Munnell's memo alleges years of behavior that ranges from inappropriate to criminal, but a review of the files found the three to be model employees, and they have consistently received marks of  'outstanding' and 'excellent' on annual performance reviews.  Munnell also claims in the memo that Hendershott has favored employees who are shielded and protected by Hendershott from receiving any discipline.' [ . . . ]

If the investigation becomes a criminal matter, the administrative probe is frozen until the criminal investigation is complete. With the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office already the subject of a federal civil-rights investigation and two separate criminal probes at the state and federal level, Pinal County investigators should coordinate with the other agencies, Warriner said.

'The last thing you want to do,'  he said, 'is go in knowing the federal government, the FBI, is already doing an investigation and step in and mess up their case.'"

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There's a pattern here, the Sheriff and his henchmen trammeled the rights of criminals, to near universal acclaim, including book deals, television, and media fame.  Then they trammeled the rights of the the criminally accused, with the same result.  Then they began to trammel the rights of citizens who they wrongfully accused of misdeeds.  They spent the public dollar like it was their own.  When elected officials in charge of the public money objected, the Sheriff and his allies went after the elected officials and the Judges.  In doing so Arpaio, Thomas, Hendershott and their allies sunk into a frenzy of frivolous and insane litigation that is costing Maricopa County millions. 

As we see in OurCounty, and its avatar, Cuyahoga County, Ohio--this sort of thing inevitably leads to widespread corruption which will be prosecuted, and the Federal government is nothing if not thorough and patient.  What will ultimately happen is that the underlying corruption charges will not matter, because the corrupt officials and their minions will commit myriad further crimes of obstruction, and perjury in the service of covering up the underlying criminal behavior.

At the end of the day, Maricopans--read Cleveland.com's county in crisis series to see your fate.  It's coming faster than you can imagine.

Maricopa County Officials Spend $5.6 Million and Counting...Suing One Another, Nice.

The Arizona Republic has finally gotten around to asking the question:  How much did Sheriff Arpaio and his lap dog, Andrew Thomas cost the taxpayers when they falsely arrested, prosecuted and sued other county officials and vice versa?  The answer, $5.6 million and counting.  Here's reporter Yvonnne Wingett's story:

"The vitriolic conflicts among Maricopa County's elected officials have drained at least $5.6 million from the county's coffers over the past two years, according to the latest Arizona Republic analysis of public records. And the costs continue to mount as disputes over money, power, computer systems and public records persist among Sheriff Joe Arpaio, former County Attorney Andrew Thomas and the Board of Supervisors.

Most of the $5.6 million was paid to high-priced private attorneys, and it's not a complete tally.  Invoices continue to arrive that still have to be reviewed before being paid. In some cases, county officials have also held up payments because the bills are incomplete, inaccurate or confusing.   The records provided to The Republic by county officials through public-records requests also appear incomplete in some cases. For example, detailed billings from attorneys who subcontracted other lawyers to represent Arpaio and Thomas were not provided.

The Republic analyzed payments made by Maricopa County from 2008 through August and the County Attorney's Office through June, the most recent available figures.  The Republic has continued to review payments associated with the disputes over the past two years. By March, the county had spent $3.2 million.   The latest review shows that costs have climbed by $2.4 million since then. The increase is mostly because new expenses have come to light and the court case over a criminal-justice database has dragged on.

The expenses reviewed include legal fees to prepare complaints against attorneys, legal fees to represent Arpaio, Thomas and their offices in the federal grand-jury investigation, legal fees to represent the Sheriff's Office on matters involving a subpoena from the state attorney general, and fees associated with an internal investigation into a deputy county attorney.

Barbara Norrander, a political-science professor at the University of Arizona, said the feud damages the public's confidence in the government and casts further suspicion on public officials and their motives.  'And now, people are concerned about government budgets since they're stretched so thin,' she said. 'If they're spending more money on legal cases, that means there are fewer potholes that they can fill.'

The county battles have raged since 2008.

As relationships deteriorated among county officials, they turned to attorneys to fight their battles over budgets, financial records, control of inmate health care, legal representation and computer systems.

Thomas and Arpaio filed several lawsuits against the Board of Supervisors, including a federal civil-racketeering suit against the supervisors, four judges and attorneys who work with the county.   Thomas later dropped that case. [County Attorney Thomas and [Sheriff] Arpaio have lost every case that has been ruled on by the courts.  County Treasurer Charles 'Hos' Hoskins also has battled with the county over budget, staffing and computer matters. Those fights cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney fees and audits.

The board spent $14,600 to sweep offices for illegally placed listening devices. The county and sheriff have spent at least $125,704 on efforts to resolve a U.S. Department of Labor probe into overtime pay for sheriff's detention officers, which was complicated partly because of strained relationships among county officials.

Some of the battles have been resolved by the courts or are on appeal. Other matters are in the early stages, and the fees have just started to rack up.  For example, over four months, the attorney representing Deputy County Attorney Lisa Aubuchon in an investigation initiated by the State Bar of Arizona into possible misconduct already has billed $177,876 for her defense, according to invoices.

The county is responsible for defending Aubuchon, Thomas and others because the allegations listed in the complaints took place during the course of their duties with the county.  County Manager David Smith estimates $5.6 million could have covered the cost of hiring 25 employees over five years, but he pointed out that the payroll would be recurring costs while the legal costs were one-time payments.

'It's nonsense,' Smith said of the costs and the fights.   Commenting on the impact the expenses have had on the Sheriff's Office, Chief Financial Officer Loretta Barkell said, 'It has been challenging meeting all the Sheriff's Office day-to-day operational expenses.'

Some legal costs come directly out of the sheriff's budgets.

The $5.6 million tab does not include the amount of time staff members have worked on the legal cases and other matters. For example, employees from all sides have spent hundreds of hours reviewing financial records and researching cases instead of doing regular job assignments.

The tab also does not include the money paid by county supervisors and others to fight their personal legal battles; nor does it include the amount of money Thomas and Arpaio have paid to investigate the supervisors. Nor does the total cost reflect expenses to represent the sheriff in the U.S. Justice Department's civil-rights investigation into racial-profiling allegations. That investigation is not directly related to disputes with county officials.
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Boy, the taxpayes of Maricopa County sure got what they paid for!

How We Treat Others

My fellow-blogger, Gayle sent me a Time magazine column by Adam Cohen while I was in D.C. last week, thinking about Torah and the future purpose of my life.  The story is fantastically appropriate to this blawg and I wanted some time to think about it.  This is what Gayle sent me: link, please read it. 

Essentially the column is about the Ninth Circuit's reversal of a conviction of Daniel J. Millis who was arrested and prosecuted for "littering" by providing water to aliens crossing the desert border in Arizona.  The plastic bottles left behind by the immigrants is the "litter." At the above link, you can read the entire decision of the Court.   While I want to avoid the nasty underlying politics underlying the prosecution of Millis, since, of course I've discussed it at length in connection with my discussion of SB1070 and various posts on Sheriff Joe Arpaio, let us look at the prosecution and conviction from another perspective:  what is the right thing?  What is the righteous thing?  What ultimately should we do for ourselves and mankind?  Do you or do you not believe that how we treat others impacts us as human beings and if you believe as I do--as children of God?

Are we not commanded by nearly every religion, as Jesus said, to love one another, to treat our neighbor as we ourselves would be treated?  In the "Old Testament" book of Numbers 15:13-16,  Gentiles are called (aliens, foreigners, sojourners, or strangers) and when they attach themselves to Israel, God required that Israelis to treat the alien the same: "the same Laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.”  Throughout the Bible this rule is asserted and reasserted: in Leviticus 24:22 God states, “Y[ou] shall have ONE manner of Law, as well for the stranger as for one of your own country; for I am the Lord your God.” This is repeated in Exodus 12:49 and other places in Scripture.  In the days of the prophet Isaiah for future generations: “…And the foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to serve Him and to love the name of the Lord, and to worship Him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant – These I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.” (Isaiah 56:1-7.)

Conservatives talk endlessly about religion and the place of God in our lives and public spaces but where the rubber meets the road, this idea is jettisoned.  Under our system of laws we would prosecute someone for providing water to aliens on the pretense of "litter." 

The bloggers at the Ninth Circuit Blog quoted T.S. Eliot in their coverage of the Millis opinion, it is very apt, I can do no better: 

Here is no water but only rock
Rock and no water and the sandy road
The road winding above among the mountains
Which are mountains of rock without water
If there were water we should stop and drink
Amongst the rock one cannot stop or think
Sweat is dry and feet are in the sand
If there were only water amongst the rock
Dead mountain mouth of carious teeth that cannot spit
Here one can neither stand not lie nor sit
There is not even silence in the mountains
But dry sterile thunder without rain

from The Waste Land (1922)

Woe to those among us who fail to remember from where their voice comes from, lest they lose their very humanity and separate their soul from the Creator's. 

Andrew Thomas Concedes

Maricopa County's own, Andrew Thomas, (Sheriff Joe Arpaio's former legal gunslinger) has conceded the primary contest to his Republican primary opponent, Tom Horne.  Thomas who may well lose his law license labeled Mr. Horne a scam artist based on a history of financial shenanigans and a bankruptcy not disclosed on required state filings.  We'll see how this all plays out; suffice it to say the Arizona Supreme Court appears to be losing its patience for the games being played by Thomas et al.  

Corydon, Indiana Republicans Host "America's Toughest Sheriff"

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports on Joe Arapio's fundraising visit to Harrison County, Indiana.  In the picture he is shown searching for his heart as he and the local Republican chair say the Pledge of Allegiance.  This amusing account of the Arpaio is from reporter Harold Adams:

'The Arizona sheriff who bills himself as 'America’s Toughest Sheriff' said he was 'a little disappointed' in his visit Saturday night to Harrison County to raise money for local Republican political candidates. 'Wherever I go I have demonstrators. I haven’t had any demonstrators [BL--Yeah, I bet, this is because this area of Indiana was dominated by the KKK in the 1920s],' Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said while meeting with reporters at the First State Office Building in Corydon.

Arpaio, who often speaks around the country, made sure reporters understood how to pronounce his name: 'It’s Ar-pie-o, none of this Ar-pay-o.'

Arpaio began his Corydon visit with a $500-a-person reception at the office of attorney Maryland Austin, which was closed to the media. That was followed by a reception at the office building, where about 250 people paid $120 each to meet and have their picture taken with Arpaio and attend a dinner at St. Joseph Catholic Church, where he was the featured speaker.
Arpaio has received a lot of national attention recently for his hard stance on immigration. He had his deputies check the immigration status of people they think might be illegal aliens long before Arizona passed a controversial state law requiring such checks. The law was slated to take effect last month but a U.S. District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction stopping its most controversial features from being enforced.

The 78-year-old Arpaio, who wore a gold-colored Glock pistol tie tack with his dark suit, proclaimed with a smile that he was under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for possible racial profiling for his enforcement of immigration laws.

He encountered only admiration at the event.

New Albany resident Sarah Spivey was typical of those who approached Arpaio.

'You are my hero. May I shake your hand?'  Spivey said as she made her way toward the sheriff. 'My sons and I follow your life and history as much as we can.'  Spivey’s friend, Virginia McGuirk, told Arpaio, 'I wish we had a bunch of sheriffs around here like you.'

The present sheriff of Harrison County, Democrat Mike Deatrick, is under indictment for sexual battery and criminal deviate conduct against two sheriff’s department dispatchers. Deatrick has pleaded not guilty. Rod Seelye, the Republican nominee in the November race to replace Deatrick, is one of the candidates who will benefit from the money raised by Arpaio’s appearance.

'I think some of the models that he’s set in Arizona will play well here,'   Seelye said.
Arpaio has long been controversial for his hard attitude toward jail inmates. Among other things, he’s known for housing some jail inmates in tents, starting a female chain gang and making all inmates wear pink underwear.  Seelye declined to endorse any specific policies of the Arizona sheriff, saying only, 'I think he runs a tight ship. … I’m talking about running a very professional law enforcement agency.'"
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These Hoosiers can get themselves a Sheriff like Joe Arpaio--move to Phoenix.  Apparently dumb white folks are needed down there, in force, as an antidote to everyone else with an IQ slightly above simian.

Arizona Election Results

AZCentral.com is reporting this morning that the political career of Andrew Thomas, former Maricopa County Attorney and water boy for Sheriff Joe Arpaio, may have come to an end.  As you will recall from the stories on Bad Lawyer, Thomas quit his job mid-term, a-la, Sarah Palin to run for higher office, Attorney General.  Thomas appears to have narrowly lost in his bid for the Republican nomination.  Amazingly, Thomas lost to a local lawyer who ran an investment scheme that went belly-up in college resulting in a bankruptcy that the lawyer subsequently lied about in various filings.  How bad a candidate do you yourself have to be to lose a race for attorney general to a "con artist" which is what Thomas called his opponent, Tom Horne?   If the election results hold, Horne will face democratic challenger Felecia Rotellini in the general election. 

Tellingly, returns from Maricopa County played a significant role in the projected electoral defeat of Thomas.

In a separate story, AZCentral.com is reporting that Sheriff Joe Arpaio who utterly hates interim County Attorney Rick Romley may have played a role in defeating Romley's bid to win election to the the County attorney position by illegally running ads and sending mailers on behalf of Romley's opponent.  The local electoral commission found Arpaio's interference in this election violated election laws as it relates to the mailers Arpaio paid for and distributed.  Romley appears to have lost the race by a wide margin although the defeat may have been attributable to complex and underhanded manipulation of candidacies and of course Arpaio's seemingly bottomless deep pocket. 

We will see how this turns out.  As with all things Arpaio, more shall be revealed.

Arpaio and Thomas Machinations Documented by Release of Grand Jury Transcripts and Other Original Documents

The Arizona Republic provides something you almost never see, the grand jury transcripts (links to the pdf of the original documents are at the link) from Sheriff Joe Arpaio and (former Maricopa County Attorney) Andrew Thosmas' tragi-comic attempt to have their political enemies indicted.  If you check the Bad Lawyer index you will see that Sheriff Joe and and his Boy Andy's machinations have been a special obsession of mine and the Bad Laywer blawg.

Anyone who cares about the law should care about this story--and with this report you see the smoking guns which were released by the interim Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley.  Romley formerly served in the position and came in after the disastrous tenure of Thomas who now thinks Arizonans should elect him Attorney General.  You can watch Romley's press conference at the link.

The story represents for me the sort of wholesale abuse of local power.  This sort of thing  happens in many places around the country but usually beneath the surface.  But not in Maricopa County where Sheriff Joe and Boy Andy operated a full reign of terror.  They trammeled the rights of criminal defendants, immigrants, the poor, their political opponents, lawyers, Judges, and other elected officials. The Maricopa grand jury transcripts which are linked to the story are amazing documents.  The final transcript in particular conclude with grand jurors "refusing" to act any further. 

These original documents provide a rarely seen window on how it is that prosecutors can "indict a ham sandwich." 

If you are at all interested in how folks get "indicted" and how little "indictment" bears on guilt in some situations, here's your proof.  You will rarely see anything like this.  Don't miss this story.  The Arizona Republic and the Phoenix New Times deserve Pulitzer Prizes for their coverage of this story.

God, Save Arizona!

AZCentral is reporting that former Maricopa County Attorney [like a county prosecutor, but way-scarier,] and current Arizona Attorney General candidate Andrew "Yessir Sheriff Joe!" Thomas planned a full-fledged coup with mass indictments of most Maricopans not named Andrew, Joe, or Lisa.   This story is so preposterous that it is a wonder that it hasn't been made into a video game, maybe an update of whack-a-mole.

Bad Lawyer has covered the extensive adventures of Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe, terming their reign of terror, Stalinistic.  But really, words fail when the actual reality exceeds satire.  You can also read quality background coverage at the ABAJournal website and at the Phoenix New Times which is currently  running this report of Sheriff Joe's men run wild.

It's real easy to be cynical about life and law in places like China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, but it isn't much of an exaggeration to find similarities with our Dear Leader Joe and his army of tax-funded lawyers (now, including former Congressman Bob Barr) and armament and other toys bought on the people's credit cards. With outrage after outrage  piling up--is it not a wonderful thing that these clowns are driving immigration politics in the United States? 

Think about this, it's as if Joe McCarthy and Roy Cohn were put in charge of immigration policy in America.  But that is exactly what's happening, Governor Jan Brewer and the Arizona legislature are dancing to the political tune whistled by Joe Arpaio--and, this song is the mainstay of the immigration platform of one or two American political parties.  I console myself with the firm conviction that when the music is over, there are going to be a lot of politicians running around looking for missing chairs.  There will come a time in this country where we look back at the anti-immigration hysteria driven by these political lizards in Arizona and politicians who happily associate themselves now with these figures and the sentiments that they represent are going to be embarrassed and will try to deny, that they ever were associated with these xenophobic ideals.

Too Late for Bad Sheriff Day, Joe Arpaio Weighs In . . .

Maricopa Sheriff, Joe Arpaio waited a day too long to make onto Bad Lawyer Bad Sheriff Day, but what the Hell we knew he'd make it back in short order and sure enough the Associated Press is reporting the following:

The sheriff of the most populous county in Arizona says he's 'not going to put up with any civil disobedience' when the state's new immigration law takes effect.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says that if protesters want to block his jail, he'll put them in it. The Arizona law, which takes effect Thursday, requires officers enforcing other laws to check a person's immigration status if they suspect the person is in the country illegally.  Arpaio told ABC's  Good Morning America  he doesn't know 'what the big hype is.'  He says it's 'a crime to be here illegally and everyone should enforce' the law.
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This guy is the Bull Connor of our era--thug justice.  Arpaio epitomizes disrespect for the rule of law.  His day will pass and Maricopa County will shudder at the historical association with his image.