Investigations

New Hampshire Lawmaker Wants Joe Arpaio's Birther Posse to Investigate Boston Bombing

In case you're wondering what kind of people think that the government orchestrated the Boston bombing, it appears that they're the same people who believe that Sheriff Joe Arpaio has discovered fraud in President Obama's birth certificate.One such person is New Hampshire Republican State Representa ... More >>

Michelle Hice, Apparently Terrible Accountant, Accused of Cookin' the Books... Again

We're not entirely sure what separates good accountants from bad accountants, but we can say with some certainty that only a terrible accountant would get caught stealing cash several times.That said, 39-year-old west Valley accountant Michelle Hice is allegedly a terrible accountant.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Sex-Crime Scandal After Five Years: No One Disciplined, Report Still Unfinished

More than five years after the Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio learned his agency had mishandled hundreds of sex-crime investigations, no one has been disciplined and a key report on the matter has yet to be released to the public. The investigation into what happened is fraught with negative im ... More >>

Tom Horne's Investigator Meg Hinchey Sues Horne for Retaliation, Defamation

Making good on her June 7, notice of claim for $10 million against Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, veteran AG investigator Meg Hinchey filed suit Wednesday in Maricopa County Superior Court, alleging that Horne and his underlings are engaged in an ongoing campaign to ruin Hinchey's law enforceme ... More >>

Arizona AG Tom Horne's Sex Scandal Scuttles Gubernatorial Bid

Abdullatif Aldosary, Described as "Loner," Accused of Bombing Casa Grande Social Security Office

Abdullatif Aldosary, a convicted felon who lives in Coolidge, is accused of being the person who detonated an "explosive device" outside the Social Security Administration building in Casa Grande Friday morning, November 30th.Although a federal complaint doesn't accuse Aldosary of activity related t ... More >>

Phoenix Police Investigating Light-Rail Ninja Incident

Despite the initial report, Phoenix police say the incident involving a guy with a Samurai sword on the Metro Light Rail was reported, and it's under investigation.Phoenix police Sergeant Steve Martos says the incident appears to have occurred around 2 a.m. on October 13, which wasn't really clear b ... More >>

Tom Horne's Alleged Hit-and-Run at an Address Listed for Carmen Chenal

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery's big press conference this morning alleged illegal coordination between Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne and an independent expenditure committee during his 2010 campaign. See also: -Attorney General Horne Hired Carmen Chenal to a Highly Paid Top Post -- ... More >>

Ben Arredondo Lawyers Tease "Three-Year Undercover FBI Investigation" and All the Awesome Stuff No One Gets to See

State Representative Ben Arredondo's lawyers say they just got so much information from the government about what the FBI's been up to that they're going to need almost two extra months to deal with the stuff.After Arredondo was indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, attempted extortion, and making ... More >>

Tom Horne Wants Everyone to Know There's No "Direct Evidence" Against Him

Given the headlines about an FBI investigation into Attorney General Tom Horne, he's requesting the same "media prominence" be given to the fact his accuser said his complaint was not based on "direct evidence."There ya go.The news came Monday from the Arizona Capitol Times that Horne was being inve ... More >>

Hearing Officer Robert Sparks Unsure of His Authority in Joel Fox Job-Appeal Proceeding

Robert Sparks, the hearing officer overseeing fired sheriff's deputy Joel Fox's appeal, is worried that he's out of his league in the complex case. This isn't an average appeal for the job of an average county worker who was fired, of course -- it's about a scandal and cover-up that reaches right u ... More >>

Obama Birth Certificate "Report" Released by Joe Arpaio is Actually Eight Months Old

We actually looked at the report given out today during Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's announcement that he believes President Obama's birth certificate is a forgery, and there is a grand total of zero new information in it.In fact, the report prepared by Mara Zebest -- who was at the press co ... More >>

Victims Wonder Why Arpaio Let Sex-Abuse Cases Languish

Inmate Found Dead at Durango Jail; MCSO Goon-Squad Thuggery Not Suspected in Death...This Time

​An inmate at the Durango Jail died last night -- and it wasn't at the hands of a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office detention officer, according to the MCSO.MCSO Officer Chris Hegstrom tells New Times the death is being investigated as a "natural causes death."Hegstrom says he won't identify the de ... More >>

Evidence Shows SCA Funds Were Illegally Earmarked Campaign Contributions, Investigation Revealed; Feds Still Working Case

Image: Court video Dave Hendershott, seen hear testifying in the disciplinary hearing for former County Attorney Andrew Thomas, was very evasive when interviewed by investigators about the SCA scandal.​The evidence shows that Sheriff Joe Arpaio's top men ran an illegal campaign-financ ... More >>

Joe Arpaio (Unintentionally) Holds Second Press Conference About Botched Sex Crime Investigations. Won't Resign, Claims Other Agencies Have Way Worse Problems

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's back in the hot seat as two more lawmakers call for his resignation.​Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio seems to think Democratic politicians are using his office's bungling of more than 400 sex crime investigations as a reason to call for his resignation -- no ... More >>

Mexican Smugglers Exploit the Corrupt Reputation of U.S. Border Officers

Suspected Kid-Diddler Found Dead in Pool. Cops Think Suicide

​Phoenix police found the body of a man in the bottom of his pool last night who just happened to be a suspected kid-diddler.Phoenix Sergeant Steve Martos tells New Times that detectives went to the Phoenix home of 58-year-old James Ziarnick about 9 p.m. yesterday to talk to him about an investiga ... More >>

MCSO Claims it's Investigating Employer in Days Inn Illegal Immigrant Roundup

​The overall ineffectiveness of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's illegal immigrant roundups aside, one of our biggest criticisms recently has been that they're conducted under the guise of "employer sanctions" operations, despite the MCSO's having never arrested a single employer -- only emplo ... More >>

Joel Fox Portion of Babeu Report to Remain Under Wraps Until Disciplinary Process Complete, Judge Rules

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office can keep large portions of the Babeu report hidden until Captain Joel Fox's disciplinary process is complete, a judge told the Arizona Republic and Channel 12 News (KPNX) today.The newspaper and TV station had sued the MCSO to force an immediate and complete disc ... More >>

Drug Cartel Infiltration of MCSO: Four of Seven Officers Cleared of Criminal Wrongdoing; Face Internal Investigation

Four employees have been cleared, but drug cartels have still infiltrated the office of America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff."​Four of the seven Maricopa County Sheriff's Office employees suspected of having ties to a drug-and human-smuggling operation have been cleared of any criminal cond ... More >>

Four Arizona Prison Inmates Die in Four Days; One Suspected to Be Homicide

​Emergency medical responders at Arizona prisons have had a busy week -- four inmates have died while in Arizona Department of Corrections custody in four days.One of the deaths, DOC spokesman Barrett Marson tells New Times, is a suspected homicide.Marson says the other three deaths are currently ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Deputy Accused of Human Smuggling Served on Anti-Human-Smuggling Task Force; Detention Officer Pregnant With Cartel "Kingpin's" Baby

MCSO Sylvia Najera (L), Marcella Hernandez (C), Alfredo Navarette (R) ​The arrests of three Maricopa County Sheriff's  deputies is even juicier than imagined. One, a detention officer, is the baby-mama of a cartel "kingpin" and another is a former member of the sheriff's anti-huma ... More >>

Arizona AG Tom Horne Turns Part of Fiesta Bowl Investigation Over to Maricopa County Attorney's Office; Admits Some Conflict of Interest

James King If you contributed to Attorney General Tom Horne's campaign, he has no problem prosecuting you if you break the law -- he says.​Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne announced today that he's turning over some of the investigation into the Fiesta Bowl fiasco to the Maricopa Cou ... More >>

David Hendershott Used Position for Financial Gain, Lied to Sheriff Arpaio and Mismanaged Anti-Corruption Unit, Report Concludes

  Dave Hendershott​From what we've seen so far today, the investigative report on allegations against Dave Hendershott, Sheriff Joe Arpaio's former chief deputy, can be summed up with a cliche: Hendershott lied, cheated, and stole. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office ... More >>

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Won't Make Report on Munnell Memo Public, For Now

Larry Black, one of Sheriff Arpaio's most trusted aides, is one of three people who almost certainly will be be fired based on the Munnell Memo findings, Channel 5 (KPHO-TV) reported today. ​Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio doesn't want the public to read an investigative report into the ... More >>

Senator Scott Bundgaard Should be Charged With Assault for Freeway Fracas With Former Flame, Cops Say *UPDATED With Reponse From Bundgaard*

Senator Scott Bundgaard should be charged with assault, cops conclude.​The Phoenix Police Department has completed its investigation into the February freeway fracas between Senator Scott Bundgaard and his then-gal-pal Aubry "Heavyweight Champion of the Highway" Ballard and concluded that Bundgaar ... More >>

Phoenix Deaths Ruled Murder/Suicide. Motive Under Investigation

​Police found two dead bodies in Phoenix over the weekend, and today announced the deaths have been ruled a murder/suicide.About 2 a.m. Saturday, Phoenix police responded to a shooting near 26th Street and Clarendon Avenue in Phoenix.Witnesses told the officers they'd heard people arguing and then ... More >>

Tempe Sees Huge Spike in Murder for 2010

​Following the second highly publicized, unsolved murder of an Arizona State University student in six months, the Tempe Police Department has come under fire for its handling of violent crimes. The department responded to media inquiries about crime statistics by issuing a press release yeste ... More >>

How Much Did Public Pay Andrew Thomas' Attorney to Tail Colorado Lawyer John Gleason?

Andrew Thomas' publicly funded lawyer, Dennis Wilenchik, hired privated eyes to tail John Gleason, the man appointed to look into abuses by Thomas.​Can you believe this nonsense? First, former County Attorney Andrew Thomas and his deputy, Lisa Aubuchon, claim that county officials mi ... More >>

Arpaio's Office Never Investigated Governor Jan Brewer, Source Says

  New Times tries to confirm rumors, but sometimes we rely on the credibility of a source. This time, that didn't work out so well.​Back in November, we heard that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office had Governor Jan Brewer under investigation, and passed that rumor to you ... More >>

Doug Lingner to Resign from Housing Authority of Maricopa County

Doug Lingner will be leaving the Housing Authority of Maricopa County by Monday -- or else.​Doug Lingner, executive director of the Housing Authority of Maricopa County, will be resigning his position.Lingner, a former Phoenix City Councilman, was the subject of a New Times cover story just five w ... More >>

David Hendershott's Depo: Kris Kobach Under Contract for $250-$300 Per Hour, Paid for by RICO Slush Fund

captured from video by HumanLeague002Chief Deputy Hendershott during his Feb 12 depo in MelendresThe local press' lead on the recent deposition of MCSO Chief Deputy David Hendershott in the federal racial-profiling lawsuit Melendres vs. Arpaio was Hendershott's contention that a vast lefty cons ... More >>

Randy Pullen, Under Investigation by AG Goddard, Now Calls for Goddard to Be Investigated

​Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen called for an investigation into Attorney General Terry Goddard at a press conference yesterday -- but failed to mention that Goddard's office is currently investigating Pullen.In fact, in Pullen's remarks, which you can see in this video posted to w ... More >>

Things Get Nasty in the Phoenix Police Department’s Homicide Bureau

Chandler Police Seeking Charges on State Senator John Huppenthal

Sheriff Investigating One of His Own for Racial Profiling?

Feds Probe District 20

Whether there was vote tampering is not the most vital question for U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton to answer

Faith No More

Letters from the week of August 29, 2002

The Eternal Flame Part 2

Three decades ago, an unsolved murder case and arson fire scarred Lori Romaneck for life. Since 1993, she's been fighting a bureaucratic backdraft to set the record straight.

Cowboys and Indians

Scottsdale PD officers charge onto the reservation, spark grand jury investigation

Sin of a Preacher Man

New evidence in unsolved Phoenix murder leads to a Tacoma man of God

Burning Questions

Federal and local regulators return to BFI's medical-waste incinerator

A Three-Pronged Probe

State's AHCCCS program under investigation by trio of federal agencies

Fear and Loafing

The Arizona Republic's fealty to Symington isn't just bad for journalism, it's bad for business

ABUSE OF PROCESSA JUDGE THROWS OUT ELDERLY ABUSE CHARGES, SLAPPING DOWN THE AG'S OFFICE FOR A "DRASTIC MISTAKE"

ARIZONA'S OWN J. EDGAR HOOVER

RUBEN ORTEGA USED THE PHOENIX POLICE DEPARTMENT TO PURSUE HIS PERSONAL AGENDA-AND HIS POLITICAL FOES

SEX SECRETS AT THE COP SHOP MESA POLICE BALK AT RELEASING REPORT ON LATEST SCANDAL