When Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is under oath, in a deposition or during a trial, he invariably describes his management style in Reaganesque terms, asserting that he delegates the responsibilities of his office to underlings. This allows Arpaio to pass the proverbial buck to subordinates, keeping the sheriff insulated,…
As a quadriplegic who relies on a wheelchair to get around, Phil Pangrazio doesn’t know whether to applaud or condemn a new advocacy group that is patrolling Phoenix parking lots, taking a measuring tape to their handicap-accessible spaces, and suing businesses that don’t comply with the standards outlined in the…
If you want a guaranteed spit-take, take a gulp of coffee while watching Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s first campaign commercial of the general election, which just began running on local TV stations. It opens with images of brown and black men in orange jumpsuits with a faceless narrator, explaining, “Some cities…
Maricopa Strong, a recently-formed independent expenditure committee with a Phoenix address, has been sending anti-Sheriff Joe Arpaio mailers to Republicans in Maricopa County over the last couple of weeks. According to sources with knowledge of the committee, Maricopa Strong is the creation of BerlinRosen a liberal political consulting firm with…
A north Scottsdale car dealership official bragged about its “out-of-step” cultural values after rescinding a job offer because the applicant was using a legally prescribed drug, according to a federal complaint filed last week. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleges that Bell Lexus of north Scottsdale had offered a job to…
Let’s say you’re Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and a federal judge would like to see you behind bars, owing to the disrespect you showed while the landmark civil-rights suit Melendres v. Arpaio was unfolding in his courtroom. What is your response? A) Throw your 84-year-old carcass on the mercy of…
The parking lot for Deanna France’s indoor batting cages in Mesa has 10 handicap-accessible spaces marked with a clearly painted wheelchair symbol — four more than are required under the Americans with Disabilities Act. So she was confused, in June, when she was served with a $10,000 lawsuit for not…
Winter has come early for Sheriff Joe Arpaio, with a hard snowfall in August. Late Friday afternoon, federal Judge G. Murray Snow issued his long-awaited ruling on possible criminal contempt charges for Arpaio, his Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan, the MCSO’s former Professional Standards Bureau Captain Steve Bailey, and ex-Arpaio attorney…
More than one in 10 deputies working for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office show discriminatory treatment against black and Hispanic people, according to a new Arizona State University study. The public might not be shocked to learn that six-term sheriff Joe Arpaio runs a discriminatory agency. After all, the U.S. Department…
Abuse of power. Embezzlement. Misuse of funds. Inappropriate sexual encounters. Another day. Another political scandal in Arizona. Most recently, Arizona Democratic lawmaker Cecilia “Ceci” Velasquez, 42, was indicted for allegedly defrauding the federal government out of $1,726 worth of food stamps. If convicted of a felony, Velasquez, who was elected…
The monitor appointed by a federal judge to make sure that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office complies with court orders to stop racial profiling of Latinos says the office has a lot more work to do. U.S. District Judge Murray Snow appointed Robert Warshaw, a retired police chief, to ensure…
Whether online or in person, an angry mob bent on vengeance is not easily placated. Particularly when dead pets are involved. So it goes for some in the Twitterverse, who erupted in rage at Thursday’s news that Gilbert resident Todd Hughes and his mother, MaLeisa Hughes, had copped a plea…
Outside Phoenix’s Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday, opponents of Sheriff Joe Arpaio serenaded passersby with live mariachi music, chanted “Arrest Arpaio, not the people,” and unveiled a giant balloon depicting their nemesis in handcuffs and stripes. But inside the courthouse, by the the end of a five-hour session,…
Today, in a preview of a high-stakes hearing on Tuesday, May 31, in the contempt case of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and three of his subordinates, the ACLU filed a memorandum asking U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow to make a referral to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, asking for an investigation…
In a 162-page ruling issued, ominously, on Friday the 13th, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow found Sheriff Joe Arpaio guilty on three counts of civil contempt and left the door open to criminal prosecution. Snow also found Arpaio’s chief deputy, Jerry Sheridan, guilty on two counts of civil contempt…
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is taking some heat this afternoon by social-media users who think he went way too far in mentioning drug use by musician Prince, who died on Thursday at age 57. Arpaio’s known for making politically incorrect remarks and discriminating against Latinos, but he’s even ticked…
If the news releases posted on Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office website are supposed to represent what Joe Arpaio’s shop is doing lately, these must be the agency’s dog days. After 20 years of dog-and-pony shows from Arpaio, the intense focus on dogs has gotten to a ridiculous point. Something has…
Rob McElwain has a system. He scours his neighborhood for materials, delivers them home, paints, and finally, he protests. On most weekdays, the tall, lanky 61-year-old — in jeans, his hair sun-bleached white and pulled back into a ponytail — stands on First Avenue in front of the Wells Fargo…
Gilbert Police have filed aggravated-assault charges against a veteran who announced intentions in March to sue the department for using excessive force while attempting to calm him down during a post-traumatic stress disorder breakdown. Police are accusing Kyle Cardenas, seeking $20 million to settle his lawsuit, of “intentionally, knowingly, or…
Paul Penzone, a former cop who came closer to dethroning Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio than any candidate before him, will be taking the sheriff on again this year. Penzone announced his fresh bid for the sheriff’s spot in an email to the news media today headed, “It’s time.” And…
Like a lumpy wad of flavorless, chewed gum, Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s recently “retired” top flack, Lisa Allen, continues to cling to Arpaio’s weathered boot-heel, working as a public-relations “vendor” on a contract basis for her old boss, from her new home in Boise, Idaho. Allen resigned effective February 2, after…
The city of Surprise will pay $40,000 to a battered woman who was pushed out of her home for calling 911 too many times, according to a settlement agreemen. City officials also agreed to repeal the ordinance that nearly got Nancy Markham, a single mother of two, evicted in August…
