Whenever federal Judge G. Murray Snow questions Sheriff Joe Arpaio during the sheriff’s ongoing contempt trial, all kinds of muscles tighten at the defense table. And for good reason, Snow knows the case better than anyone. He also remembers in detail what people say in his court, and he most…
There is Arpaio as he would have the world see him, and there is Arpaio as he actually is. So many of Arpaio’s fans — the people who vote for him and nearly worship him — couldn’t care less about the reality beneath the public image of a strutting tough…
For Nixon, it was a specific audio tape revealing the president’s obstruction of justice in the Watergate affair. For Reagan’s Iran-Contra scandal, it was an ex-Marine in Nicaragua named Eugene Hasenfus. For Bill Clinton, it was Monica Lewinsky’s stained, blue dress. But for Sheriff Joe Arpaio, his “smoking gun” is…
It’s every man for himself over at Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s version of the Andrea Gail, where the perfect storm of his contempt trial threatens to take down lieutenants and chief deputies alike. Civil defense costs for Arpaio and his four co-defendants are being picked up by the taxpayers of Maricopa…
Sheriff Joe Arpaio was on the stand for just 90 minutes during the fifth day of his contempt trial, but those 90 minutes, and the testimony of an MCSO lieutenant, welded him to the plot to undermine federal Judge G. Murray Snow’s court. Thursday’s revelations will be familiar to regular…
I’ve seen this routine so many times, I can anticipate Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s lines before they drop from his thin, bloodless lips. Late Wednesday afternoon, Arpaio took the stand in his contempt trial before federal Judge G. Murray Snow. And he relied on some of his favorite ploys, ones I’ve…
Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s former mouthpiece Tim Casey sang like an Irish tenor in federal court Tuesday, rolling on his onetime client and implicating him in criminal contempt of the court’s orders. Casey was instructed to testify by federal Judge G. Murray Snow over the continuing objections of his ethics attorney…
Given current events, Sheriff Joe Arpaio should consider changing his theme song from Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” to The Beatles’ “Yesterday.” Two subpoenas issued by lawyers for the plaintiffs in the federal contempt trial of Arpaio, his chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan, and three other current and former MCSO big shots,…
Round two of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s federal contempt trial began last Thursday. Yet revelations from the testimony of Arpaio’s chief deputy, Jerry Sheridan, and from portions of deposition transcripts made public already have been damning. Here are the 10 of the most eyebrow-raising: 10. According to Sheridan, the Maricopa County…
Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s absurd Seattle investigation cost taxpayers at least $250,000, improperly dipped into federal grant money, and nearly depleted the MCSO’s RICO fund. This, according to Arpaio’s Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan, who spent yesterday on the stand in federal court, much of it being skewered by ACLU attorney Cecillia…
ACLU attorney Cecillia Wang played hammer to Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan’s nail in federal court Thursday, as Sheridan was the first to take the stand in the contempt trial of Sheridan, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and three current and former MCSO bigwigs. The multi-day hearing, with dates scheduled in September, October…
Recruiters at the University of Phoenix deceived prospective students and surreptitiously recruited military veterans to enroll at the school, a new lawsuit filed by two former employees alleges. Marlena Aldrich and Kristen Nolan worked as military liaisons at a U of P learning center in Louisville, Kentucky, where they were…
Shamelessness must be a requirement to work for Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Just hours before the second round in Arpaio’s contempt trial was set to begin Thursday morning in federal court, his attorney John Masterson (one of several) submitted a motion to block “any inquiry during the continued contempt proceedings regarding the…
Recently released excerpts of depositions of Joe Arpaio’s ex-attorney, Tim Casey, and others in the sheriff’s ongoing contempt case point to possible perjury by Arpaio and his chief deputy, Jerry Sheridan, during their April testimony in federal court. The excerpts, made public as part of the court record, also confirm…
Next time you catch John Boorman’s classic 1972 film Deliverance, Phoenix lawyer Dennis Wilenchik may come to mind. Particularly during the notorious “squeal like a pig” scene, when a character played by Ned Beatty is raped by a Georgia redneck and made to crawl on all fours. Earlier this year, the pugnacious,…
A former marine sniper who suffers from mental illness is suing for $15 million after being run over in front of the Carl Hayden VA Medical Center two years ago following his discharge fr om the facility. Jason Cooper, 41, a California man who served in the Marine Corps for…
Taxpayers pick up the tab for Sheriff Joseph M. Arpaio’s attorney’s fees, court costs and settlements in civil suits. Political contributors bankroll his campaigns. He and his wife Ava are millionaires, and own a number of pricey properties in the Valley. His salary with Maricopa County is more than $100,000…
About 48 hours before his lifeless body was found hanging by the neck from a blue rope tied to a pool table at his home, ex-MCSO deputy Ramon “Charley” Armendariz told a group of friends and neighbors that he was a planning a press conference where he would “expose the…
You can’t fault Sheriff Joe Arpaio for lack of chutzpah. The guy continues to beg for campaign donations while his contempt of the federal court in the ACLU’s big civil rights case Melendres v. Arpaio is costing us beaucoup bucks. Check this recent gimmicky e-mail (below) desperately seeking any cash you’ve…
When Nancy Markham’s ex-boyfriend wrapped his hands around her neck and attempted to strangle her last year, she called 911. She called again when he showed up with a handgun and tried to break into her house, again when he threatened her with a knife, and again when he drove…
When it comes to Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s 22-year reign over Maricopa County, a cursory glance at newspaper clippings from earlier in his career reveals that some things never change. Consider Arpaio’s penchant for investigating his enemies, his critics, and anyone who stands in his way. In January 1999, Maricopa County…
No, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, you can’t sue President Obama for filling up Maricopa County jails. That’s what three judges with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit concluded when they affirmed a lower court decision to dismiss Arpaio’s lawsuit challenging the president’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and…
