I’ll be honest, I would have appreciated a more critical appraisal of Sheriff Joe’s reign in Maricopa County than the one Ted Robbins offers today on NPR, “`America’s Toughest Sheriff’ Takes on Immigration.” In the segment, Robbins visits Tent City, but he never mentions those who have died in Sheriff…
Anti-immigrant activist Rick Galeener, accused of making water in public in front of a mother and her two-year-old kid. Virulent racist and noted Yosemite Sam impersonator “Buffalo” Rick Galeener got popped today for allegedly peeing into a plastic bottle nearby the Macehualli Work Center, where he and fellow members of…
Former MCSO honcho Tom Bearup with his wife Adele, from Brendan Joel Kelley’s feature on him in the Anchorage Press. From the mythical land of grizzly bears and sockeye salmon comes this gripping portrait of former Arpaio henchman turned Arpaio foe Tom Bearup, penned by ex-New Times writer Brendan Joel…
ONLINE ANDY Mr. Pitiful: This is an incredible story of arrogance by a public official (“The (Auto)biography of Andrew P. Thomas,” Sarah Fenske, February 28). Imagine this little weasel sitting up late at night propagandizing his Wikipedia entry! At around the same time as the arrests of the New Times…
When Congressman Rick Renzi was indicted recently on 35 felonies, the surprise wasn’t that the Arizona Republican was going down. Everybody who pays any attention to politics saw that coming. The surprise came in the details. I’ve been following Renzi’s ethical troubles longer than, well, anybody. New Times broke the…
EVIL WEED How does an administration as unhinged as Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s flourish? One reason is the acquiescence of other elected officials. Their unwillingness to question the sheriff allows his noxious weed to thrive in Maricopa County’s sandbox. Take the MCSO’s Honduras project, which has cost the county at least…
Why do Mexicans have padrinos for everything? I never understood why, can you help me out? The Godfather Fan Many gabachos have long wondered about the galaxy of godparents that surrounds Mexicans from birth to death, but it’s no misterio. Ostensibly, godparents (padrino is a godfather, madrina is a godmother,…
Laura Migliano was looking for some relief when she showed up for a doctor’s appointment in April 2004. Ten years earlier, she’d herniated a disc while doing sit-ups. She spent a decade fighting the pain — with surgery, steroid injections, and finally with a battery-powered spinal cord stimulator. The stimulator…
The two Dems scrappin’ to take on Candy: Gerald Richard (left) and Tim Nelson (right). As I mentioned briefly in this week’s Bird column, I made the spring meeting of the Maricopa County Dems this past Saturday, mainly because I wanted to size up the two guys looking to replace…
Like a slow drip-drip-drip, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office continues to release requested documents in the Honduran scandal, and I’ll share them with you whenever I can. Yesterday, MCSO flack Paul Chagolla let go of some correspondence between Sheriff Joe and some Honduran muck-a-mucks, a couple of honorary sheepskins, and…
What did the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors know about the MCSO’s Honduras project and when did they know it? That’s still an open question as the BOS’s flack Deanne Poulos released documents Friday revealing the times that aid to Honduras was discussed before the Board of Supervisors. The first,…
Sheriff Joe can always count on ultra-conservative KTAR lip-flapper Darrell Ankarlo to wipe Arpaio’s fanny clean with his kisser, even when Joe’s been caught with his hand in the RICO cookie jar, as has been the case with the revelation of Arpaio’s Chief Deputy David Hendershott’s Honduran project. I heard…
The Guv gives Sheriff Joe, David Hendershott and members of their Honduran posse some love. (Click on pic for a slightly larger version.) Talk about a rogues gallery! Here’s Gov. Napolitano in her June 2007 photo op with Sheriff Joe, Chief Deputy David Hendershott and members of the Honduran National…
Why won’t Mexicans vote for a black man? Hillary Hater Dozens of ustedes have sent the above question since the Iowa caucuses, forwarded mainstream media reports on this supposed phenomenon, and cringed with me when pundits took as gospel Hillary Clinton pollster Sergio Bendixen’s assertion to the New Yorker that…
JABBA’S JUNKETEERS It’s a story “you’ll see only on 12 News,” crowed KPNX-TV anchor Mark Curtis, whose caterpillar mustache rivals that of Will Ferrell’s titular character in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Curtis was introducing a recent piece by 12 News reporter Joe Dana about Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s deputies…
CONCERNED CITIZENS Keep reading, Doc: I just read your latest article on Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s attempt to bypass the Constitution to put you out of business (“Counterattack,” Stephen Lemons, February 21). I don’t read your paper too often, usually only on days when I like to pick it up while…
Somewhere out there in cyberspace is a guy who thinks Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is great — and he’s sharing his love with Wikipedia readers. You know Wikipedia, that online encyclopedia where just about anyone can weigh in as an “expert” on anything? Well, our mystery writer is an…
A late-July monsoon beat down on the roof of BJ Bolender’s Honda as she drove the streets of west Phoenix, desperate to find her son Drew. He was at a house somewhere in Laveen, but she’d never been there before. Roads were flooding, and she could see barely five feet…
Michael Carbajal, Phoenix’s greatest boxing champion, sat on his front porch on East Fillmore Street, watching the world go by. He looked healthier and sounded better than he has in years. Though his battle with alcoholism has been no secret, the champ, now 40, says he’s been off the sauce…
I’m on the run, but I’ve just heard that KTAR has reported that Sheriff Joe’s suspending his Chief Deputy David Hendershott’s pet Honduran project — one that’s been financed by RICO funds to the tune of about $32K. According to KTAR’s Bob McClay, Arpaio told KTAR that, “As far as…
Paid for by your RICO dollars: Chief Deputy David Hendershott (left), the unchecked power behind Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s throne, in Honduras with Bay Islands Police Commissario Julio Benitez; retired MCSO Deputy Roger Marshall; and Captain Jim Miller. Remember my revelation last month that the upper echelon of the Maricopa County…
Sen. John McCain’s “Oh!” face. Supposedly, the ladies love it… Am I the only one who’s found Sen. John McCain’s denial of an improper relationship with Washington lobbyist Vicki Iseman to be as insincere as a late-night TV ad for a sex chat service? Right-wing radio, after skewering McCain for…
