ARIZONA'S OWN J. EDGAR HOOVER

Ortega flew into a rage, and quit the next day, saying he was "deeply hurt" by criticism from the council, particularly Nadolski.

The chief's erratic behavior did not surprise Duane Pell, who by that time had left the city council and had become the state fire marshal. Pell, in fact, was sitting in his office when he heard Nadolski's comment about Ortega broadcast on the radio.

After years of watching Ortega work, and waiting for someone to publicly take him on, Pell says he finally heard a voice of reason raised in opposition to the chief.

Pell got up, drove directly to City Hall where the council was meeting.
"I had somebody go in there and get her out," Pell says. "I shook her hand and gave her a kiss and I said I have never seen another politician who had the guts to stand up and say what you did."
Jane McElfresh, the private investigator whom Ortega had investigated while she was on the Civil Service Board, still keeps a newspaper clipping with Nadolski's quote on her office bulletin board.

After his resignation, Ortega tested the waters for a possible bid for the mayor's office, but the support wasn't there, political insiders say. He slipped from public view before taking the top police job in Salt Lake City a few months ago.

But Ortega's gaze has not completely left Phoenix. Roger Rea, an attorney and gay-rights activist who had been critical of Ortega, got a call from the ex-chief after Ortega arrived in Salt Lake City.

Rea had been interviewed by Salt Lake City reporters curious about their new chief. Rea told them he thought Ortega was homophobic.

Ortega read the quotes and called Rea in a fury. Rea says, "He said that I hadn't heard the last of him yet.