Friday, June 29th, 2007...7:07 am
Since G-Rival Doesn’t Have a CD Out Right Now, He Needs Something Else to Do, I Guess
There’s that story, most likely made up, that Rudy Giuliani said “Thank God George Bush is our President” when he found out about the attacks on the World Trade Center. But, every time I hear about another dumb ass publicity stunt perpetrated by Joe Arpaio, I say to myself, “Thank God Clarence Dupnik is my Sheriff.” Yep, no pink underwear, no tower of trash and no offers to house Paris Hilton. Just law enforcement, silly, ennit?
Arpaio’s activities would be just a joke if it weren’t for his pettiness bleeding into serious decision making. The current round of egomania starts with his still open investigation into Terry Goddard’s office for a supposed bribe. Arpaio was alleging that a payment made to Goddard’s office, one that is mandated by statute, resulted in a plea bargain by State Treasurer David Petersen. The charge is so ridiculous that even Republican stalwart Greg Patterson thinks it’s garbage. But, Arpaio continues to pursue this, or at least continues to keep the investigation open.
So the question becomes, why the heck is he wasting his time with this? Some observers have attributed it to Arpaio’s frustration with Goddard contracting with his old bête noire, Rick Romley. One account given to me is that Arpaio warned Goddard to sever all ties with Romley. This was shortly before Arpaio trumped up these silly charges against Goddard. Is it a stretch to say that the two events are related? Well, given the personality involved, it’s a heck of a lot more plausible than the charge against Goddard.
Now here comes the silly part: because of the charges against Goddard being leveled by Arpaio and his BFF, Maricopa County Attorney Andy Thomas, Goddard has transfered several cases involving those offices to other counties. Goddard was advised to do this by the ethics counsel for the State Bar. One of these cases, a gambling bust where roughly $145 million in assets was seized, is causing a particular sticking point. Arpaio is ticked that the office of his friend Thomas will not be able to get a 20% share of this money since the case will be prosecuted by Barbara Lawall in Pima County. Arpaio’s office, by the way, will get 80% of the money no matter where it is prosecuted, even in Pah-Ute County.
Goddard makes a good point in response to Arpaio’s claims. He says it more delicately, as is his style, but I would sum up his side this way: gosh, if I helped the Maricopa County Attorney’s office make $29 million while they are going after me, some jackass might consider it a bribe.
So here is where it gets even sillier (yes, that’s possible): Arpaio is now threatening not to cooperate with prosecutors in Pima County. Yep, he spent all of this money on an investigation and it took years to carry out, but he is willing to torpedo it over a snit with Goddard. Yep, law enforcement comes first with that guy.
4 Comments
June 29th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
i am so tired of Aarpaio
June 30th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Arpaio sure has a lot of nerve, doesn’t he? I remember when his assistant Dave Hendershott retired, took his state retirement (without penalty, since he was retired), and then applied for his old job back and got it from Sheriff Joe. As a member of the Arizona State retirement system, I believe that Arpaio helped Hendershott steal some of my money, I wonder if I could sue him for damages?
July 2nd, 2007 at 7:07 pm
I really really hope someone investigates Arpaio someday. This alone shows how he tried to extort an Attorney General with prosecution if he did not sever ties with his political ally.
All a pre-emption on Goddard’s run for Governor.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:00 am
[…] active investigation of trumped up bribe charges (details on Arpaio’s novel legal theory here). The bulk of the investigation was conducted by Arpaio’s office, so the Attorney […]
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