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  1. #1
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    Pinal Sheriff Paul Babeu exonerated

    Pinal Sheriff Paul Babeu exonerated

    Will not face criminal charges related to allegations that he abused his authority

    45 comments by Rebekah L. Sanders and Lindsey Collom - Aug. 31, 2012 11:49 PM
    The Republic | azcentral

    Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu was cleared and will not face any charges related to allegations that he abused his authority, the Arizona AttorneyGeneral's Office announced Friday.
    Review of evidence of threats
    Summary of allegations

    Seven months after a former boyfriend accused Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu of abuse of power, the Arizona Attorney General's Office has cleared the lawman of any wrongdoing in the high-profile case.
    Solicitor General David Cole exonerated Babeu, who had requested the inquiry, after concluding that he committed no criminal violations.
    Closure of the case came three days after Babeu won the primary in his bid for a second term. He now faces two challengers, an independent and a Democrat, in the November general election.
    His landslide win for the Republican nomination proves voters "saw through" the allegations as election-year politicking, Babeu said.
    Still, the allegations derailed Babeu's once-promising bid for Congress. They also prompted him to disclose his sexual orientation during a news conference earlier this year, a day after Jose Orozco accused the sheriff of threatening him with deportation if he didn't keep their relationship a secret.
    During a news conference on Friday, Babeu said his only regret was not disclosing his sexual orientation earlier. He also criticized the desire of political opponents and the media to destroy people.
    Babeu held the 15-minute news conference outside the Sheriff's Office surrounded by supporters. He declined to answer questions, explaining, "Today is my day to have a say."
    The inquiry also closed with no charges filed against Orozco, whom the sheriff had accused of theft of property and identity, fraud, and impersonation.
    "The investigation determined that Babeu did not commit any criminal violations and further concluded that, although Orozco conducted himself in a manner that may constitute a violation of the law, there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction on anything more than a misdemeanor charge," Cole said in a written statement. "It would be an inappropriate use of already-limited resources to prosecute Orozco for a misdemeanor."
    Orozco had been a volunteer campaign worker managing Babeu's campaign website, Twitter account and Facebook page. The sheriff said that after the relationship ended, Orozco retaliated by posting negative material online.
    In a case memorandum dated Thursday, Assistant Attorney General Todd Lawson said that Orozco could have been charged with identity fraud and computer tampering but that a conviction was unlikely. The misdemeanor charge referred to in Cole's statement was for harassment.
    Lawson's comments about Babeu were more direct: "There is no indication he misused any authority or misused public money to harass or intimidate Jose Orozco."
    Babeu's personal attorney, Timothy La Sota, said it was a thorough investigation that completely vindicated the sheriff.
    LaSota characterized the allegations against Babeu as "nothing but a bunch of garbage" by the accuser, his attorney and "some of his media comrades."
    "I would hope that the sheriff's name is cleared with as much zeal as it was besmirched by some who just don't support the sheriff politically," LaSota said.
    Babeu said it was the outcome he anticipated when he asked for the inquiry.
    "Seven months ago, right in this very same spot, I stood here, and there were some pretty severe allegations that were made against me, some of the worst things you can say about somebody in law enforcement: that they threatened someone, that they abused their authority," he said. "I knew then the truth. ... Exactly what we knew would happen is that I would be cleared."
    Orozco's attorney, Adnan Horan, said in a written statement that his client fully cooperated with the investigation and was both pleased and disappointed by the outcome.
    He said the fact that his client wasn't charged confirms that Orozco did nothing wrong.
    "It is important to be mindful that Mr. Orozco remains the victim in this matter despite Sheriff Babeu's failed attempt to shift the attention from his own conduct," Horan said. "The threatening and intimidating text messages Sheriff Babeu sent to Mr. Orozco remain undisputed both in fact and by Sheriff Babeu himself."
    Orozco filed paperwork in March signaling he intended to sue the sheriff and Pinal County. The notice of claim sought $1million in damages. The county has made no official response, and Orozco has not filed a lawsuit.
    After the allegations surfaced in a Phoenix New Times article on Feb.17, Babeu vehemently denied Orozco's assertions. He continued his bid for Congress before dropping out in May to seek re-election.
    This was the second investigation to close without charges for Babeu or his staff in recent months.
    The Pima County Attorney's Office said in July that it would not pursue charges against Tim Gaffney, Babeu's director of communications and grants, on allegations of tampering with public records.
    Investigators concluded that Gaffney had deleted thousands of public records, but they could not prove any malicious intent. Gaffney has said he deleted e-mails and calendar items to free up storage space after IT personnel told him they had archived records.
    Only one inquiry remains open. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is investigating possible Hatch Act violations by Babeu and his top aides. The Hatch Act makes it illegal for certain government workers to participate in political activities.


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    This is a duplicate article.

    Please post further comments here: http://www.alipac.us/f12/az-pinal-sh...erated-263390/
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