Email Author Ray Stern

Awards

• 2011 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published July 8, 2010

  "Gold Rush"

• 2011 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published November 25, 2010

  "Chronic Future"

• 2010 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published October 15, 2009

  "Concrete Bungle"

• 2010 - Arizona Press Club Awards

  SCA Scandal

• 2010 - Arizona Press Club Awards

  Valley Fever

• 2008 - Maggies: The Magazine Awards of Western Publishing, published July 19, 2007

  "Money for Nothing"

• 2008 - Maggies: The Magazine Awards of Western Publishing, published May 31, 2007

  "What Happened in Vegas..."

• 2008 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published May 31, 2007

  "What Happened in Vegas..."

• 2008 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published February 8, 2007

  "Gotcha!"

• 2007 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published November 16, 2006

  "ICE Meltdown"

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2009 Stories by Ray Stern

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  FEATURED STORY

  Smoking Gun on Arpaio's Financial Forms; Thomas Wrong About Allegation Not Panning Out

  published Dec 11, 2009

  Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas claimed at a news conference on Tuesday that allegations of problems with Sheriff Joe Arpaio's financial-disclosure forms "haven't panned out." He also says... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Deputies Raid Chicanos Por La Causa Building, Take Boxes of Papers Out; Protest Sought by Activists

  published Dec 10, 2009

  Deputies are taking boxes of files from the Chicanos Por La Causa buildings at 11th Street and Buckeye Road as the group's supporters prepare for a possible anti-Sheriff-Joe-Arpaio demonstration. (See... More >>

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  Chicanos Por la Causa Raided; Search Warrant May be Related to Wilcox Criminal Charge

  published Dec 10, 2009

  Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies are serving a search warrant this morning at the Chicanos Por la Causa, Inc., 1122 East Buckeye Road. We're not sure, but it seems safe to assume it might hav... More >>

• Judge Donahoe Criminal Case Assigned to Pinal County Judge; Stapley and Wilcox Cases Assigned to Pima County Judge

  published Dec 09, 2009

  The presiding judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court has assigned the criminal cases against Judge Gary Donahoe and County Supervisors Don Stapley and Mary Rose Wilcox to judges in other counties... More >>

• EPA Sued for Failing to Act on Phoenix Area's Pollution Plan

  published Dec 09, 2009

  Lisa Jackson, the head of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, has been so focused on saving the world from America's greenhouse gases that she seems to have forgetten about serious pollu... More >>

• Tuned In: The MCSO Pointed Guns at Siblings, Both U.S. Citizens, After a Deputy’s Attention Was Drawn to Them by Spanish-Language Music Blaring from Their Car

  published December 10, 2009

  Editor's note: This is one of a group of individual accounts of racial... More >>

• Criminal Complaint Filed Against Judge Gary Donahoe; Today's Hearing on Special Prosecutors Canceled

  published Dec 09, 2009

    rThe Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced this morning that a criminal complaint has been filed against the Superior Court's criminal division chief, Judge Gary Donahoe (at left). M... More >>

• Detention Officer Flap Causes Judge to Recuse Herself From Case; Sheriff's Office Not Taking Inmates to Hearings

  published Dec 08, 2009

  rA judge has recused herself from the case that sparked a contempt-of-court order for a detention officer who removed papers from a defense attorney's file. Maricopa County Superior Court Judg... More >>

• Thomas and Arpaio Talk Tough on County "Corruption," Deflect Questions About Their Own Credibility

  published Dec 08, 2009

  Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio vowed on Tuesday to get to the bottom of what they call a serious corruption problem among county leaders and judges. Their afternoon news... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Stapley and Wilcox Indicted; Thomas and Arpaio Launch Fresh Attack on Eve of Judge's Ruling on Special Prosecutors

  published Dec 08, 2009

    rMaricopa County Supervisors Don Stapley and Mary Rose Wilcox (left) were served with indictments this morning that accuse them of committing a long list of crimes. Stapley's bee... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Buckeye Bearcat Vehicle Purchase Lastest Example of Federal Waste; Town of 40,000 to Buy $250,000 Armored Vehicle

  published Dec 08, 2009

  The Town of Buckeye needs a $250,000 armored vehicle like it needs another foreclosure sign -- but that's what it's getting thanks to federal largess. The federal Homeland Security department gav... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Arpaio's Office Blows Its Smear of Judge Gary Donahoe; Analysis of Sentencings Flawed

  published Dec 07, 2009

  Judge Gary Donahoe, chief of the Maricopa County Superior Court's criminal section, routinely lets criminals off without prison time, yet jailed a detention officer doing his job. r That's t... More >>

• Officer's Detention Stalls Cases in Criminal Judge's Court; Staffing Shortages a Problem in Other Courts, too, Arpaio's Office Says

  published Dec 07, 2009

    rInmates aren't getting transported to the courtroom of Maricopa County Superior Judge Lisa Flores because the Sheriff's Office hasn't replaced Adam Stoddard, the detention o... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Top Superior Court Judge: Chief Deputy's Complaints are "False, Frivolous and Slanderous"

  published Dec 04, 2009

  rThe top judge at the Maricopa County Superior Court took a strong stance against four judicial complaints filed by Sheriff Joe Arpaio's chief deputy, calling them "false, frivolous and slanderous... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Detention Officer may Remain in Jail Till After Christmas, Lawyer Says; No Evidence Officer is in Cell After Contempt Order

  published Dec 03, 2009

  The county lawyer for a detention officer thrown in jail for contempt of court refused to say on Thursday whether the officer was being held in a cell. rAdam Stoddard (left) was officially booked... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Don Stapley to Become Chair of Board of Supervisors in January; Criminal Case is on Appeal

  published Dec 03, 2009

  It's been quite a year of ups and downs for Don Stapley, one of five members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. He started 2009 under the burden of 118 criminal counts. In September, th... More >>

• Arpaio's Chief Deputy Files Judicial Complaints Against Four Judges; UPDATE: Read All Four Complaints

  published Dec 03, 2009

  r An investigation should be launched against four retired and current Maricopa Superior Court judges who committed ethical breaches, Sheriff Joe Arpaio's chief deputy demands in letters to t... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Detention Officers to Hold Nightly Candlelight Vigil for Jailed Comrade; Sickout Yesterday Delayed 143 Cases

  published Dec 03, 2009

  r Maricopa County detention officers plan to hold candlight vigils starting this evening to protest the jailing of a fellow officer who swiped papers from a defense attorney's file. The Web si... More >>

• Phoenix Workplace Shooter Sentenced to Life in Prison; Meth-Head Transient Killed Former Friends in '07

  published Dec 02, 2009

  A drug-addled transient who shot and killed two former buddies in their office back in 2004 will serve the rest of his life in prison. Howard Colin Fisk, 38, received two sentences of life in prison t... More >>

• Former Arizona Veterans' Department Director Pleads Not Guilty to Corruption Charges

  published Dec 02, 2009

  Patrick Chorpenning, the former director of the Arizona Department of Veterans' Services, pleaded not guilty today to charges of fraud and misuse of public funds. The state Attorney General's office i... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Arizona Helped Bust SEC Official Who Helped Scottsdale Numerologist's Ponzi Scheme

  published Dec 02, 2009

  A Securities and Exchange Commission supervisor handled the finances for a Scottsdale-based flim-flam artist's Ponzi scheme, than received a $25,000 retirement buyout package. Investigators with the A... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Racketeering Lawsuit Against Maricopa County by Thomas and Arpaio is Weak Conspiracy Theory

  published Dec 01, 2009

  The first reason why the racketeering lawsuit filed today against county leaders is probably going nowhere: It's being handled by Lisa Aubuchon, the deputy county attorney who has consistently blown p... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Detention Officer Will Report to Jail in Contempt Case, Says Sheriff Arpaio; UPDATE -- Officer Reportedly in Jail

  published Dec 01, 2009

  The detention officer who swiped papers from a defense attorney's file during an October sentencing hearing will report to jail today, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. "My officer wi... More >>

• Fewer Immigrants Being Extorted and Abused in Mexico; More Immigrants to Spend Christmas in U.S. This Year

  published Dec 01, 2009

  r The Mexican government is keeping immigrants safer than it used to on its side of the border, a top official says. Cecilia Romero Castillo, commissioner of Mexico's National Institute of Mi... More >>

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  Andy Thomas Launching Federal Racketeering Lawsuit Against Judges, Board of Supervisors, and Law Firm

  published Dec 01, 2009

  Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas ramped up the fight against county leaders on Tuesday, announcing a federal racketeering lawsuit against "leading" judges, the Board of Supervisors, and a privat... More >>