It was the most egregious case of racial profiling federal experts have ever seen. Findings in a long-running investigation of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office found that Sheriff Arpaio’s department has an “ingrained culture” of abusing the rights of Latinos. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez announced today that the MCSO…
Jasmine Brown — a 29-year-old youth minister at the Family of God Christian Fellowship in Apache Junction — and the 12-year-old boy he’s accused of molesting, have differing accounts of the abuse — Brown doesn’t deny he molested the boy, he just claims it was consensual.Unfortunately for Brown, even if…
The hits keep coming for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. First, the media continues to hound him about hundreds of botched sex-crime investigations. Then Randy Parraz, the man who organized the takedown of ousted former Senate President Russell Pearce, demands his resignation. And now he’s being asked to leave the…
The findings of a three-year probe into allegations of racial profiling and other civil rights allegations against Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office will be revealed this morning by the U.S. Justice Department.The Civil Rights Division has run a wide-ranging investigation into the “patterns and practices” of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office,…
We’re not typically in the business of shameless self-promotion here at New Times, but we’ll make an exception to toot our own horn over recent accolades for our “Best of” smartphone app, which apparently is pretty friggin’ awesome.In fact, our new app has been listed in the iTunes’ year-end “Rewind”…
Yesterday, Scott Bass was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping and child abuse charges for locking his 14-year-old daughter in a bathroom for more than two months.Per his plea deal, Bass faced up to 17 years in prison — and New Times readers apparently weren’t…
BORDER BADDIES What does it tell you, Monica?: What is New Times’ position on immigration, anyway? On one hand, you seem like an open-borders rag, and then you write an article proving how corrupt U.S. border-protection agencies are (“Gangster Rep,” Monica Alonzo, December 1). If you are happy about all…
By the time the 2009 football season rolled around, the University of Minnesota hadn’t won a Big Ten title in 42 years. The Gophers largely spent those decades serving as target practice for the league’s higher powers, yet they weren’t without occasional bursts of second-string glory. One arrived two years…
This is the second rant I’ve felt I had to send to you. I don’t know if readers are allowed “seconds” but here it goes: Much has been said about the terrible things happening to the United States and its citizens by the Mexican drug cartels. But what’s the difference…
Sheriff Joe Arpaio pulled yet another ho-hum raid on a restaurant franchise recently, hunting illegal immigrants. At a Si Senor Mexican eatery in Chandler, sheriff’s deputies scored five — count ’em, five — workers suspected of using fake ID. Arpaio’s self-congratulatory press release on this paltry haul called it his…
A big man has a small cut on his finger. The boss is concerned. Work on a prep line in a restaurant and sooner or later, you’re going to cut your finger. But we’re not talking about any ordinary restaurant, and this employee’s no ordinary prep line guy. He’s a…
Editor’s note: This post was written by Peter Jamison, who covered the hearing for us and our sister paper, the SF Weekly: An 11-member panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had tough questions today for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s lawyer about why…
In a grotesque mix of Freudian projection, denial, all-out hubris and crass hypocrisy, ex-state Senate President Russell Pearce has told the Arizona Capitol Times that he’s trying to “forgive” Jerry Lewis, the man who spanked him hard by 12 points in the Legislative District 18 recall election for the “dishonesty”…
Brian Bizzell is a band teacher with the Buckeye Unified School District — which is unfortunate considering he’s also an alleged pederast.Bizzell, who teaches at Estrella Foothills High School, was arrested early yesterday morning after police found evidence on one of his student’s cell phones that he and the underage…
A Phoenix man who pleaded guilty to charges that he locked his 14-year-old daughter in a bathroom for months, barely fed her, and forced her to exercise until exhaustion, was sentenced to 15 years in prison this morning.Additionally, Scott Bass, 31, was sentenced to lifetime probation by Maricopa County Superior…
“She is definitely dead — I put two to the chest and one to the head.”That’s what Anthony Rinaldi — now a former Department of Corrections officer — told a Department of Public Safety officer last night, less than 30 minutes after fatally shooting his wife, 28-year-old Amanda Rinaldi, at…
A federal grand jury returned an indictment this morning alleging that a Queen Creek pain management doctor billed the state health care program for patients he never actually saw. The scammed money, the feds say, was used to buy several pricey items, including an Arabian horse. The indictment also alleges…
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his top supervisors declared last week that agency’s failure to properly investigate hundreds of sex-crime cases didn’t jeopardize public safety.The father of one teenage girl in El Mirage says that’s a bunch of crap.In 2008, the girl was just 14 when she had sex…
An officer with the Arizona Department of Corrections turned himself into authorities last night and confessed to murdering his wife at the Phoenix home the couple shared.The officer’s two young children were in the home at the time of the shooting.Phoenix police say about 6:20 p.m. yesterday, Anthony Rinaldi, 26,…
The Stones’ “Street Fighting Man” comes to mind…Intriguing video by activist/videographer Dennis Gilman of the fray at the ALEC conference between demonstrators and Phoenix police. While it’s hardly the siege of the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, some of the tactics of the police are certainly questionable.The scene where the…
What kind of heartless soul would hassle a 79-year-old man holding a puppy about botched sex-crime investigations? No-nonsense 12News reporter Brahm Resnik, that’s who.Resnik tracked down Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio at the Christmas party for the MCSO’s MASH Unit to ask him how more than 400 sex-crime investigations were…
Basketball superstar Scottie Pippen wants $1 million each from the ASU Foundation and various media outlets around the country for calling him broke.Sounds like a great way to raise money — if his legal moves can equal his performance for the Chicago Bulls.In a federal complaint filed yesterday in the…
