Boy, is this SCA report paying off!
We're still trying to read it all and put it in context. But we keep getting stuck in the rich detail.
The chuckle factor on this one is too high to wait for context: All that ignominious sucking up former Maricopa County Andrew Thomas did to the Sheriff's Office, and he still gets called an "idiot" in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's staff meetings.
Evidence of this can be seen on pages 113 and 114 of the fourth PDF we posted last night. It's part of a transcript of a July 27, 2009 secret recording made by Frank Munnell, the high-ranking sheriff's deputy who penned the deliciously revealing memo that surfaced last year.
Arpaio and his gang were strategizing their various political games when talk turns to the ACLU's racial-profling lawsuit.
Days before this staff meeting, federal Judge Mary Murguia had recused herself from overseeing the case. Arpaio's office had claimed Murguia might be biased because her sister, Janet, is president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza. The Sheriff's Office lawyers also were putting pressure on Janet Murguia with a planned subpoena for her personal computer's hard-drive.
Neither Arpaio nor Hendershott seem capable of pronouncing Murguia's name:
Arpaio: "Federal judges we got Bagooa, Baguaa conflicted herself because of (inaudible.)
Hendershott then calls the judge "Frangia."
Arpaio asks what will happen next in the case, now that Murguia was off of it. Hendershott says they'll fight the lawsuit "to the bitter end."
"Is the county attorney backing us up on that?" Arpaio asks.
"They have nothing to do with it, thank God," Hendershott replies.
Hendershott goes on to say, "Frankly the best step is (sic) ever happened ... Is to get Thomas out of the loop. That's the best thing that ever happened; we don't have to deal with this idiot, seriously."
Perhaps the funniest part of this:
Thomas is facing disbarrment, while Arpaio's still firmly entrenched in office, claiming to be considering a run for U.S. Senate. Hendershott, meanwhile, remains on administrative leave while the Munnell Memo investigation continues. (Psst -- Hey, Sheriff Babeu -- what the hell's taking you so long?)
