Perhaps the daily press is scared to accurately report on Arpaio's seedy operation because scribes and television's glamour guys and gals fear that one day they may fall into Arpaio's grasp as an inmate inside his dreadful gulag. Then, it might come in handy to be known as a "Friend of Joe."
Being Arpaio's pal certainly didn't hurt former Channel 15 television reporter Robert Koebel when he was faced last month with a 12-day jail sentence stemming from an extreme DUI conviction.
Rand Carlson
Cash bars: How to stay out of Tent City.
Related Content
More About
Koebel was arrested in December 2003 in Phoenix on the DUI charge. Last February, Koebel says he attended the Colangelo-hosted fund raiser for Arpaio and donated $100 to Arpaio's campaign.
Koebel says he didn't consider the campaign contribution to be unethical or a conflict of interest, even though he frequently covered Arpaio. Instead, Koebel claims he made the contribution simply to attend a party with his law enforcement friends.
"That night I went to go socialize with them and I paid that $100, I didn't even think about it really going to the sheriff's reelection," he tells me.
In late April, Koebel claims Dan Saban's former foster mother called him and made an astounding accusation. Ruby Norman accused Arpaio's opponent in the upcoming Republican primary of raping her 30 years ago when Saban was a teenager living in her home.
Koebel contacted the sheriff's office, and within hours MCSO dispatched two detectives to take a full report from Norman. Any legitimate police force would have immediately referred the case to another law enforcement agency because of the obvious conflict of interest.
But Arpaio's MCSO can be far less than legitimate when the sheriff smells the blood of a political foe.
The MCSO quickly prepared a police report that included the transcribed interview with Norman, and delivered it to Koebel. Armed with the MCSO records, Koebel confronted Saban with television cameras rolling after a campaign event and asked the candidate to comment on the rape allegation and on the MCSO's investigation.
A shocked Saban denied the accusation and urged Koebel to do further investigation before airing the story.
There were obvious problems with Norman's claim, foremost that she waited 30 years to make the charge. There were also serious concerns expressed by MCSO investigators that even if the allegations were true, the statute of limitations had probably expired.
Nevertheless, Koebel says Channel 15 went ahead and broadcast the dubious story without further reporting. Koebel says it was a desperate effort by the last-place news station to gain ratings during last spring's sweeps week.
The Channel 15 broadcast was a blow to Saban's campaign. Saban spent more than $8,000 on an attorney and an investigator to clear his name. Soon after the story aired, the MCSO referred the case to the Pima County Sheriff's Office, which declined to prosecute citing statute-of-limitations issues.
Saban's private investigator soon discovered Koebel's $100 contribution to Arpaio's campaign before Koebel did the Ruby Norman hit piece. Saban seized on Koebel's cozy and unethical ties with Arpaio and, within days, Channel 15 fired Koebel.
While Koebel lost his job, he had won an Arpaio battle star.
On November 3, Koebel reported to the Estrella Jail to begin serving his 12-day sentence. He says he was greeted by a detention officer who had good news. Koebel would not be forced to endure the indignities at Tent City, but instead would be housed in the comfortable accommodations at the Mesa Hilton.
Koebel says he doesn't believe he was receiving special treatment because of his friendship with Arpaio, the $100 donation to Arpaio's campaign and his Channel 15 hit piece on Saban. Instead, Koebel says the detention officers simply believed that having him in the tents would pose a liability for the county if he were injured.
"What I was told . . . was that it would not be a good place for me to be," Koebel says. "I didn't get into the details with them."
The devil's in the details -- which, painstakingly pulled together one piece at a time, demonstrate that Joe Arpaio shamefully uses the color of authority to punish his enemies, protect his friends and support his campaign.
And to all a good night.
E-mail john.dougherty@newtimes.com, or call 602-229-8445.
