If a U.S. Senator from Vermont is right, then Maricopa County could be on the hook for repaying up to $25 million in federal taxpayer coin, thanks to the Justice Department’s civil-rights case against Sheriff Joe Arpaio.Senator Patrick Leahy wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday, asking…
The Worsley camp’s latest, and how true it is…At the Red Mountain Tea Party Monday night, recalled, disgraced ex-state Senate President Russell Pearce did not bow out of the GOP primary in Legislative District 25 for state Senate, as some in the blogosphere had anticipated.Instead, according to those in attendance,…
Rocky Marquez strolled out of the Lower Buckeye Jail yesterday, which happens to be a problem, because he’s supposed to be in jail for a while. Marquez, 33, was “erroneously released” from the jail, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. MCSO Sergeant Brandon Jones tells New Times investigators believe…
Forget everything you’ve heard about the Justice Department lawsuit against the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Joe Arpaio for racial-discrimination claims, because there’s an inmate who says “Joe Arpaio and stuff” saved the lives of all the “brothas” at the 4th Avenue Jail.OK, don’t actually forget everything you’ve heard…
There’s not much that would get me out on a hot Arizona afternoon to watch a high-school soccer match, but Sal Reza as “coach” is one of them.Reza, the bane of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former state Senate President Russell Pearce, the guy who’s led thousands in marches protesting both…
If you’ve heard Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s explanations for why negotiations with the Justice Department broke down, he makes it sound as if Attorney General Eric Holder himself wants to be the new sheriff.It’s the proposed Justice Department “monitor” that people in the MCSO’s corner are objecting to –…
In early March, shortly after the sex-and-‘deportation’ scandal that enveloped Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu hit the news, his chief deputy, Steve Henry, fulfilled a speaking engagement in Las Vegas at the annual convention of the Western States Sheriff’s Association. At the time, the telegenic and articulate Henry was heir…
I know as much about Chilean hip-hop as I do Bolivian death metal or Finnish free jazz. That said, you don’t need a translator to be able to see or hear that French-Chilean MC Ana Tijoux is talented. Just sample any of her music videos online and you’re sure to be…
Think Pearce will laugh? Yeah, probably notMy good friend Dennis Gilman was kind enough to upload this delicious new parody for me of the much-spoofed “raving fuhrer” scene from the 2004 German film Downfall, starring Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler.Long have I dreamed of having one of these Downfall spoofs…
Soft and cuddly this Mesa muttonhead will never beI sure hope recalled ex-state Senate President Russell Pearce doesn’t bow out of the GOP state Senate primary in Legislative District 25, as some have been speculatin’ in the blogosphere.Why? Well, because that would rob me of the immense pleasure of watching…
Tom Perez blasts Sheriff Joe in Phoenix yesterday Hey, did you hear that the U.S. Department of Justice is suing Sheriff Joe Arpaio?Well, in case you were hibernating beneath a saguaro on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Tom Perez was in town to blast everyone’s least-favorite sheriff for his racial-profiling,…
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu dropped out of his Congressional race early this morning and plans instead to run for re-election as sheriff — despite recent assurances by his camp that he planned to continue his Fourth District run. Babeu would have us believe that his decision has nothing to do with the…
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was sued by the Justice Department yesterday over racial-discrimination claims, and not surprisingly, Arpaio had a little more than two cents to give to everyone yesterday.His responses ranged from the Justice Department having the wrong guy, wanting to play basketball with President Obama, and saying…
A sergeant with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office does not have his automatic rifle, pistol, or Taser after the weapons were stolen out of his vehicle yesterday morning.The Colt M-16A1 automatic rifle, Taser X-26 and its loaded cartridge, as well as Glock 27 pistol with a magazine were stolen out…
I’ve often said that in Arizona you don’t have to be a swastika-carrying neo-Nazi to have the same or similar beliefs. Which is why the presence of neo-Nazis and other right-wing wackjobs in the midst of the immigration donnybrook here in Sand Land has caused little or no outrage. And yet,…
After a few rounds of threats, the Justice Department announced finally its lawsuit against the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Joe Arpaio this morning.The lawsuit addresses that “culture of bias” the Justice Department’s been alleging since it released its findings in December, claiming that Arpaio’s office conducts the worst racial-profiling…
UPDATE: As a reader pointed out, the Wall Street Journal says “people familiar with the matter” claim the lawsuit’s being filed tomorrow. The Department of Justice sent letters notifying Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s lawyers that the DoJ’s suing the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office “in order…
I knew Gilbert massacre shooter J.T. Ready was from Polk County, Florida, and I had contacted some relatives of his over the weekend seeking comment. (No luck, alas.) But until today, I could find no mention of him in his hometown newspaper, The Ledger, located in Lakeland, Florida.Thankfully, Ledger reporter…
The book co-authored by one of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s purported “special deputies”/ex-Sheriff’s Posse member is “all wrong,” according to the sheriff.Between “no comment” and “it’s all wrong,” Arpaio tells New Times that he didn’t actually read the book apparently slamming his investigation into President Obama’s birth certificate and…
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio put the 60th notch in his illegal-immigrant roundup/”employer sanctions operation” belt today, as deputies nabbed four people at a Tempe office furniture store.Running off another “tip,” deputies went to Interior Solutions in Tempe this morning, arresting four people believed to be in the country illegally on…
Update: We spoke with AJ News editor Ed Barker and Steve Kizer, director of Pinal County Elections Department. “Paul Babeu is going to run for a second term as sheriff,” AJ News Editor Ed Barker wrote in a column this week. “Yep, he’s fallen from grace in the Congressional race…
We’ve previously mentioned some of the stranger aspects of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s “birther” investigation — parts not related to Arpaio and company thinking President Obama’s from Africa — including tidbits of information that would lead a reasonable person to believe the “investigation” isn’t really about exposing some massive…
