NIGHTMARE FOR WOMEN Nothing for women in Mormonism: Thanks for the report on the trial of Prophet Warren Jeffs (“Persecution Complex,” October 4). John Dougherty’s numerous award-winning articles are very much appreciated by me. He has done hard investigative reporting on each one. Unending diaper-changing (virtual for LDS followers and…
Someone cue Gene Pitney: It ain’t pretty, a town without pity. And Phoenix has been that town for the family of Carol Gotbaum, the 45-year-old mother of three who recently pulled a Harry Houdini-like death dance in a police holding cell at Sky Harbor Airport after being popped for disorderly…
On a warm November day two years ago, a gold, ’80s-model Mercedes sedan sped down Northern Avenue, jockeying through the thick lunchtime traffic. The driver, Atanas Ilkov, 18, was hurrying to pick up a friend at a car-repair shop when a police cruiser zoomed up behind him, lights flashing. As…
The police lieutenant played golf every Tuesday afternoon, and his buddies were always welcome to join him. Sergeant Chuck Mount, a decorated veteran who helped supervise the Phoenix Police Department’s bomb squad, often took the lieutenant up on the open invitation. The cops hit the links dozens of times on…
Rick Romley, coolest effin’ Republican I know of… I called former MCAO Rick Romley yesterday to get a quote about his endorsement of Dan Saban for Sheriff in ’08 over Nickel Bag Joe, and ended up discussing loads of stuff: the recent Wilenchik-Ryan donnybrook; current MCAO Candy “Babyface” Thomas; and…
PHX radio station KTAR 92.3 FM’s a real conundrum. As far as reporting local, breaking news, they do a pretty good job sometimes. And they have an increasingly solid Web site, with interesting stories that they’ve either cribbed from other sources or have done original reporting on. This, despite the…
Just got this press release from the Saban camp announcing that former Republican County Attorney Rick Romley is endorsing now-Democrat Dan Saban for Sheriff in ’08 over Sheriff Joe Arpaio. I’m on deadline right now and don’t have time to follow-up, but I’ll call Romley in the A.M. to confirm…
Round one of the Wilenchik-Ryan donnybrook. (We’ve improved the video a bit on these. Don’t know why Round 2 is so choppy, but at least the sound is better.) For fans of scintillating courtroom drama, here finally are highlights from last Wednesday’s legal rumble between PHX pit bull attorney Dennis…
Doesn’t the MCSO have something better to do than play with DMX’s dead pit bulls? Apparently not. Friday, I picked up a copy of the necropsies (doggy autopsies) done on the three dead canines found at rapper DMX’s Cave Creek residence in August. Fresh off the MCSO’s photocopier, whaddya think…
Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill just got back to me on the existence of further video of Carol Anne Gotbaum’s arrest last Friday. Bottom line: There is some. This was Hill’s response to my question about info. from a source of mine, a former security person at Sky Harbor,…
Sgt. Andy Hill of the PHX PD just released the following statement regarding the transcripts of phone calls made by Noah Gotbaum concerning his spouse Carol Anne Gotbaum. This was a mass e-mail sent out by Hill. I’m guessing the article on the front page of the Arizona Republic, which…
Carol Gotbaum with her three children Ella, Nathaniel and Tobias. Carol with husband Noah and their kids. Here’s the update on the police report I promised, along with some new photos released by the Gotbaum family. They show Noah and Carol Gotbaum with their kids: Ella, 8; Nathaniel, 6; and…
I made the PHX PD press conference today where Sgt. Andy Hill showed surveillance footage of Carol Anne Gotbaum’s arrest and gave details of the events leading up to her death. Above is a clip from the recordings the cops released. PHX PD also issued a full police report containing…
Pugnacious PHX barrister Dennis Wilenchik… Someone slipped me the video of the courtroom donnybrook that broke out yesterday between Superior Court Judge Timothy Ryan and demon law dawg Dennis Wilenchik, who came off looking like he eats bowls of rusty railroad nails for breakfast. I’m working on getting some clips…
PLASTIC EXPLOSION Fake boobs: Still pass: I just finished reading Megan Irwin’s jaunt through Scottsdale plastic surgery (“Pimp My Bod,” September 27). What a fun read. Way to go, Megan! And, girl, you hang on to your real self! Bottle-blond hair and fake boobs have been pass for half my…
Im a minority, and I know we can be overly sensitive sometimes, but I just cant stand Carlos Mencia. Not only are his jokes asinine, but I feel they are racist. Whereas Dave Chappelle tried to make fun of societys racism, Mencia seems to promote them. I know black folks…
No one can quite figure out how the Arizona Diamondbacks made it to the playoffs. Some say it’s the team’s versatility, and resiliency. Some credit manager Bob Melvin’s confidence in using players other managers might not. Others say it’s because the Diamondbacks are truly a team; because not even Babe…
The recent conviction of Mormon polygamist leader Warren Steed Jeffs on two felony counts of rape as an accomplice is a huge public relations victory for Utah and Arizona authorities who have been under intense pressure to crack down on so-called “spiritual” marriages of underage girls. But it is doubtful…
Pop quiz time. Which of the following statements are true: a) Employees at a Mexican restaurant in central Phoenix went to work while they were sick, spreading a nasty bacterial infection to diners. b) Raiding the home of a famous rapper, sheriff’s deputies found crystal meth and/or cocaine. c) A…
For anyone who didn’t see Anderson Cooper 360 last night, Cooper interviewed two witnesses of Carol Anne Gotbaum’s Friday arrest at Sky Harbor Airport, and their accounts were, to say the least, highly disturbing. According to Cooper, Mel Pittel and Paige Harmon called CNN from Hawaii to explain what they…
Pathologist Cyril Wecht, who performed a “backup autopsy” on Carol Gotbaum’s corpse late today. Spoke with Gotbaum family attorney Mike Manning earlier this evening, around 6 p.m. He informed me that noted forensic pathologist Cyril H. Wecht had been flown in from Pittsburgh to do a “backup autopsy” of Carol…
Former Congressman Gary Condit loses again in court to the Sonoran News . Here’s an update to my July post “What a Condumbass! Linda Bentley, Gary Condit and the Sonoran News,” wherein I documented the gooberish legal maneuverings of former Congressman Gary Condit, who now lives in the Valley, like…
