Sheriff Joe Arpaio Questioned for 5 1/2 Hours: The Beginning of the End?

I doubt it! This guy has more lives than all of the people his guards have murdered over the years. Here's the article by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and JJ Hensley:

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was interviewed for 5½ hours by an investigator examining allegations of misconduct involving some of Arpaio's top aides, according to billings released to The Arizona Republic by the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.

The billings for the first time reveal that Arpaio was officially questioned about the allegations, which focus on the activities of commanders in his inner circle. Among the unanswered questions is the depth of Arpaio's knowledge of his subordinates' activities.

Arpaio on Wednesday declined to characterize the nature of his conversation with investigators.

"I'm not going to get into whether I was a witness," Arpaio said. "We have met quite frequently to discuss the investigation."

According to more than 30 new pages of billings, private investigator Keith Sobraske billed Pinal County $351 on Jan. 12 for preparations to interview Arpaio and for the actual interview, which took place from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Arpaio's administrative offices.

Last September, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu hired Sobraske to examine misconduct allegations in a 63-page memorandum written by Arpaio Deputy Chief Frank Munnell. That memo accuses Chief Deputy David Hendershott, Deputy Chief Larry Black and Capt. Joel Fox of mismanagement, explosive behavior, favoritism, violations of county policies and potentially criminal conduct.

Arpaio placed all on paid administrative leave pending results of Babeu's probe.

Arpaio received the 1,022-page investigative report from Babeu last week, but has denied a demand by The Arizona Republic and 12 News to release findings of the six-month investigation. Arpaio's office cited federal civil-rights laws that protect public employees, among other reasons, in blocking release of the information.

The billing records also indicate that in March, as the inquiry neared an end, investigators were in regular contact with Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Clarisse McCormick, speaking with her by phone nearly 20 times during that month.

McCormick advised Arpaio not to release the report, according to the sheriff.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors agreed with Pinal County to pay for the investigation. According to the new invoices, its expenses from January through April 18 amounted to $39,000, putting Pinal County's total billings at about $85,300.

During that time, investigators completed 34 interviews and follow-up phone calls with the investigation's targets and witnesses.

Some were Arpaio's current and former employees, including the sheriff's former chief financial officer and former deputies once assigned to Arpaio's public-corruption unit. Other billable hours included conversations with an FBI special agent who has gathered evidence for a federal abuse-of-power inquiry into Arpaio, as well as an investigator for the Arizona Attorney General's Office who led a separate investigation into political fundraising by Arpaio staffers.

The billings also reveal that investigators:

- Reviewed Arpaio's internal affairs investigations tied to sex crimes and several other internal affairs cases.

- Interviewed Fox for a third time and conducted a telephone interview with Hendershott.

- Captured video surveillance of an apartment, and met with personnel at an apartment complex in north-central Phoenix.

- Uncovered a new allegation of misconduct, which documents do not explain.

- Explored allegations involving the political action committee known as SCA that solicited funds from wealthy donors and Arpaio's top commanders and donated the money to the Arizona Republican Party. That included interviews with county Elections Director Karen Osborne and the administrative judge appointed to review those campaign activities.

- Examined public records involving two security and consulting firms, including Blue Steel Consulting, a firm owned by sheriff's Deputy Aaron Brown. The deputy oversaw security for the Fiesta Bowl. A recent investigative report found evidence of potentially illegal bowl-employee conduct and spending irregularities that could jeopardize the bowl's non-profit status. Brown is also the subject of an internal Sheriff's Office investigation to determine whether he performed bowl work while on county time.

- Reviewed sheriff's e-mails and documents from the state Attorney General's Office and researched law enforcement standards.

Munnell's memo alleged years of behavior by Hendershott, Black and Fox that ranged from inappropriate to potentially criminal. He described Hendershott as a bully who retaliated against subordinates that questioned him, and who browbeat others into refusing to cooperate with investigations into the Sheriff's Office.

In the memo, Munnell alleged that Hendershott pressured subordinates on a corruption task force to write a questionable search warrant, then threatened to "machine gun" them if they refused. Munnell also asserted that Hendershott retaliated against those who acted against him.

Shaun Attwood