Bob Corbin apparently plans to commit at least one more despicable, contemptible act before departing from his office as state attorney general. Corbin and his staff of dirty political tricksters have one more scheme up their sleeves. Corbin and Steve Twist, his hand-picked successor, will try the Don Bolles strategy for a final time. This should not surprise anyone. Corbin has used the Bolles case as a public relations crutch throughout his entire tenure in office. If you are on to this strategy, then you certainly must have noticed how Corbin once again dredged up the Bolles investigation several months ago to benefit Twist's campaign. It's no secret around town that the man Twist must beat in the Republican primary for attorney general is Grant Woods, the talented defense attorney from Mesa. Woods has the extensive courtroom experience that Twist, who has never tried a case, lacks. Woods also possesses the talent and charisma necessary to become an outstanding attorney general. Twist is an unimaginative, scheming drone who saves all his charms to use in conversations with Corbin, his boss, and with Representative Jim Skelly. Corbin, the pathetic political hack, has clearly decided he must be succeeded by Twist, who has served as Corbin's mailed fist throughout his tenure in office. It was Twist and his lady friend, Donna Carlson West, who helped Corbin and the Department of Public Safety engineer the overthrow of Governor Evan Mecham. It was Twist, the architect of mandatory sentencing, who has served for years as Corbin's faithful lobbyist at the legislature. Together, Corbin and Twist have successfully turned the two local daily newspapers into a bulletin board that trumpets their party line. Here is how their cozy relationship with the press has worked for them in Twist's campaign. On the day that Woods announced his intention to run for attorney general, Corbin and Twist came up with a cynical tactic that buried Woods. Corbin called a press conference to announce that he was sending the Bolles murder to a new grand jury. He did this despite the fact there is not a scintilla of new evidence that has turned up in the case. Since Bolles was a reporter at the Republic when the car bomb took his life, it was a certainty that Corbin's call for a new grand jury would get top play. Woods' announcement that he would run was placed so far back in the Republic that you could only find it if you were interested in buying a used car that day. "Hey, Bob," a reporter asked, "you didn't time this just to get Grant Woods' announcement off the front page, did you?" "Nah," said Corbin, disarmingly, "I didn't even know Grant Woods was making his announcement today." The only problem with Corbin's denial is that he was lying through his teeth. Corbin knew damned well that Woods was making his announcement. As a courtesy, Woods had told Corbin a week in advance exactly when he was going to make his announcement. I am always amazed at just how low a corrupted politician like Corbin will descend. It isn't bad enough that he is going to slink out of office with Charles Keating's political donation of $50,000 stuffed in his side pocket. But Corbin, Twist and the rest of the gang have even managed to have the grand jury witnesses heard on the dates when it will do them the most good. Max Dunlap was once convicted of murder in the Bolles killing and served almost three years on death row until the case was overthrown. Dunlap will be called to testify before the grand jury on Monday, September 10. Dunlap will most certainly take the Fifth Amendment. But the word spreading around the Attorney General's Office is that Dunlap will be arrested and recharged in the Bolles murder while on his way out of the grand jury. Timing is everything. If Corbin goes through with this plan, there are certain to be photographs of Dunlap on page one of the next day's Republic. The next day is Tuesday, September 11. If you are following the political race for attorney general or anything else, that is Primary Election Day. The team of Corbin and Twist will have scored another public relations triumph. Voters who see it on the way to the polls may well decide that Twist is the man they want in office. It doesn't matter to Corbin or Twist that there is no more evidence against Dunlap today than there was when the appeals court threw out his conviction. All that matters to Corbin and Twist is that they defeat Grant Woods in the primary. "I didn't think they could be this cynical," Woods said. "Now I see they will stoop to any level to win." What we have here is an obvious subversion of the judicial process on a myriad of levels. And this final pathetic move, taken in sheer desperation, clearly exposes Corbin and Twist for all to see. The engine that propelled Corbin's reign was an evil, twisted strategy that ignored every rule of decency. The bad guys weren't just out there hiding in the darkened streets. They also were lolling comfortably in plush leather chairs in the offices of the attorney general. Corbin has used the Bolles case as a public relations crutch throughout his entire tenure in office. The engine that propelled Corbin's reign was an evil, twisted strategy that ignored every rule of decency.
