Sheriff Joe Arpaio, county attorney public-corruption files to feds: No crimes found in material

Yvonne Wingett and JJ Hensley -
Oct. 28, 2010 05:49 PM
The Arizona Republic

There is no evidence of federal crimes by county officials in material forwarded to federal prosecutors by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas, U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke says.

Last March, Arpaio and Thomas forwarded nine cases of suspected county corruption to the U.S. Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section for review. Though an attorney working on behalf of Arpaio and Thomas said federal officials promised to review the material, a Justice Department section chief later chastised him for giving the impression that federal agents would likely take on the investigations.

The cases instead were sent to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix for review.

Burke, Romley letters regarding public-corruption cases

"Our thorough review has shown that there is a total lack of evidence of the commission of any federal crimes by the individuals listed in the materials," Burke wrote in a letter to Interim County Attorney Rick Romley. "Furthermore, in several instances, the evidence was so lacking as to make the theory of liability nearly incomprehensible."

However, Burke recommended the matters be reviewed for any potential violations of state statutes. Romley, who cannot review the matters because of conflicts of interest, has asked the Navajo County Attorney's Office to perform that task.

Robert Driscoll, an Arpaio attorney, said Arpaio and Thomas filed a wide-ranging racketeering suit after failed attempts to get an outside prosecutor to review their allegations against other county officials. When the racketeering suit was withdrawn, Driscoll said Arpaio and Thomas wanted a prosecutor to review the cases.

"I don't think it would be fair to say that a declination (to prosecute) means there's nothing there," Driscoll said. "There's been a review and people are better off than they were at least knowing it's been reviewed."

The material included Arpaio and Thomas' investigations into the county's project to build a new court tower, and use of public funds to search for listening devices in county offices. Those cases were presented to a grand jury, which determined there was no probable cause that a crime was committed.

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