Yeah, you read that right.
Arizona's newly elected Attorney General, Tom Horne, just said he will not pursue the investigation into the Sheriff's Command Association (SCA), a political action committee that friends of Joe Arpaio established -- illegally it turns out. While previous AG Terry Goddard had started an investigation, Horne's office says he'll leave it to the Feds:
"[Federal prosecutors] have received previous authorization from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to investigate and prosecute any potential state criminal statutes that may arise as part of their federal investigation," said Jim Keppel, criminal-division chief of the Attorney General's Office. "Those are the circumstances that led to the AG's decision to defer to them regarding the investigations and potential prosecutions." Arizona Republic
Horne's decision probably has nothing to do with the fact that he's a Republican who owes his political seat to Sheriff Arpaio's favorite bill, SB 1070. At the same time, Arpaio is considering jumping into the Republican primary for US Senate, and the new AG probably doesn't want to contribute to any campaign dirt. Also, Horne needs to make nice with the Sheriff because he defeated Arpaio's candidate, Andrew Thomas, in the AG primary. It's just coincidence I'm sure that Horne would suspend the inquiry.
This strange history -- and what a very long strange trip it's been -- stretches back to the 2008 election, when the Sheriff's flunkies, notably Deputy Sheriff Dave Hendershott, hooked up with some friendly rich wingers to fund SCA, a slush fund created specifically to support Arpaio. The SCA made a $100,000 donation to the state's Republican Party; they in turn laundered the money to another group called Arizonans for Public Safety, which used the cash to develop and air ads that smeared Arpaio's opponent, Dan Saban, the respected Sheriff of Buckeye, a Phoenix suburb.
... we're talking about a situation in which a half-dozen of the sheriff's highest-ranking officers systematically stashed tens of thousands of dollars in a secret account and then funneled the money to the Arizona Republican Party. New Times
Dan Saban and Joe Arpaio go way back. Get this: In the 2004 election, Saban opposed Arpaio in the Republican primary. True to the classy form they've always demonstrated during elections, the Sheriff's office leaked a report to the media alleging that a young Dan Saban had raped his foster mother. The charge was bogus and, after he lost the election, Saban sued Arpaio. During the trial the Sheriff's attorney cornered Saban into discussing his sex life, and asked if he'd ever jerked the gherkin while on duty. Amazingly, Saban said he had -- 30 years ago, while at home. His videotaped confession provided the red meat, so to speak, for Arpaio's 2008 campaign. If you dare:
I'll wait while you go wash....
Campaign laws prohibited the GOP from allowing a political action committee, such as SCA, to direct its contributions to a specific race. What was even more irregular was that no one knew who the hell the donors were -- another violation. This illegal activity meant the GOP had to return the funds. However, before doing so their front group, Arizonans for Public Safety, created and aired the ad above, as well as another one that smeared Democrat Tim Nelson, who was running against County Attorney Andrew Thomas, the Sheriff's right-hand man. By giving Arpaio's infamous "sweeps" and other questionable tactics legal cover, Thomas enabled the establishment of Joe's police state. The ad targeting Nelson said he allowed child molesters to go free. The proof? He accepted contributions from defense attorneys. Sarah Fenske's excellent reporting captured what happened when the ads hit the TV screens:
The ad [targeting Saban] was both outrageous in its pettiness and dishonest in its innuendos. In addition to the bit about masturbation, the ad suggested Saban might have once exposed himself to a child (he didn't) and attempted to rehash the whole foster mom allegation (which had no merit).
Not surprisingly, public pressure forced the Republican Party to yank the commercial after just a few airings. It also had to pull an ad smearing the opponent of Arpaio's best buddy, County Attorney Andrew Thomas. New Times
Viewers were furious, and the ads only aired one day. When some Republicans even questioned how the political slime came about, then-AG Terry Goddard began looking into possible criminal charges, while the GOP, the Sheriff's Office, and SCA played dumb at every turn. Nobody knew nuthin' it seems. Certainly not Sheriff Arpaio! Then the political shit hit and absolutely destroyed the fan in April 2010 when one of Arpaio's men, Deputy Chief Frank Munnell, released a 63-page memo (pdf):
Munnell's letter provides an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look into how the money allegedly was raised, and makes allegations that [Chief Deputy Dave] Hendershott tried to conceal the committee's activities from investigators.
Munnell asserts that Hendershott helped launch the committee and that Hendershott asked Munnell and other employees to donate to the organization through automatic withdrawals from their paychecks.
... The group collected money from seven top sheriff's officials. It also raised money from five private donors who gave amounts ranging from $10,000 to $30,000. Arizona Republic
Oops! Munnell's memo also raised issues of political corruption, unethical conduct, staff intimidation, and misuse of funds that touched on SCA and operations in general. After the memo exploded in the media, several of Arpaio's key aides, including Hendershott, were placed on paid leave pending an investigation. But get this: the investigation normally would be conducted by the Department of Public Safety, our state police. Instead, Joe Arpaio asked his pal, the Arpaio-wannabe Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, to take the job (he's the bullet-headed co-star of McCain's "build the dang fence" campaign ad). Explaining his decision, the Sheriff said:
"I decide who to send investigations to if it's necessary."
Yeah, I'm sure this'll be an exhaustive investigation. Anyway, this week another bombshell landed, and Frank Munnell has a lead role again. AG Horne's office released more than 700 pdf pages of their investigation -- you know, the one they're suspending. It's full of fun stuff, including the verbatim account of a July 2009 staff meeting that Munnell secretly taped. The media are wading through the thick as a brick report, but here's an early tid-bit:
As they plan, Arpaio and his commanders dish on everyone from former County Attorney Andrew Thomas ("idiot," says Hendershott) to Terry Goddard ("dickhead," says Director Larry Black) to County Manager David Smith ("gonna choke him till he dies," says Hendershott) to former county attorney Rick Romley, (a "nutcase," says Arpaio.) New Times
Oh, this should be fun. Chips and salsa? Meanwhile, Andrew Thomas, Arpaio's former friend who his team called an "idiot," lost the AG primary race to Horne and is facing disbarrment; Hendershott is still on leave pending Sheriff Babeu's whitewash; and the Feds have probes underway targeting Joe Arpaio. Among other things, they're looking into the funding of SCA; the bogus filing of charges against County Supervisor Don Stapley, meant to intimidate one of Arpaio's opponents; racial profiling and abuse of powers; the misuse of restricted funds; and a corrupt land deal for one of the Sheriff's headquarters. For starters.
Just another day in Joe's police state. Oh, Dan Saban has announced he'll challenge Arpaio again in 2012, if the big blowhard doesn't seek the Senate. Let's see: raping your mother, burpin' the worm, exposing said worm, helping child molesters ... I can hardly wait to see what they come up with next.