Rip and Plead Some 13,000 Baptist Foundation of Arizona investors were shocked last month to learn that the financially troubled BFA froze more than $500 million of investors’ money to prevent a “run on the bank.” BFA’s unexpected freeze on funds left in a lurch hundreds of elderly investors who’d…
The nubile creature who welcomed me to the 1999 Burning Man Festival was costumed as a space cowgirl: pink boots, leggings, miniskirt, gun belt and glitter. She said the winds had been so high at night they summoned sandstorms from vast wastelands beyond the festival’s perimeter. “There’s been white-outs, but…
Gangs have been documented in the Valley as far back as the 1930s, but for decades they served more as a neighborhood’s protector than its predator. “It wasn’t like you were in a gang; you were from a neighborhood,” says Phoenix Police Sergeant Paul Ferrero, a member of the department’s…
Edwardo Soto knew his little brother was dead the moment he turned the corner and saw the police gathered by the ambulance. His sister Carolina was hysterical. She had called Edwardo from a pay phone and screamed that Junior had been shot. Hector Soto Jr. was laid out on the…
Her business card reads “Cole Taylor,” a name chosen for its sexual ambiguity. Underneath, it says “Photographer,” or, sometimes, “Internet Design Consultant,” and then a phone number. The number listed is disconnected. You must reverse the last two digits when dialing, the escort says, to reach her cell phone. Potential…
There are three types of escorts: those who are prostitutes; those who “walk the line” (accompany clients to functions or perform strip teases); and those who practice “cash ‘n’ dash” — a form of robbery that some in the escort business say occurs frequently in the Valley. “[Many escort agencies]…
The developer of the $500 million Collier Center in downtown Phoenix guaranteed a partner in the Crowne Plaza Hotel that the city would provide a $10 million subsidy if the owners of Crowne Plaza agreed to sell the facility. The offer was made by Tom Roberts, president and chief executive…
Investors claiming they were defrauded by the Baptist Foundation of Arizona (BFA) have filed two lawsuits in Maricopa County Superior Court. A class action lawsuit filed on August 27 by BFA investor Franklin Kestner Sr. charges that BFA and former and current officers and directors bilked investors by funneling their…
Many elderly BFA investors have other things besides lawsuits to occupy their time. After their life savings were frozen by BFA earlier in August, some investors have been forced to take extraordinary steps to support themselves. Former retiree Ann Cacace is one such elderly investor. At a time when she…
At night, from atop Tempe Butte, the high canopy of lush foliage over the historic Maple-Ash neighborhood near downtown Tempe blocks out the street lamps, creating a dark square in the grid of lights that appears to extend forever in all directions. On the sidewalks beneath that canopy, underground irrigation…
Kevin Bacon is talking about his penis. It’s not his fault — not exactly, anyway. Bacon didn’t bring it up, so to speak. He never does, at least not in public. He’s just trying to promote his latest film, the small, supernatural thriller Stir of Echoes. But here he is…
In the theater of money and power in Scottsdale, Arizona, Fred Unger’s enemies have cast him in the role of Evil Developer. Unger’s vehicle certainly fits the part — a new Chevy Suburban, black on black. “Let me be completely honest with you,” Unger says, deftly piloting his gun ship…
When the final grain of sand ran out of the official timer, the forum in the Kenilworth Elementary School gymnasium was called to attention. Candidates climbed on stage, took their spots on blue plastic chairs and waited to address the audience. Randy Pullen, a late entrant in the mayoral race,…
We Know Amparano The latest chapter from the Julie Amparano saga, brought to you from the World of High Flashin’. Amparano was fired by the Arizona Republic on August 20 after editors, reporters and private eyes claimed they were unable to trace some sources that appeared in Amparano’s column, “Conversations.”…
It’s football season already, and those houseguests from cold climes will start showing up on your doorstep before you know it. If you’re unsure where to take your out-of-town guests, may I suggest a tour of historic downtown Chandler? Designed around 1912 by veterinarian/developer/irrigation nut/town father A.J. “Doc” Chandler, downtown…
Phoenix is poised to elect its mayor and half its city council next week. Did you even know? I’ve heard of sleeper races, but this campaign has been downright catatonic. Sure, a vociferous and bitter few are furious over the mayor and council’s most egregious breach of trust to date,…
Superchunk drummer, Jon Wurster, has an incredible memory. For a man who’s been on the road with indie-rock’s torch bearers for close to a decade, he has an amazing ability to recall the smallest details. He begins our conversation with his recollections of some of long-gone Phoenix venues like the…
More than 700 of the belly buttons in San Manuel are the handiwork of Dr. Robert Brower. The 71-year-old staff physician has worked at the San Pedro River valley town’s small hospital since 1961. It was called the Magma Copper Company Hospital until 1987, when TMC HealthCare bought it and…
At 1 p.m. on Friday, August 20, Dennis Burke was an inmate at the Madison Street Jail. Four hours later, he was speaking to the Phoenix Planning Commission, explaining why he opposed the construction of a new 10-story jail facility a couple of blocks from where he’d spent his morning…
L’Affair Amparano The Arizona Republic’s firing of columnist Julie Amparano has sent the media into another frenzy of introspection and self-flagellation. The liberaleastcoastmediaelite is onto the story. The New York Times and the Boston Globe and Brill’s Content are ringing New Times, seeking comment on Amparano, who allegedly fabricated people…
YOUR DEATH IS WHAT THE LAW CALLS SECOND-DEGREE MURDER AND IT IS AN INJUSTICE. CHILDREN INITIATED INTO GANGS ARE PRE-MEDITATING MURDER, BY CARRYING GUNS WITH INTENT TO FIRE THEM AT GROUPS OF PEOPLE. HOW CAN WE CONTINUE TO CONDONE THIS PROBLEM OF OUR TIMES? THE GANGS, THEY ARE A MALADY…
A.T. Holder is a punk. On this Saturday night at the Fire Escape, he’s only one of at least 100 kids finding high-decibel nirvana. But A.T. Holder can’t help but stand out in this crowd. He says he’s 12 years old, but he doesn’t look a day over 10. His…
