Talking Points Memo has discovered some names behind the FBI’s investigation into state Representative/former Tempe Councilman Ben Arredondo and others, which has so far led to Arredondo’s indictment on charges of bribery, fraud, attempted extortion and making false statements.How did Arredondo end up getting suckered into allegedly taking $6,000 worth…
According to carbon dating, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio turns 80 tomorrow, and for a pre-birthday celebration, he’s participating in a Florida court matter related to his “birther” fascination.Arpaio is now helping an attorney in Florida challenge President “Barrack” Obama’s eligibility to appear on the state’s ballots in November, even…
It took help from the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI, but a first-edition Book of Mormon stolen from a Mesa bookstore has been located in Washington, D.C.The theft of the book did not make the Mormon community happy, as folks used to stop by Mesa’s Rare and Out of…
Ron Barber, a former aide to former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was elected yesterday to finish the remainder of Giffords’ term.Giffords resigned from Congress earlier this year to focus on her recovery after getting shot in the head during last year’s shooting rampage outside a Tucson grocery store. Barber also was…
Daniel Wayne Cook has a date with death, and it’s not the first time it’s been scheduled.After getting a last-minute stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court taking the bait more than a year ago, Cook’s execution now is scheduled for August 8, after the high court decided not…
A pair of Valley motorists, on separate occasions, have smoked weed and apparently forgotten they had their children with them in the last week or so.First it was 19-year-old Catalina Clouser, who was getting high on June 1 before she buckled up her baby into her car seat and drove away — realizing…
Let’s try this one again: Daniel Wayne Cook has a date with death.After reaching into the excuse bag over and over again to avoid execution — with the U.S. Supreme Court taking the bait at the last minute more than a year ago — Cook’s execution now is scheduled for…
It’s been a year since the American Civil Liberties Union demanded immigration officials fix the conditions in which immigrants are detained at the Pinal County Jail, and if you ask the ACLU, it’s no better today.The ACLU’s now asking that Department of Homeland Security officials remove immigrants from the jail, or actually…
A Tempe man who tried to rape an employee at Phoenix’s Arizona Grand Resort in December pleaded guilty to a pair of charges related to the attack.Michael Robert Martinez, 31, pleaded to attempted kidnapping and attempted sexual assault this morning, more than five months after he failed to rape the…
You may have heard last month that Congressman Ben Quayle accused Congressman David Schweikert of sending a spy to Quayle’s office, which the Quayle campaign has dubbed “Spygate.”Ahead of the Republicans’ impending primary battle in Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District, the Quayle camp says a suspicious volunteer came into the office in…
Yesterday, we told you about the response from Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s lawyers to the Justice Department’s lawsuit alleging racial discrimination.Points made by Arpaio’s laywers in an attempt to throw out a couple of the claims in the lawsuit contend discrimination against people who speak a certain language doesn’t…
State Representative Ben Arredondo’s lawyers say they just got so much information from the government about what the FBI’s been up to that they’re going to need almost two extra months to deal with the stuff.After Arredondo was indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, attempted extortion, and making false statements,…
For some reason, lobbyists at the Center for Arizona Policy would like anyone running for a seat in the Legislature this year to tell the group whether they support banning the “touching or tipping” of strippers.The surveys, which usually are a good indication of the CAP morality cops’ agenda for the next legislative…
Lawyers for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio responded to the Justice Department’s lawsuit alleging racial discrimination by the Sheriff’s Office by, not surprisingly, asking that the suit be tossed.You would expect that answering allegations of the worst racial-profiling tactics in the country’s history would require an interesting response, and Arpaio’s legal team…
Eduardo Mercado is accused of drowning his 21-year-old friend Saturday afternoon at a pond south of Lake Pleasant, and police say the thing that really pushed Mercado over the edge was when the friend decided to steer his boat in the wrong direction. Peoria police say meth also was a…
The Arizona Diamondbacks earned just their second series sweep of the season this weekend, coming out on top in three games against the Oakland A’s.On Friday, the Diamondbacks saw something the team hasn’t seen for quite some time — heroics from third baseman Ryan Roberts.Roberts hit a three-run, walk-off home…
Disbarred ex-Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas hasn’t disappeared, which we discovered by watching him on 12 News carry around a piece of wood and pretend he’s a movie character.You would expect that after being pegged as corrupt by just about everyone — and an independent panel agreed that Thomas abused his…
According to the federal government, Arizona’s high school kids are above average — in drug and alcohol use.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its annual report yesterday on “risk behavior” in high school students, and there’s not a single category related to drugs or alcohol that Arizona kiddos…
Phoenix’s more religulous politicians and individuals gathered outside the Sandra Day O’Connor Federal Building in Phoenix today to complain about a real burning issue — women not getting pregnant…
The Tempe Police Department’s theory that the five bodies found in the Vekol Valley this weekend were victims of a murder/suicide continues to check out.Yesterday, the Pima County medical examiner identified the two adult bodies found in the SUV in the desert as James and Yafit Butwin, and sure enough,…
Disbarred and apparently delusional ex-Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas still is trying to play the everyone’s-corrupt-except-me card, and he’s carrying around a piece of wood and pretending he’s a movie character in his attempt to prove it.One would expect that after being pegged as corrupt by just about everyone — and an…
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu’s claims that a “violent drug cartel” murdered five people in the Vekol Valley are looking more outlandish and unfounded by the hour.Two of the five charred bodies found inside a burned SUV have been identified by the Pima County medical examiner as James and Yafit…
