Joe Arpaio’s men fail to justify criminally charging New Times reporter Ray Stern in a public records dispute

In his report, Detective Graham wrote: "Ray Stern disturbed several employees in a normally quiet business by unnecessarily raising his voice to a level which caused concern for the safety of another employee."

But when interviewed about his report and his recollection of how the women in the law firm described the Stern incident, Detective Graham cannot pinpoint anyone who was actually terrorized.

The primary witness, Carrie Shehorn?

"Well, I don't know if I would actually consider her, what she told me, as being scared. Iafrate told me she was 'rattled,'" recalled Detective Graham.

"Was Courtney [Coleman] scared?"

"I don't believe she was, no," said Detective Graham.

"Rebecca?"

"I don't believe she was scared, no. She was concerned," recalled Detective Graham.

In his report, Detective Graham identified one witness, Beverly, who was so agitated that she considered calling for help.

"Beverly told me she didn't know if she should stay in the basement or come upstairs to see what was going on," wrote Detective Graham about the Stern commotion. "Beverly told me she contemplated calling 911 because she wasn't sure what was going on."

Based upon this, Detective Graham concluded Beverly was scared, though he also admits she never used the word scared.

In reality, Beverly was concerned.

But she was not frightened by Ray Stern.

Beverly was frightened by her boss, Michele Iafrate.

We know this because, in an unsolicited e-mail, Beverly contacted New Times.

"I witnessed the alleged 'disorderly conduct' incident on or about 10/18/08," Beverly Goodman wrote in a letter. "Moreover, I have information that some Iafrate employees were coerced into making less-than-truthful statements to an MCSO law enforcement officer who was summoned."

According to Goodman, the other women in the office, the paralegals and secretaries, took their cues from attorney Michele Iafrate.

Goodman once made the mistake of returning to the law firm with a copy of New Times and was reprimanded — not by Iafrate, but by one of the other women more experienced in the office culture — for reading the paper.

Goodman said the tone at the office came from the top.

"I was told by Michele's assistant that we don't like the New Times," said Goodman. "We don't read the New Times. At first, I thought she was joking. I mean, I like reading the New Times. But it was very clear to me that Michele didn't like New Times, so we weren't supposed to read New Times."

Moreover, everyone at the law firm knew Stern was with New Times and that he was coming to Iafrate's office to review potentially embarrassing documents of the sheriff's.

"I knew someone from the New Times was coming. And there was a big hullabaloo," testified Goodman.

She explained that the staff was geared up for "some sort of confrontation."

What is a legal office without a bit of drama? Why was Goodman convinced that Iafrate had steered the statements of witnesses? What happened as the deputy arrived?

"Carrie Shehorn came into our office," recalled Goodman. "And she told Jill, 'Oh, he's here. He's here' [referring to Detective Graham]."

These were not the first citizens to have ever become anxious at the arrival of a law enforcement officer. But Goodman felt Iafrate clearly signaled to her staff what she expected them to say.

Goodman's answers are both atmospheric and specific.

"They [the other women in the office] just really like Michele," said Goodman of the environment. "Everything Michele liked, they liked."

But there was more to this than just a vibe.

"It's difficult to answer if you don't know this culture," explained Goodman. "Michele recapped, while we were all standing there, what she believed happened . . . That this guy had come in. And from what she was saying, it sounded like she was saying that he had threatened them. And was refusing to leave, and he had been doing something wrong . . . she flat-out said that he had been refusing to leave."

One woman already had said that she did not witness anything.

"I believe it was Courtney," said Goodman.

Iafrate's comment, Goodman claimed, was that this staff person "still needed to give a statement."

"Courtney told me that she could hear yelling and went into the conference room to make sure that everything was all right," wrote Detective Graham in his report.

Well, now . . . Is this coercing witnesses, coaching employees, or simply the mark of an attorney with excellent leadership qualities?

From another perspective, let's cast a gimlet eye upon Ms. Goodman. She worked at the firm for only two months before losing her position.

But even if you characterize Ms. Goodman as that most peptic observer — a disgruntled former employee — her direct testimony, as opposed to her judgments upon office culture, is troubling.

In her deposition, she informed New Times that she never considered calling 911. She was never frightened by Stern's behavior; Stern was not abusive or loud. In fact, she could barely hear him. The only voices she'd heard were those of the women who worked for Iafrate, and Iafrate's.

"I don't recall saying, 'Call 911,'" said Goodman in her interview. "There was nothing that Ray Stern did that would have caused me to think about calling 911."