Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who grew up in Springfield, being probed for treatment of illegal immigrants

Sunday March 29, 2009, 2:00 PM

Photos by Ross D. Franklin

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, left, orders approximately 200 convicted illegal immigrants handcuffed together and moved into a separate area of Tent City, for incarceration until their sentences are served and they are deported to their home countries.
By TOM SHEA
tshea@repub.com

When Sheriff Joe Arpaio is told the telephone call is from Springfield, his hometown, he promptly identifies himself as "a kid from Six Corners."

Arpaio is 76.

He asks about his former High School of Commerce basketball buddy, Tom Economidy, who now lives in South Yarmouth.

"Is he still alive?" Arpaio wants to know.



Joe ArpaioHe also asks about Dante Molta, of Westfield, another old friend.

"We joined the Army together," Arpaio recalled. "June 14, 1950, my 18th birthday and the day I graduated from Commerce."

One of the most powerful and controversial lawmen in the land then pauses for a second.

"You know, next year is our 60th high school reunion," Arpaio says. "Do you think anyone is planning a reunion? I'd come."

Arpaio - whose role as sheriff of Maricopa County Arizona, the fourth-largest sheriff's department in the country, is both a law enforcement officer and jailer - is back in the news.

Elected sheriff the same day Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, Arpaio, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency officer who worked from Turkey to South America and hot spots throughout this country, made an international name for himself by housing prisoners in desert canvas tents, serving green balogna for lunch, banning free coffee, issuing pink underwear and reinstituting chain gangs.



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"It's common sense," he insists. "I consider jail punishment. I don't consider jail an educational or rehabilitation facility."

Republican presidential candidates always seek his endorsement.

As he did in 2008, Arpaio is already backing former Massachusetts Gov. W. Mitt Romney in 2012.

Two weeks ago the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation of Arpaio's office following requests by congressional Democrats and allegations by liberal activists that the department has violated the civil rights of illegal aliens with unconstitutional searches and seizures.

In February, Arpaio drew fire for handcuffing some 200 convicted illegal immigrants together and moving them into a separate area of the tent city at his Phoenix jail, saying it would save money. He also said the move will be more convenient for consulate officials visiting foreign inmates and for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents charged with deporting the inmates once they serve their sentences.

Albor Ruiz, a New York Daily News columnist who covers immigration issues, wrote: "Investigating this man - stripping him of the power to violate with impunity the rights of Americans and immigrants - is not only urgent, it is a matter of fundamental decency."

More than 35,000 people from across the country have signed a petition on a Web site with a name that could serve as a mission statement: www.Joemustgo.com

Arpaio's reaction: "I won't back down. What I am doing is upholding the laws of the state of Arizona, and I will not be persuaded to turn my back on my oath of office as sheriff of this county."

Arpaio - friendly, personable, funny with a street-wise air - has been married to the same woman for 52 years.

When he retired from the DEA in 1992, he spent 10 years operating a travel business with his wife, Ava.

He made one political bid for Phoenix City Council in 1983 and finished sixth out of eight candidates. He says he ran for sheriff because he was sick of crime and thought he could do something about it.

Arpaio promised to serve only one term; now he's thinking about a sixth. He was re-elected in November with nearly 56 percent of the vote.

"People are always protesting outside my office," Arpaio says. "Signs that read 'Hitler,' 'Nazi,' 'Racist.' But, it doesn't bother me. I don't hide behind anything. I report directly to the people. And, they keep electing me."

He says he works 14 hours a day. And, he isn't surprised the Obama administration didn't ask him for input on their new border policy.

"I only live in a border state, worked in Mexico and Texas, have served in law enforcement more years than most of those politicians have been alive," he says. "Why would they ask me?"

As a young man fresh out of the Army, Arpaio flunked the test to be a border patrol officer. He did get to arrest Elvis Presley for speeding in Las Vegas. He is the author of a best-selling memoir. He can still type, thanks to his education at the High School of Commerce.

"I make my own bed, and I sleep in it," Arpaio says. "I've worked 48 years in law enforcement. Love me. Hate me. I'll take responsibility for my actions."


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