On Thursday we learned that the Justice Department has subpoenaed the findings of an investigation into criminal allegations at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. The results of the 6-month investigation were delivered to Sheriff Joe Arpaio last week, but as I mentioned in this diary yesterday, Arpaio has so far refused to release the 1,022-page report to the media, noting in his explanation that he is protecting the civil rights of employees mentioned in the investigation's findings. Heh, since when did Joe Apario ever concern himself with anyone's civil rights?
Several sources close to the investigation said the report, conducted by Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, recommended that three of Arpaio's aides be terminated. All three were senior staff who the Sheriff had placed on paid leave pending the results of the investigation. Late Friday news broke that Arpaio did indeed fire two of the men, including his long-time friend and Chief Deputy, David Hendershott:
Sheriff Joe Arpaio fired Chief Deputy David Hendershott and Deputy Chief Larry Black Friday following a six-month investigation into allegations of misconduct that targeted those two top aides and Capt. Joel Fox. Arizona Republic
The identical termination letters (PDF) to Hendershott and Black simply say, "Sheriff Arpaio's decision to terminate your employment arises from the findings and conclusions in that administrative investigation." No specifics are mentioned. In addition to Hendershott and Black, Captain Joel Fox was implicated in many of the wrongdoings, but while the two fired deputies were at-will employees, Fox is not and is pursuing an appeal. (He's also filed a lawsuit against the AG, who began the investigation, for ruining his career ... talk about major cajones.)
The investigation that prompted Arpaio to place the men on leave, and then terminate their asses, began in April 2010 after Deputy Chief Frank Munnell released a memo to the press that laid bare the corruption, cronyism, and intimidation taking place within the Sheriff's Office. It's a long, long list of allegations, including an illegal campaign slush fund, favoritism, incompetency, targeting political enemies, and abuse of powers. Hendershott and the others dug themselves into an even deeper shit hole when they tried several times to block the investigation that Munnell's report triggered:
Hendershott, Black and Fox tried to obstruct justice, tamper with witnesses and destroy evidence after they learned the Arizona Attorney General's Office was investigating a political fund and its contributors. Arizona Republic
No one but the staunchest Arpaio brown-noser can read Munnell's report, or the news stories that erupted after its release, and not agree with what many of Arpaio's critics have maintained for years: The Sheriff's Office is run by a bunch of corrupt, vindictive bullies who think laws are for little people. Take a gander at what Sarah Fenske wrote about the thuggish culture at the Sheriff's Office ... in 2007:
But the most dangerous place in the county, after the jails, is on Sheriff Joe's bad side. Oppose him, and he'll follow you around, rifle through your trash, hold a press conference about how bad you are, even arrest you. New Times
For years wingers and most of the media loved Arpaio's get-tough attitude, and many people ignored New Times as a lefty rag for constantly snapping at the Sheriff's heels. But that started to change, especially among the mainstream press, when Arpaio's men rounded up the paper's CEO and editor in the middle of the night, and then demanded that New Times turn over every reporter's notes about the Sheriff as well as the computer code of anyone who had visited the paper's website!
In a breathtaking abuse of the United States Constitution, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, and their increasingly unhinged cat's paw, special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik, used the grand jury to subpoena "all documents related to articles and other content published by Phoenix New Times newspaper in print and on the Phoenix New Times website, regarding Sheriff Joe Arpaio from January 1, 2004 to the present."
Every note, tape, and record from every story written about Sheriff Arpaio by every reporter over a period of years....
More alarming still, Arpaio, Thomas, and Wilenchik subpoenaed detailed information on anyone who has looked at the New Times Web site since 2004. LAObserved
Suddenly those cries of "police state" didn't seem so alarmist. It was Arpaio's pit-bull, David Hendershott, who coordinated the journalists' arrests.
So Who Are These Guys and What Will They Say?
Chief Deputy David Hendershott isn't your run-of-the-mill deputy in the Sheriff's Office. This huge turd has been there since 1978, a veritable institution in his own Neanderthal mind. After Arpaio's first election in 1992, the two evidently got along just hunky dory -- and clearly saw eye-to-eye on strong-arm tactics -- and Joe rewarded his friend's loyalty:
From 1996 to 1999, Hendershott's salary doubled, from about $60,000 to $120,000. In 1999, Arpaio allowed Hendershott to quit, begin collecting a pension of $51,000 annually, then get rehired to his same position at the same $120,000 salary. New Times
Nice gig if you can get it. The double-dipping was challenged in court but eventually upheld:
The move also ensconced Hendershott as Arpaio's Number Two, a position he would hold until Friday and one where sheriff's employees claim Hendershott consolidated power and developed a double-standard of discipline that rewarded his friends and punished those who crossed him. Arizona Republic
Deputy Chief Larry Black became another member of Arpaio's "inner inner circle," and he too benefited handsomely from Hendershott's precedent-setting double-dipping:
Four years ago, Larry Black took a $386,000 one-time pension payment, retired, and was rehired as one of Arpaio's top aides. New Times
Hell, even as the three were on leave these past 6 months they pulled in more cash than many of us earn in a year. While sitting at home during the investigation, probably scheming how to get others on their enemies list, Hendershott collected nearly $69,000, Black more than $41,000, and Fox more than $44,000.
That right there exposes just how blindingly hateful the people are who keep electing the blowhard Arpaio. They'll bitch about teachers and fire fighters "bankrupting" the state with their pensions, and they'll say we don't have money to pay for life-saving organ transplants. Yet you don't hear a peep from their decrepit mouths about a Sheriff who has cost citizens of Maricopa County more than $43 million in lawsuits for unlawful arrests, court harassments, and prisoner mistreatment (with $56 million more pending). They never complain about a perkerhead who has misspent nearly $100 million since 2003 buying himself buses, tanks, and immigration cops with money earmarked for inmate services; or a Sheriff who has rewarded his pals with large salaries, double paychecks, and a cushy paid leave gig.
Even with all that cash flowing his way, it appears Hendershott wasn't very good with finances. This week we learned he may have embezzled thousands of dollars from the Pink Underwear Fund to pay his gambling debts. He filed for bankruptcy in 1986 and 1997, and he recently lost his half-million dollar home, which is in foreclosure.
To top it off, Hendershott is now jobless and may be facing prosecution. Similarly, Joel Fox and Larry Black have watched their big important careers swill down the toilet, and where again will they ever earn salaries and perks like they did at Joe's Place? In addition, their personal lives were turned upside down when love letters (emails actually) between the two men, who are both married with children, surfaced during the investigation.
All three are in desperate straights and deep doo-doo. Let's hope they see the wisdom of cooperating with the Federal investigation into Arpaio's office, which has been going on for way too long -- since late 2009. I cannot believe the "dirty tricks" architect Hendershott, who worked with Arpaio side-by-side for nearly 20 years, pulled off his countless shenanigans without his boss's awareness, if not consent.
"If a dirty trick needs to be done, [Hendershott's] the guy they tend to go to," said Joel Robbins, an attorney who's successfully sued MCSO dozens of times. "But I'm left to wonder whether or not he's just a sacrificial lamb." CBS5.com