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 When the racketeering suit was withdrawn, Driscoll said Arpaio and Thomas wanted a prosecutor to review the cases.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."
____________________________________
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.

Hypebole + Hypocrisy Illustrated

AZCentral is reporting that a visiting Pima County Superior Court Judge overseeing Maricopa County controversies between Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the rest of the elected world has ordered Arpaio to end his defiance of County Supervisors who have ordered him to appear at a county meeting to explain apparent financial misspending issues and produce records Arpaio has thus far refused to produce.  The by JJ Hensley is wonderful for the lawyering hyperbole of Arpaio's mouthpiece:

"[I]n a ruling released Friday, Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Gordon poked holes in nearly all of the sheriff's legal arguments and authorized supervisors to go forward with the hearing.  Eric Dowell, an attorney for Arpaio, said he would appeal Gordon's ruling on the basis that it's unconstitutional for a board to try to preside over an individual when some of its members are suing the very same person.

'That violates every notion of due process and fair play that has ever been recognized by a civilized society recognizing the rule of law,' Dowell said of the hearing the Supervisors are pursuing.

County administrators were pleased with the ruling and said the object of the proceeding is to get answers about spending, not to embarrass Arpaio, who has fought with county employees and elected officials over various issues in the last two years.

'We are pleased that Maricopa County can move forward, on behalf of the taxpayers, to address the objective concerns about certain financial irregularities within the Sheriff's Office. We urge the Sheriff to promptly produce the financial records requested,' county spokeswoman Cari Gerchick said in a statement. 'Maricopa County is pleased that yet another non-Maricopa County judge has ruled that its conduct was completely lawful.'

Gerchick said there was no timetable yet for when the supervisors would seek to hold the hearing for Arpaio.

Arpaio's lawyers argued that the supervisors couldn't call Arpaio before them for a judicial proceeding in part because Arpaio's investigation into county officials and indictments of two county supervisors created a conflict of interest.  The issue arose after months of wrangling between officials in Arpaio's administration and county supervisors over spending in the Sheriff's Office and records that could help confirm or deny the county's suspicions that some money was being spent inappropriately."
________________________
I love this lawyer's remarks, due process ... fair play...rule of law.  Arpaio invented the game of kicking people around without due process, fair play, or the rule of law.  Remember this is the guy who humiliates human beings guilty or not by marching them around in pink jumpsuits, who condones his deputies stealing from the private files and papers of attorneys at the courtroom table, who exercises utter contempt for the orders of Judges he is charged to assist, he's the "public servant" who initiates repeatedly frivolous criminal indictments and civil racketeering lawsuits, who defies federal and state laws, and Arpaio is the Sheriff who spends the taxpayers' money literally like it is nobody's business on, in one case a luxury bus, and private BigLaw attorneys.
 
The claim of attorney Eric Dowell is preposterous and the sort of obnoxious hyperbolic and hypocritical claim that brings contempt on all mouthpieces.

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.'"
_________________________________
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.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Loves to Spend the Taxpayers' Money on Attorneys!

AZCentral.com is reporting on the efforts of newly-returned Maricopa County, AZ County Attorney Rick Romley to cut Sheriff Joe Arpaio off of the taxpayer funded spending spree on outside counsel.  This is from JJ Hensley and Yvonne Wingett's article:

"A pair of attorneys tending to high-profile issues for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office won't get paid any more for their services until county officials get a better handle on spending in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's agency.

The Sheriff's Office's contract with Kris Kobach, an attorney from Kansas who helped write Arizona's controversial new immigration law, was terminated last month when a representative for interim County Attorney Rick Romley sent a letter announcing the change.

Another attorney representing Arpaio in the U.S. Justice Department's civil- rights investigation into racial-profiling allegations has received more than $150,000 for his work so far. But Maricopa County officials said Thursday they were surprised to learn of Robert Driscoll's compensation, which they believe came from an outside account holding anti-racketeering RICO funds.

'It is, I think, further evidence of potential problems with spending of public monies by the Sheriff's Office,' said county spokeswoman Cari Gerchick. 'We can't imagine it's an appropriate use of funds.'

Kobach has become a national figure in the immigration debate since Gov. Jan Brewer signed SB 1070 into law in April. Even before then, he had already influenced policies at the Sheriff's Office.

Kobach was hired in November to advise then-County Attorney Andrew Thomas' office and the Sheriff's Office on matters related to immigration and law enforcement. He produced a two-hour training video for deputies that included advice on factors that constitute reasonable suspicion that someone is in the country illegally.   Kobach's contract was with Ogletree Deakins, an outside firm Thomas' office hired, and called for Kobach to receive a $300 hourly rate or a $1,500 monthly retainer.   Neither the Sheriff's or County Attorney's offices could say Thursday how much Kobach made in his six months under contract.

Driscoll began working for the Sheriff's Office last summer after Arpaio's agency became the subject of a federal civil-rights investigation.   With a background in the U.S. Attorney General's Office, Driscoll was thought to have the pedigree to lead the Sheriff's Office through a battle with federal investigators.   One month after he was brought in, Driscoll announced that the Sheriff's Office would no longer cooperate with the Justice Department, accusing federal investigators of misleading Arpaio's representatives.

But Driscoll has continued to do work on Arpaio's behalf, to the surprise of Maricopa County administrators.  Alston & Bird, Driscoll's firm, invoiced the Sheriff's Office on March 24, March 29 and again April 12, county officials said.  Based on documents, the officials believe the firm was paid about $155,000, county spokeswoman Gerchick said.[. . . ]

'It's clear that the Sheriff has a right to representation by council (sic) of his choice. He has a right not to be represented by a County Attorney's office that is hostile to his interests,' Driscoll wrote.  [Huh?!!!! Are you kidding the taxpayers?]

County officials first learned of the payments earlier this week after they showed up on spreadsheets sent to the Department of Finance, the county's central finance agency. The payments were included in a spreadsheet created by the Sheriff's Office and used to track and support payments to outside counsel firms.  It is unclear why the expenses were included in the spreadsheets, officials said, because RICO purchases typically are not reported to county finance officials. Amid concerns of questionable spending, the county Board of Supervisors last month decided to freeze Arpaio's access to RICO funds[.]"
______________________
Sheriff Arpaio likes to spend the peoples' money like the proverbial sailor on "shore leave." And Arpaio hates to be accountable to the County for the money he spends, having recently filed another lawsuit to stop the County from obtaining finanicial records of Sheriff's department expenditures this on top of the flurry of frivolous lawsuits and prosecutions pursued against county officials including the presiding Judge, now all dismissed.  This silliness will continue until the taxpayers of Maricopa County get around to saying "enough."

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.'"

_____________________________________

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.

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."
_______________________________
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? 

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.
________________________________
Boy, the taxpayes of Maricopa County sure got what they paid for!

Maricopa County, Arizona Prosecutorial Misconduct?

Maricopa, Arizona "County Attorney" Andrew Thomas is the Butt Buddy of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a favorite subject, here on Bad Lawyer. 

The LA Times has a decent summary of the most recent Stalinist antics of Arpaio and his sycophant prosecutor, Andrew Thomas. 

In sum, Arpaio and Thomas are conducting a coup in Maricopa County by arresting, prosecuting and suing all of the county elected officials, including sitting Judges--that they, Arpaio and Thomas dislike.  These elected officials are accused by Prosecutor Thomas of a massive conspiracy agasint Arpaio; and, Prosecutor Thomas has filed a racketeering lawsuit in federal court.  

Arizona Central is reporting on a rally of local attorneys against prosecutor Thomas and Arpaio.  Since the drafting of this post, last night,  Arizona Central has updated it's article.

Perhaps all of this an encouraging sign for Maricopa's citizens?  It's reminiscent of the attorney-uprising in Pakistan that led to the reinstatement of that country's Chief Justice and for the time being, the return of the rule of law in a country formerly dominated by Musharraf and his military dictatorship. 

Dictatorship is not too strong a word for what's happening in Maricopa County.  Good luck, gentlemen--Bad Lawyers all!

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.

Bad Prosecutors, Arpaio's Boy, Andrew Thomas Takes the Stand

In the continuing car wreck that is Maricopa County, Arizona local politics there was an extraordinary proceeding yesterday at which Sheriff Joe Arapaio's consigliere, Andrew Thomas testified at a hearing to determine whether Thomas should be disqualified from prosecuting other county officials who are politically at odds with Sheriff Arapaio. 

The Bad Lawyer has followed these cases since thr outset of recent events that include hiring $1100 an hour appellate lawyers from D.C. to advance the personal animus of the Sheriff, the one who calls himself, America's Toughest.  The underlying story is that Maricopa County, which encompasses metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona is the land of the "snow bird." Seniors and others flock south in the winter months, and property values sky-rocketed until recent years.  In the view of Arpaio and others problems in Maricopa County are precipitated by illegal immigration from Mexico and Central American countries.  Arpaio's approach to crime includes enforcing federal immigraton laws, and his approach to enforcing state and local laws are said to involve racial profiling and discrimination especially against persons of hispanic heritage. 

Sheriff Arpaio's power increased with his perceived "tough" on crime approach and reckless disregard for the rule of law as embodied in Arizona and the US. Constitution, to an extent, which open warfare has erupted among elected officials and the judiciary vi-a-vis, the Sheriff.  Instead of reaching out to the other elected officials, Arpaio utilizing the office of the County Attorney, (who is the prosecutor, Andrew Thomas) began obtaining indictments of local officials and recently has taken to bringing federal racketeering lawsuits against County officials.    Think about this, this is sort of like suing your co-workers while claiming you can still provide services to them anf with for your clients--not real easy to do.  Thomas contends that he can sue his co-workers, prosecute his co-workers and still somehow provide services to the citizens of Maricopa County that they hired him to do.

Funny twist on this, this isn't the first time Mr. Thomas prviously obtained indictments against this very county official, Mrs. Mary Rose Wilcox.  In classic prosecutorial overkill he indicted Mrs.Wilcox on multiple, multiple counts accusing her in every variation on a theme of fraud, of false this-false that...for allegedly voting on matters that impacted an Hispanic advocacy organization to which Mrs. Wilcox or her husband was obligated to on loans.  All of these indictments agasint Mrs. Wilcox, and one other county official were dismissed by a Superior Court Judge outside of Maricopa County.  This wasn't what Arapaio wanted, he wanted the heads of these two county officials, so Thomas sought a second prosecution.  Originally, the case files were given to an out of county prosecutor Yavapai County prosecutor Sheila Polk she told Thomas that her review and investigation of the allegations against Mrs. Wilcox revealed no evidence of a crime.  Thomas demanded the files be returned and he went off and obtained a boatload of new indictments against Wilcox et al.  Prosecuor Polk fearing a miscarriage of justice courageously spoke up, penning an op-ed for the Arizona Republic.   Prosecutor Polk also testified, yesterday at the hearing seeking to disqualify County attorney Thomas from further prosecutorial involvement in these matters.  Polk said under oath that the Maricopa County Sheriff's department threatened her if she went public.  Does any of this scare you?  It should. 

Remember, the person not in the courtroom is the driving force behind all of it, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, America's "toughest sheriff." 

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid30311461001?bctid=66899385001 The link is to the short video excerpts of the hearing.  You can see the witnesses for yourself including Andrew Thomas. 

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."
____________________________________________
And Andrew Thomas?  How's the wanna be attorney general of Arizona doing?

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.

Apaio Pees His Pants, Threatens to Sue All Involved

AZcentral.com reports that Maricopa County Supervisors have selected a replacement for Count Attorney Andrew Thomas who under investigation by the feds, quit supposedly to run for Attorney General.  As you will recall Andrew Thomas was Sheriff Joe Arpaio's closest political ally and chief legal enabler in transforming Maricopa County into a Stalinist terror state on the taxpayers' dimes.  Sheriff Joe Arpaio (America's toughest Sheriff) is threatening to sue everyone involved in the process of choosing Thomas' replacement, (somethings never change,) because Arpaio hates the new guy: Rick Romley. 

Romley (pic) a war hero, served a previous term as the Maricopa County Attorney--frequently, and publically opposing much of Arpaio's nonsense.  He is not easily intimidated by Sheriff Joe's horseshit.  Obviously, Arpaio does not like the prospect of not having his way.

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.
________________________
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.

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.

Sheriff Joe--Taxpayers Pay $990 per Hour for Joe's Lawyer in Feud with County Judges

When you look up Big Firm, illustration 1, might be Sidley Austin LLP, oh Jones Day is in the mix as well.  If you click the link to the Sidley Austin homepage you'll see a crawl of their offices worldwide.  Beijing, Brussesl, Washington, D.C.--you get the picture, Big Law.  Surprisingly they do not have an office in Maricopa County, Arizona, but that didn't stop Sheriff Joe!

To the tune of a"discounted" $990 per hour, the Maricopa citizens are providing America's toughest Sheriff with Sidley Austin counsel in Joe's war on the Maricopa judiciaiary.  This is the Phoenix New Times report on the Maricopa-taxpayer funded feud:

"According to documents obtained by New Times, Arpaio has actually agreed to pay Washington, D.C., attorney Carter G. Phillips $990 -- per hour -- for his legal work in this fight.  And Phillips' fee -- unbelievable as it sounds -- actually represents a small discount. According to the engagement letter submitted by Phillips' firm, D.C.-based Sidley Austin, Phillips normally charges $1,100 per hour.  For that kind of fee, you'd surely expect Phillips to get results.

Ha!  

We first got interested in Phillips' fee last fall, when we learned that Arpaio had brought him on pro hac vice (which basically means as an out-of-state lawyer) to file a special action on the sheriff's records dispute with the appellate court. Arpaio, of course, has been dying to read e-mails and other internal documents written by court staff. But both the superior and appellate courts had ruled that the sort of work product generated by judges -- despite Arpaio's intense interest -- simply isn't public record under state law.

Matters of law, though, rarely stop Sheriff Joe or his cohort County Attorney Andrew Thomas. They'd prefer to hire expensive firms to tilt at windmills for them than to accept a loss.  Just witness Thomas' hiring of another pricey D.C. firm, Jones Day. As we reported here, they managed to ring up bills of nearly half-a-million dollars on Thomas' silly fight against Spanish-language DUI probation services -- even while losing at every stop.

As for Phillips, he has a resume. He was a law clerk to former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger. He's argued 56 cases before the highest court in the land.  But on this dog of a case, he had no luck whatsoever.The appellate court rejected Phillips' request for special action on the judges' e-mail issue just two days after his 40-page motion was filed. The appellate judges didn't even bother to comment in their rejection. Ouch!  Undoubtedly, Arpaio and his minions promptly told Phillips to start preparing an appeal to the state Supreme Court -- damn the cost! -- and surely, the U.S. Supreme Court, too, if need be. That's just how they roll."

"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."
______________________________________
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?

Arpaio and Thomas RICO Lawsuits Dismissed

Things have been rapidly going south for Sheriff Joe and his waterboy, County Attorney Andrew Thomas (pic) as I predicted, here on Bad Lawyer several times since I began to following the stories out of Maricopa County.  Here's the current story at AZCentral.com.

Remember this is the sheriff who called his memoir (the one he didn't write and later admitted, he didn't read) America's Toughest Sheriff; and his prosecutor-on-call, Andrew Thomas.  Essentially the tale of woe is about tax-funded abuse of political and prosecutorial power by Arpaio and Thomas as they indict and sue multiple Maricopa County elected officials for racketeering including indicting Judges who stand up to them and who have the umbrage to throw their frivolous indictments and lawsuits out of court. 

As I suggested sanity was going to creep in the moment Arizona's Supreme Court stepped in and named a special master, former Chief Justice Ruth McGregor to oversee all the Arpaio/Thomas litigation.  Secondly the federal RICO (racketeer influenced corrupt organization) lawsuits filed by Thomas were a step way over the line.  By invoking the federal court jurisdiction, Arpaio and Thomas exposed themselves to pretty heavy sanctions which are already hitting them in a separate civil rights action over the destruction of emails they were ordered to preserve and turn over. 

Likewise state courts have repeatedly tossed the state court indictments including re-indictments dismissed by a visiting judge who called Thomas' actions purely political.

These clowns, Arpaio and Thomas have actively undermined the respect the public once had for their sheriff and prosecutor.  It's truly amazing, the fear this clown had struck with his terrorist tactics in dealing with public officials.  It's coming to an end, I predict at the end of the day, Andrew Thomas will lose his law license.  A lawyer who is a public official cannot seek indictments and file civil lawsuits that are solely intended to punish political opponents without paying an ethical price.  Thomas went way over the line, the disciplinary proceedings have been initiated and they will grind away over the next couple of years, the only thing Thomas has going for his at this point is that the conduct is so complex and byzantine that it make take a long, long time to whack him, but in my opinion he has forced the hand of disciplinary authorities by his hubris.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio--What a Tool!

Arizona's favorite Stalinist Sheriff, Joe Arpaio is at it again.  Arpaio told Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe to pound salt in response to the Judge's Order to the Sheriff's department to publicly apologize for stealing and copying private privileged legal documents from a Public Defender in the Judge's courtroom.

Here, we go again:  let's be clear, under that inconvenient document, the US Constitution there are something called rights possessed by the people, individually.  Numbering among these rights:  the right to a lawyer, the right of due process, the right to be secure in your property, and papers, and, believe it or not, the presumption of innocence.  When a Sheriff's correctional employee steals the paperwork belonging to a criminal defendant's attorney, these and other rights are implicated.  Imagine for a moment that the suspected criminal is a pretty horrible person, the Sheriff's department theft of a lawyer's papers could trigger the issuance of a (federal) writ of habeas corpus.   Which would result in the horrible bad guy going free to commit even more heinous acts.  Good work, Sheriff Joe!

We can legitimately question the wisdom of ordering a County official to hold a press conference to apologize for violating the civil rights of a prisoner;  but, can we even begin to question the wisdom of granting leave to this out-of-control "lawman" to create and maintain his secessionist fiefdom--where Arpaio pisses all over the rule of law?   Outrageous, you bet.

See:  http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1233512

Sanity for Maricopa County, Arizona?

The trainwreck that was the Rule of Law in Maricopa County, Arizona caused in large part by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his sweetie/ally, County Attorney Andrew Thomas may finally be reaching its end.  It certainly reached its nadir with the arrests of County Judges and racketeering lawsuits filed last week by Thomas against most of the county officials not named, Joe Arpaio.  As you will recall I offered the opinion that Thomas may have erred in invoking the jurisdiction of the federal court; as it turns out the Arizona Supreme Court decided to act, as we say in the law: forthwith.

Chief Justice Rebecca Berch of the Arizona Supreme Court appointed her predecessor, former Chief Justice Ruth McGregor as "special master" for all things Maricopa.  In her order granting broad jurisdiction to former Chief Justice McGregor, Chief Justice Berch alluded to a "public safety emergency" in the offing generated by the allegations and counter charges that could result in disqualification of the very people the citizens of Maricopa County elected to administer their county adn criminal justice system.  By the way, Maricopa County--this is what you got when you bought into Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the demagoguery of "the toughest sheriff in America." 

The reason I obssess about clowns like Sheriff Joe Arpaio, is that he is the poster boy for official thuggery wrapped in the flag of patriotism.  He is a petty tyrant who given reign by the citizens of Maricopa County demonstrated that he and unprincipaled lawyers can shut down a democratically-elected govenrment.  It's an amazing spectacle, we should not soon disregard the example of Maricopa County if we care about representative democracy.

Good luck Chief Justice McGregor.