During his regular Wednesday press conference, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery reaffirmed his commitment to bringing a crew of Islamaphobic crackpots to town on the taxpayer’s dime, supposedly to instruct prosecutors and law enforcement on threats presented by Muslim extremists. The training session, titled “Understanding the Threat,” which is to…
Tuning into The Russell Pearce Show on Saturday nights on Phoenix talk-radio station KKNT 960 AM can be illuminating. For example, on one recent episode, the recalled former state Senate president got off on the subject of public assistance in all its various forms. He suggested that if people would…
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is sponsoring a training session for its prosecutors and other law enforcement officials on Muslim extremism, taught by individuals described as having an anti-Muslim agenda by various civil rights organizations. The all-day event, scheduled for September 19 at a hotel in Tempe, is titled “Understanding…
Republican congresswoman wannabe Wendy Rogers has drawn first blood in the general election contest for Congressional District 9, represented by Democrat Kyrsten Sinema. This morning, Rogers, who recently whupped ex-ASU quarterback, ex-NFL player Andrew Walter in the GOP primary by an astonishing 21 points, blasted as “sickening” and “exploitative” a…
Of the many joys of primary day 2014, the top of my list and the most satisfying was Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne’s delicious seven-point defeat by former state gaming director and fellow Republican Mark Brnovich. The only thing I’d enjoy more would be watching Horne, outfitted in prison stripes,…
It is a true irony that at a time of historically low violent-crime rates in America, so many Americans are critical of police nationally. According to a recent Pew Research Center/USA Today poll, Americans by a 2-to-1 margin say cops across the country “don’t do a good job in holding…
Phoenix Police Chief Daniel Garcia waxed eloquent during an unusual Saturday press conference, where he announced that the Arizona Department of Public Safety would be tasked with the criminal investigation of the shooting death of Michelle Cusseaux. Four police officers responded to Cusseaux’s West Phoenix apartment on August 14, ostensibly…
Jerry Sheridan, chief deputy for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, is said to be contemplating his legal options following the release of an ex-deputy chief’s gossip-filled book. Sheridan didn’t call New Times back after we called him for comment before printing Friday’s article about the newly released book by former…
Brian Sands, a former top-ranking deputy under Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, describes Arpaio’s current chief deputy as a bigot in a new, dirt-dishing book. Our colleague Stephen Lemons first brought you news of Sands’ book on Saturday. We ordered a copy for ourselves, and the typo-ridden, apparently self-published, 177-page…
Another day, another payout by taxpayers for a screw-up in the Maricopa County Jail. The county has paid millions to victims of jail staff over the years, but the problem seems never-ending. In this case, a career burglar who ordinarily wouldn’t deserve a dime from taxpayers is receiving a $10,000…
I’m on deadline at the moment, but I would be remiss if I did not alert New Times’ readers to an e-book by Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s ex-Deputy Chief Brian Sands, titled Arpaio De Facto Lawman. Sands left the MCSO last year after 30 years with the agency, following on the…
They say you’re only as good as the company you keep. Action star Steven Seagal likes to keep company with some of the world’s so-called tough guys. His television show Steven Seagal: Lawman sprang from his friendships with two nationally famous sheriffs: Louisiana’s Harry Lee and our own blowhard, Sheriff…
Leslie Lara figures Tio Sam Taxes, owned by local Republican bigwig wannabe Erik Ketelaar, owes her about $1,267, the combined amount of her federal tax refunds for 2012 and 2013. The company, which at one time had six locations in Phoenix and Mesa, heavily marketed its services to Hispanics, advertising…
The noose around Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne’s neck just tightened a little. On Monday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Mark Brain rejected Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne’s bid for a temporary restraining order against County Attorney Bill Montgomery, whose office is investigating, among other things, allegations that Horne has…
A Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office employee is accused of leaking sensitive law-enforcement documents to a person the agency describes as an “anti-government” author. The employee, Joseph Asarisi, shouldn’t have had access to such documents, because he’s not even a law-enforcement officer — he’s been doing laundry for the Sheriff’s Office…
I have a confession to make: I love “dark money.” When it’s used to blast someone I don’t like, that is. In the hands of Tyler Montague, president of the Arizona Public Integrity Alliance, dark money is truly a beautiful thing. Montague is one of the folks in Mesa instrumental…
Two of recalled former state Senator Russell Pearce’s favorite people are getting skewered in some tasty TV attack ads: Pearce’s revenge candidate for state Senate in Legislative District 25, Ralph Heap, and Pearce’s longtime ally, current state House Representative and wannabe-state Senator John Kavanagh in LD 23. Heap, an orthopedic…
Why is Sheriff Joe Arpaio endorsing Arizona’s sleazy Attorney General Tom Horne in the GOP primary? I’ll tell you why: because Arpaio always likes to have a prosecutor or two in his hip pocket. Should Horne lose the Republican primary to former Arizona gaming director Mark Brnovich, you can bet…
In Arizona, you’ve got to get the justice you can when you can get it. That’s because in this state, particularly when it comes to public corruption or the abuse of power, you might as well wait for Godot if you think the wicked will be punished as part of…
Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne has a fierce following among certain women. In fact, the guy’s got a whole cadre of gals willing to do his bidding, a veritable Praetorian Guard of political hatchet-ladies. Kathleen Winn, Horne’s outreach director and co-defendant in his campaign finance case, comes to mind. A…
Fortunately, I’ve not had to get too close to Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne lately, as the stench of desperation coming off the guy is practically visible, like the cloud of dirt that followed around Charlie Brown’s pal Pig Pen in the old Peanuts comic strip. Horne clearly hopes a…
GOP gubernatorial hopeful Christine Jones held a tele-town hall Monday night to address criticisms being leveled at her campaign from fellow Republicans. She deserves points for the effort, though with National Review Online digging up an old Facebook post of hers from 2012, encouraging people to “get excited” about Obama’s…
