Feds found no crimes in Arpaio’s handling of inmate cash
Feds found no crimes in Arpaio’s handling of inmate cash
By The Associated Press
Published: August 16, 2011 at 5:19 pm
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Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio addresses a group of Tea Party Patriots as the keynote speaker during opening ceremonies of the tea party's convention Friday, Feb. 25, 2011, in Phoenix.(AP Photo/Paul Connors)
Prosecutors say they found no state or federal criminal violations in the travel spending and handling of inmates’ cash by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office.
Dennis Burke, the U.S. Attorney for Arizona, told a county official in a letter Monday that the cash that inmates have in their possession when they are arrested was mostly accounted for and that there was no evidence of embezzlement.
But Burke said prosecutors believe that the sheriff’s office’s handling of inmate cash between 2006 and 2008 was questionable and suggested that Arpaio’s office may have violated its financial duties as a manager of money.
Jack MacIntyre, deputy chief for Arpaio, said Monday’s letter is another instance where prosecutors have cleared the sheriff’s office. In June, federal prosecutors said they wouldn’t be prosecuting sheriff’s officials over extradition spending.
MacIntyre said Burke couldn’t resist taking unfair swipes at Arpaio’s office in the letter when he should have merely announced his decision not to prosecute sheriff’s officials. “You may not like how someone balances their checkbook, but that’s not the duty of the U.S. Attorney’s Office,â€
