U.S. Department of Justice

Colorado City, FLDS Haven, Is Reportedly Covered With Security Cameras, 1984 Style

The Utah/Arizona border towns of Colorado City and Hildale are reportedly swarming with security cameras operated by the polygamist city's government.Reporters from the Salt Lake Tribune counted 29 cameras across the two towns, but were then told there were probably 60, operated by the Fundamentalis ... More >>

Bill to Get Rid of FLDS-Lovin' Cops in Colorado City Gets Neutered, Passes House

A neutered version of the bill that would have gotten rid of the corrupt cops in Colorado City passed the House yesterday.House Bill 2648 was approved by the House with a 52-7 vote, after one of the primary purposes -- disbanding the "Marshal's Office" in the polygamist town of Colorado City -- was ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Denies Justice Department Allegations, but Offers Up Some Strange Claims

Lawyers for Sheriff Joe Arpaio filed a response to the Justice Department's racial-discrimination lawsuit, which mostly just denies each of the 188 allegations in the DoJ's suit.The denial also contains some very interesting claims from Arpaio, including repeated claims that the Maricopa County Sher ... More >>

Alexander Fishenko's Houston Spy Network Shipped High-Tech Goods to Russian Defense Agencies, Feds Say; U.S. Commerce Department Fooled

The FBI has broken up a spy network based in Houston that "enhanced" the capabilities of the Russian military by exporting sensitive, U.S.-made electronics. Alexander Fishenko and 11 others have been charged with falsifying documents and generally fooling the U.S. Department of Commerce in the last ... More >>

ATF Officials Formerly in Phoenix Reportedly Blamed (Yet Again) in "Gunwalking" Scandal

See also: Top ATF Officials in Phoenix Replaced in Wake of "Gunwalking" Scandal See also: "Fast and Furious" Guns Tracked to More Violent Crimes in ArizonaA trio of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives managers formerly in the Phoenix office are reportedly being singled out for blame ... More >>

Sheila Polk's Letter to Brewer Misstates AZ U.S. Attorney's Position on Medical Marijuana

See also:Bill Montgomery and Sheila Polk Probed Whether Prop 203 was Constitutional See also: Judge Orders Arizona to Implement Medical Marijuana Act, Tosses Out Four Rules for Dispensary Applicants Is the new Arizona U.S. Attorney, John Leonardo, going to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Lawyers: Discriminating Against Spanish-Speakers Doesn't Violate Civil Rights

The lawyers for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio responded late last week to the Justice Department lawsuit alleging racial-discrimination practices by the Sheriff's Office, not surprisingly, asking for it to be tossed.One would expect that the response would be interesting to allegations of the w ... More >>

SB 1070 Oral Arguments Wrap Up in Supreme Court; Some Believe Court May Uphold Part of the Controversial Law

Just as oral arguments wrapped up at the U.S. Supreme Court over SB 1070, Arizona's controversial immigration-enforcement law that essentially criminalizes an undocumented immigrant's presence in Arizona, Congressman Paul Gosar made an appearance on MSNBC. Gosar is running for a seat in Arizona's c ... More >>

Etan Patz Missing Boy Case In NYC: Recent Hope Of Finding Body Apparently Ends In Futility

Word emerged this morning from a "source" in a CNN story that the highly publicized search of a Soho (lower Manhattan) basement for Etan Patz's body has turned up empty.The little boy vanished in late May 1979, and would almost 40 years old now if still-unknown evildoer hadn't snatched him from the ... More >>

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, January 12th, 2011

Indian Law & Order Commission to Discuss Indian Justice System Reforms

Image: indianlawandordercommission.com​ Problems with the Indian justice system will be discussed by a federally mandated advisory panel this week at the Talking Stick Hotel on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.Law enforcement on Native American lands, from arrest to sentencing, re ... More >>

Judge Sets Up Sheriff Arpaio for Knockout in Racial Profiling Case; Ruling Describes Deputies' Dirty Tricks

U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow​ U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow set up Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for a knockout in his latest ruling on a racial-profiling lawsuit.Snow's ruling (see below) in the Melendres Vs. Arpaio case eviscerates the sheriff's office for its record-shreddin ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's PR Puppy in You Write the Caption

Your Caption Here​Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's having a rough week -- Department of Justice investigations, botched sex-crime investigations, etc.To celebrate Arpaio's comeuppance, we're goin' with the above photo of America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff" cozyin' up to his PR puppy f ... More >>

Where was ICE? Feds Supervised 287(g) Program in Jails, Touted Numerous "Success Stories" This Year

John Morton, director of ICE.​ The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau isn't ready to comment this morning on the impact of severing ties with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.Which is a shame, because we have some good questions for them. Like, why was ICE supervising operatio ... More >>

Findings of Racial-Profiling, Civil-Rights Investigation Into Sheriff Arpaio's Office to be Announced by Feds

​ The findings of a three-year probe into allegations of racial profiling and other civil rights allegations against Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office will be revealed this morning by the U.S. Justice Department.The Civil Rights Division has run a wide-ranging investigation into the "patterns and pr ... More >>

Findings of Racial-Profiling, Civil-Rights Investigation Into Sheriff Arpaio's Office to be Announced by Feds

​ The findings of a three-year probe into allegations of racial profiling and other civil rights allegations against Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office will be revealed this morning by the U.S. Justice Department.The Civil Rights Division has run a wide-ranging investigation into the "patterns and pr ... 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 >>

Feds Target Property Owners of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in California

The feds launched a new assault in their fight against medical marijuana today, threatening to seize the property of California medical marijuana dispensaries unless they close within 45 days.If there's no push-back from the states that have legalized weed for qualified patients, including Arizona, ... More >>

James Reich of Sedona Hiking Adventures Sentenced to Jail and Probation for Illegal Guide Service

Image: www.sedonahikingadventures.comJames Reich, owner of Sedona Hiking Adventures, has been sentenced to two days in jail for running an illegal guide service on national forest lands.​ A Sedona-based hiking guide has been sentenced to two days in jail and is banned from national forests for ... More >>

"Fast and Furious" Guns Tracked to More Violent Crimes in Arizona, Including Some in Phoenix and Glendale, Feds Say

Bill Newell, former acting head of the ATF in Phoenix, helped oversee the scandal-plagued "Fast and Furious" investigation -- and recently received a promotion.​ Firearms linked to the scandal-ridden "Fast and Furious" investigation have turned up at 11 U.S. crime scenes, including four in Ari ... More >>

Obama Administration Clarifies Medical Marijuana Stance -- Sort Of; Reaffirms Lack of Interest in Prosecuting Patients or Caregivers

​The Obama Administration has little interest in prosecuting medical marijuana patients or their caregivers, states a letter addressed to all 50 state Attorneys General by Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole.The letter appears to be the awaited "clarification" by the Administration promised ea ... More >>

Undocumented Youth Blocked from Entering the U.S. Workforce Are Starting Their Own Businesses to Survive

Iowa Senator Says Justice Department Policy May Have Led to Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's Shooting Death

Brian Terry was shot and killed in southeastern Arizona on December 14. ​Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley accuses the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives of instructing Arizona gun dealers to sell firearms that eventually landed in the hands of Mexican drug cartels -- a stra ... More >>

Hendershott, Thomas, and Aubuchon Want $60 Million for Their Troubles? Indictments Would Suit Them Better

Federal Authorities Reportedly Plan to Move Jared Loughner Trial Out of Arizona

www.jcsrlaw.net Judy Clark, Jared Loughner's attorney, will likely file a motion to have her client's trial moved out of Arizona.​Federal law enforcement sources told the Washington Post last night that they plan to move the trial of Jared Loughner -- the madman believed to be responsible f ... More >>

Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to Life in Prison. Judge Says He's the "Poster Child" For Three Strikes Law

www.tone-lizard.com​At a sentencing hearing this morning, a federal judge in Phoenix told a convicted serial bank robber that he "is a poster child of why Congress enacted" the Three Strikes law. Then he sentenced him to life in prison plus seven years.

Joe Arpaio Signs Off on Ban Amnesty Now's Voter Suppression Efforts?

Kris Kobach? That's some "impartial" source you got there, SeanThe paranoia has been reaching a fever-pitch both in and over an e-mail recently sent out by the local nativist organization Ban Amnesty Now, which claims that "illegals" are looking to steal the upcoming midterm elections. The e-ma ... More >>

SB 1070 Solution: The Arizona Passport T-Shirt

I wonder if Russell Pearce would endorse this Tee?Even though federal Judge Susan R. Bolton enjoined the most dangerous provisions of Arizona's "breathing-while-brown law" (a.k.a., SB 1070) on July 28, that doesn't mean Arizona cops are not going to stop you just because you look Latino. Hell, they ... More >>

Asylum Denied: Unlike Refugees from Other Troubled Countries, Only a Fraction of Mexicans Seeking U.S. Asylum Are Accepted -- No Matter Their Wounds or Stories

August 26 In Blogs: Joe Arpaio, Phoenix Poetry Series, Sepultura, Upside-Down Tomatoes, and Hells Angels

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

July 6 In Blogs: SB 1070, Salt River Tubing, Halocene, Poutine, and Matthew Lesko

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

SB 1070: Many Shout That Arizona's New Immigration Law Has Awakened a Sleeping Giant Who's Ready to Kick Some Political and Economic Backside

Joe Arpaio Indictment Called for by Mary Rose Wilcox in New Video, and Puente's Protest of Eric Holder

Video of Mary Rose Wilcox in D.C. by videographer Dennis GilmanTelling the crowd at the big immigration rally on Sunday in Washington, D.C. that Sheriff Joe runs Maricopa County like a "police state," county Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox urged listeners to call the U.S. Department of Justice and tell ... More >>

Barack Obama's Bald-Faced Hypocrisy on Immigration, and the Puente Crew Protests Eric Holder Monday Morning

Start raising hell and keep raising hell, because otherwise Obama won't do diddlyToday, President Barack Obama buffaloed tens of thousands of activists demanding immigration reform in Washington, D.C., appearing via video on jumbo screens, and telling the masses, according to the New York Times that ... More >>

Dennis Burke Confirmed as U.S. Attorney in Arizona

​ Dennis Burke, one of former Governor Janet Napolitano's chiefs-of-staff, has been confirmed as the next U.S. Attorney in Arizona. Burke's ultra-qualified for the job. He's a graduate of Georgetown University and University of Arizona, worked as counsel under former Arizona Senator Dennis D ... More >>

The Lumley Vampire Attacks Arizona Department of Corrections’ Charles Ryan for the Death of Marcia Powell, Arpaio’s Goons Zip-Tie a 12-Year-Old, and the Jail Lockdowns Are Over

April 30 In Blogs: Spy Cameras, Taryn Thomas, Brian Pulido and More

We understand that in the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. Worry not! We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Valley Fever: Spy Cameras in Downtown Chandler Chase Off Employers of Day Laborers U ... More >>

Lou Dobbs Battles Al Sharpton and ACORN's Bertha Lewis, Gets His Lunch Eaten

Part one of Sharpton and Lewis vs. TV minuteman Lou Dobbs I don't know what CNN's resident nativist Lou Dobbs thought he was doing when he invited the Rev. Al Sharpton and ACORN's Bertha Lewis on his program yesterday. But suffice it to say that the bottle-blond senior citizen got owned on his own s ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Returns to Guadalupe, with an Army of Deputies to Watch His Back

Arpaio fields a question from the Guadalupe town council. I was close enough to smell his Old Spice... Just how many deputies does it take to protect Sheriff Joe Arpaio? 50? 100? 200? Yes, Arpaio did return to Guadalupe to address the town council Thursday night, almost a year after terrorizin ... More >>

March 10 In Blogs: Mesa Dogs, Sheriff Joe, Lollapalooza, Cosplay and More

We understand that in the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. Worry not! We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Valley Fever: Mesa Dog Owners Frustrated by Lack of Answers in Park Poisonings Bucke ... More >>

Hot Links: Lawmakers Nearly Done Filing Away Budget; Gang Membership Rises to One Million; See Video of APS Shredding Saguaros

State lawmakers chop out programs and services from Arizona's budget, refusing to raise taxes or take on more debt to pay for them. If you've had your coffee yet, you can skim through the proposed state budget. The gang's all here: The Justice Department estimates gang membership has risen to about ... More >>

Arizona Abu Ghraib? Will Terry Stewart Take Over AZ Prisons from Dora Schriro Despite His Iraqi Prisons Link?

ADC Director Dora Schriro, off to join Napolitano at DHS.As you may have read elsewhere, Arizona Department of Corrections Director Dora Schriro has announced her resignation, and by the end of the week will have vacated her offices to follow ex-Governor Janet Napolitano to the U.S. Department ... More >>

Give 'em hell, Phil! Hizzoner Phil Gordon slams Sheriff Joe Arpaio during 5th Annual State of the City Address.

Shocking Accusations

Is Scottsdale weapons manufacturer Taser International saving lives or supplying tools for torturers?

Babbitt's Department of Ulterior

When wealthy casino tribes sought to derail a would-be competitor, campaign donations were the currency of the day

Flashes

Feds Slam Sexual Misconduct

An 18-month investigation finds an "unconstitutional pattern" in women's prisons in Arizona

20/20 Out of Focus

News report critical of Arizona's U.S. attorney omitted exculpatory facts

20/20 Hindsight

As network news shows begin investigating alleged AHCCCS abuses, the Arizona Republic finally takes notice