The Shadiest Guns in the West

Hicks says they were told by investigators that the Sheriff's Office didn't believe their version of events. She and her husband asked to take polygraphs, but were told that Arpaio and chief deputy Roe had decided not to polygraph anyone in the investigation.

(Meanwhile, Arpaio employees tell New Times that several deputies have been polygraphed in a search for people who leaked information that triggered a series of New Timesarticles about the Sheriff's Office.)

Diane Wendt says Roe told her that the report on the internal investigation had gone to Arpaio, who had the final decision. "You know how things work around here, Diane," she says Roe told her.

Roe tells New Times that the evidence she'd seen supported Larry Wendt's side of the story, and she didn't think a polygraph test was necessary. She notes that Larry Wendt was eager to take a polygraph himself.

Sheriff Arpaio fended off questions about Wendt and his barbecue, saying that Roe knew more about it.

Wendt says he was the subject of a thorough and rigorous investigation. "Seriously," he says, "this organization pursues rumors and leaks and allegations made by the public harder than most you will see."

The public must take Wendt's word for it. Because of the sheriff's increasing secrecy, the public seldom sees the results of such investigations.