For more than 20 years, people around the world have participated in Amnesty International’s letter-writing campaigns to protest mistreatment of prisoners by repressive foreign governments. Following investigations into allegations of prisoner abuse, the organization calls upon its volunteers to send mountains of mail to petty dictators and sadistic jailers. Sheriff…
The story of the recent murder of a young west Phoenix couple has become an Elmore Leonard novel, with its bounty hunters and police snitches and thieves and aspiring ninjas and murderers and strippers. On September 13, in the latest chapter, Maricopa County Attorney Richard Romley made a jolting announcement:…
Ma Teresa’s joined the mob Unhappy with her full-time job. –Primitive Radio Gods Two weeks ago, this column examined the mass hysteria surrounding the death of Princess Diana. I suggested that her death was no more relevant or tragic than anyone else’s. The response to that column was like nothing…
It Takes a Fife An objective observation by a 40-year Associated Press editor in three countries, now retired: A wonderful job New Times has done in covering the Symington condition. All honest Arizonans should feel pride that freedom of the press is still in the hands of us all. Dan…
Editor’s note: In 1994, New Times printed Volume I of “The Best of Fife.” The New and Improved Volume II incorporates the best of Volume I while adding all of Fife’s greatest accomplishments since. And it’s fat-free. The Early Years Best Pedigree: J. Fife Symington III What can we say?…
J. Fife Symington III moved to Arizona more than two decades ago to escape the long shadow of his influential, wealthy Maryland family. “I’m not beholden to my past out here,” Symington explained in 1984 while trying to drum up support for his ill-fated Camelback Esplanade. But Symington has corruption…
The Symington trial, as seen through the eyes of Mary Jane Cotey Editor’s note: New Times has obtained a diary kept by Mary Jane Cotey, the juror excused during Governor J. Fife Symington III’s criminal trial. Cotey was excused August 19 after the judge determined she was unwilling or unable…
Commentators gnashed their teeth and wrung their hands when Governor J. Fife Symington III was convicted last week on seven felony counts, but the rest of us rather enjoyed ourselves. I mean, before Symington, who amongst us could actually say we knew a bank robber? Yet we all know the…
Live and Let Di Barry Graham’s “Absence of Palace” (September 4) sounds more like a grown man with a giant chip on his shoulder because he grew up as “white trash.” His column calling Princess Diana everything from airhead to media whore infuriates me! He also goes on to say…
The bailiff read the jury’s verdict: Defendant John Fife Symington III was guilty on seven counts of fraud. Last Wednesday, as Judge Roger Strand began wrapping up the most important white-collar-fraud trial in Arizona history, the governor was impassive. Still as a rock, Symington listened to Judge Strand announce his…
We’ve been fretting for nearly a week, waiting for a verdict that never came. Now it’s late on Wednesday morning, and without warning it’s announced that the verdict will come in today. The judge has decided to throw out the 11 counts the jury can’t agree on, and go with…
I know that you, the reading, voting, taxpaying public, have many questions regarding the fate of our fallen governor, J. Fife Symington III. Some of these questions are profound. Others are profane. As a public service, I will employ the handy Arizona Republic-style Q and A format to address a…
The message from the president was not memorable, an obligatory platitude on the occasion of the judge’s retirement, a well-deserved thanks for 36 years of service to his country, but it brought tears to the old man’s eyes. “I have a tendency to cry on certain occasions,” the judge said…
Six East Lounge. “The Beast.” People in Tempe have called it that since the late ’70s, when it was still a biker bar. Today, it’s easy to see–and smell–why the nickname stuck. When you walk in, rancid piss and cleaning chemicals mingle with whiskey, smoke and a musty, old-house smell…
On August 14, chief United States Bankruptcy Judge George Nielsen Jr. issued a stern order against Valley document-preparation king Dick Berry: “Richard S. Berry shall pay . . . $172,103 within ten days. This amount represents the fees received in Chapter 13 cases in violation of this court’s order entered…
His Holiness Pope John Paul II is expected soon to plumb deep into his papal infallibility. Some four million Roman Catholics–many of whom are Europeans and are inspired by recent sightings of the Blessed Virgin in places like Bosnia-Herzegovina–are lobbying John Paul to proclaim that the Virgin Mary is “Co-Redemptrix,…
This column is about the death of a 36-year-old woman, white, divorced, with two kids and no financial problems but plenty of emotional ones. She was also a member of the British Royal Family, and so it’s necessary to define my own vantage point. I am 31 years old. I’ve…
Hit and Miss Barry Graham’s straight-from-the-hip commentary on the Mary Rose Wilcox shooting (“Assailing,” August 21) came close to a bull’s eye. However, I think he misses center by attributing the random violence of “wackos” mainly to feelings of political powerlessness. Although these social dysfunctionaries do “reflect the society they…
The governing board of the Maricopa County Regional School District convenes monthly. A quorum call is never necessary. And no one ever takes attendance. The Maricopa County Regional School District Governing Board has only one member: Maricopa County Superintendent of Schools Sandra Dowling. The Maricopa County Regional School District is…
Federal officials investigating the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System are questioning billions of dollars in payments and the eligibility of thousands of clients in the system. The federal inquiry into the state Medicaid agency has mushroomed into a massive probe since questions were first raised about the agency two…
Anchor Steamy, the Sequel Here’s a hot VCR alert for all you Jineane Ford fans out there. Just weeks after The Flash printed revealing shots of the Channel 12 anchor as she appeared in the 1983 drive-in flick Chattanooga Choo Choo, rival station KPHO Channel 5 will air the movie…
John Dowd, Governor J. Fife Symington III’s lead defense attorney, long ago mastered the art of media manipulation. His strategy is simple: Intimidate reporters who challenge him; reward those who go along. Although his skills were evident last week, legal experts say the media firestorm Dowd stoked in the aftermath…
