Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas didn’t start out as an appendage firmly attached to Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s butt. As a little boy, he dreamed of being a fireman, or maybe a plumber (for the White House perhaps?). But like any lawyer with aspirations of power and influence, he understood the need to figure out who was the toughest hombre and, barnacle-like, clamp on. That hombre Was Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the man who can be crazy as he wannabe.
After Sheriff Joe’s son by adoption, Adam Stoddard, sacrificed himself for the good of the office, some naive folks thought the battle was over. It wasn’t, of course. It was just beginning, as the Sheriff was about to start his turn. Like the old joke about which body part is in charge, Arpaio was determined to be the sphincter. And so his plan unfolded.
First there was the sick-out. Then the vigils. The press releases, the ransom demand (complete with hostages) and the refusal to assign officers to Lisa Flores’ courtroom followed. (Too many links here and elsewhere to cover.) It all worked as expected, clogging up the system and showing them all who owns the system. As one would expect, they all took it, doing nothing to further antagonize the Big Guy lest he get even meaner. Joe Arpaio stared at them, and they averted their eyes. Cowards come in all manner of dress, whether public official business suits or black robes.
The latest, though, is more brazen than before, as it challenges not only the foes of Crazy Joe but every citizen of Maricopa, and even those who want to pretend that they hold the power of the federal government in their sweaty clenched fist, to reveal themselves as sheer, utter, powerless pretenders. The sheer audacity of Arpaio’s absurdity makes this latest ploy a “put up or shut up” moment. If he gets away with this one, he can get away with anything.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio, with the aid and comfort of his butt-boil, Andrew Thomas, has charged his latest nemesis, Judge Gary “Mr. Contempt” Donahoe, in a criminal indictment with three felony counts of bribery, obstruction of justice and hindering prosecution. Matt Brown at Chandler Criminal Defense has uploaded the paperwork. And then Sheriff Joe called a press conference, to make sure that all the people hiding under their desks in the hope that Arpaio doesn’t notice them will be aware of his mighty power.
But maybe, just maybe, Judge Donahoe was a bad boy, and it’s merely coincidental that his indictment comes immediately on the heels of his issuing a decision against young Stoddard that angered his surrogate daddy, Sheriff Joe? From the Phoenix New Times :
After Sheriff Joe’s son by adoption, Adam Stoddard, sacrificed himself for the good of the office, some naive folks thought the battle was over. It wasn’t, of course. It was just beginning, as the Sheriff was about to start his turn. Like the old joke about which body part is in charge, Arpaio was determined to be the sphincter. And so his plan unfolded.
First there was the sick-out. Then the vigils. The press releases, the ransom demand (complete with hostages) and the refusal to assign officers to Lisa Flores’ courtroom followed. (Too many links here and elsewhere to cover.) It all worked as expected, clogging up the system and showing them all who owns the system. As one would expect, they all took it, doing nothing to further antagonize the Big Guy lest he get even meaner. Joe Arpaio stared at them, and they averted their eyes. Cowards come in all manner of dress, whether public official business suits or black robes.
The latest, though, is more brazen than before, as it challenges not only the foes of Crazy Joe but every citizen of Maricopa, and even those who want to pretend that they hold the power of the federal government in their sweaty clenched fist, to reveal themselves as sheer, utter, powerless pretenders. The sheer audacity of Arpaio’s absurdity makes this latest ploy a “put up or shut up” moment. If he gets away with this one, he can get away with anything.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio, with the aid and comfort of his butt-boil, Andrew Thomas, has charged his latest nemesis, Judge Gary “Mr. Contempt” Donahoe, in a criminal indictment with three felony counts of bribery, obstruction of justice and hindering prosecution. Matt Brown at Chandler Criminal Defense has uploaded the paperwork. And then Sheriff Joe called a press conference, to make sure that all the people hiding under their desks in the hope that Arpaio doesn’t notice them will be aware of his mighty power.
But maybe, just maybe, Judge Donahoe was a bad boy, and it’s merely coincidental that his indictment comes immediately on the heels of his issuing a decision against young Stoddard that angered his surrogate daddy, Sheriff Joe? From the Phoenix New Times :
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas this afternoon struggled to explain his decision to charge the county’s presiding criminal court judge, Gary Donahoe, with three felony counts — including bribery, obstructing a criminal investigation, and hindering prosecution.
But Thomas couldn’t offer any evidence to the assembled media scrum that Donahoe actually had accepted a bribe of any sort. Instead, he and Sheriff Joe Arpaio (who stood next to Thomas at the lectern) offered the same vague allegations they have made for nearly a year regarding the county’s planned court tower, currently under construction.
In fact, the county attorney said no evidence exists that the veteran judge personally has received anything in the way of a personal financial benefit during the flap over the $347 million construction project
Arizona has a “very broad” definition of bribery, Thomas said in response to requests for specificity.
Not exactly crackerjack summation material, but then Thomas had to do the best he could when he was shooting blanks. He expected, apparently, the compliant and fearful Maricopa press corp to pick up the slack.
He later told the gaggle, “If I’m not explaining this well, I hope you’ll help me.”
Say what?
“In fairness,” Thomas said, after enduring increasingly pointed questions, “I admit this is a hard thing to believe.”
Are you persuaded yet? Neither was Arpaio, apparently, who added his own deep thoughts.
Since Matt Brown wrote about the arrest of criminal defense lawyer Dave DeCosta, invoking the misguided wrath of the locals, two things have become painfully clear to those of us whose eyes aren’t constantly focused on Maricopa County, Arizona. The first is that Sheriff Joe Arpaio is, without a doubt, completely and utterly out of control, perhaps one of the most dangerous threats to law, order and sanity, in the nation. He’s not just out of control, but he’s out of control with an army behind him.
The second thing is that there is the apparatus of government, the one that we’re supposed to honor and obey, that has proven itself both incapable of mustering the strength, the bravery, to confront this lunatic and shut him down. And by apparatus, I mean the entirety, from the populace that elects people to the people elected, whether robed or suited, to the “officers of the court” who feed off the system. But I don’t stop there. There are state officials, federal officials, all of whom play a role in putting down insurrection in their midst. And make no mistake about it, when a county sheriff seizes control, it is an insurrection.
Arpaio has crowned himself King, with Thomas as his jester. There is only one way to rid oneself of the King. The rest of the government, and the people for whom it exists, have shown that they lack the fortitude to do, as Sheriff Joe said, what they have to do. There’s only one set of balls in Maricopa County, and Joe Arpaio owns them.
It’s grown tedious hearing about, and writing about, the doings of Crazy Joe in Maricopa. No doubt he has a few more bullets in his gun that will soon whistle through the air. If there’s no one, from the Governor to the United States Attorney to the indicted Chairman of the Board of Supervisors to the judges to the lawyers to the citizens, with the guts to take him on, then why waste more time or bandwidth on Joe Arpaio?
We can either officially declare Sheriff Joe Arpaio the King of Maricopa, or his subjects can rise up against him, take a chance, maybe even take a bullet, and put an end to his reign. If the locals are unwilling to stand up, to take a risk (as if it was a risk, since they are getting hammered anyway), and do something for themselves, then injustice, corruption and impropriety in Maricopa will be just too banal for further discussion.
There are plenty of people in Arizona with the power and authority to take on Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The absurd Gary Donahoe indictment, if nothing before it, is a clarion call. Either do something to protect your own house from insurrection, or accept the fact that you are a subject of the King. Maybe, like Andrew Thomas, you can offer an oath of fealty and serve in his court.
Here’s how a somber Arpaio explained his side of things: “Sometimes, you have to do what you have to do.”And that, for better or worse, sums up life in Maricopa County. Right, Boss?
Since Matt Brown wrote about the arrest of criminal defense lawyer Dave DeCosta, invoking the misguided wrath of the locals, two things have become painfully clear to those of us whose eyes aren’t constantly focused on Maricopa County, Arizona. The first is that Sheriff Joe Arpaio is, without a doubt, completely and utterly out of control, perhaps one of the most dangerous threats to law, order and sanity, in the nation. He’s not just out of control, but he’s out of control with an army behind him.
The second thing is that there is the apparatus of government, the one that we’re supposed to honor and obey, that has proven itself both incapable of mustering the strength, the bravery, to confront this lunatic and shut him down. And by apparatus, I mean the entirety, from the populace that elects people to the people elected, whether robed or suited, to the “officers of the court” who feed off the system. But I don’t stop there. There are state officials, federal officials, all of whom play a role in putting down insurrection in their midst. And make no mistake about it, when a county sheriff seizes control, it is an insurrection.
Arpaio has crowned himself King, with Thomas as his jester. There is only one way to rid oneself of the King. The rest of the government, and the people for whom it exists, have shown that they lack the fortitude to do, as Sheriff Joe said, what they have to do. There’s only one set of balls in Maricopa County, and Joe Arpaio owns them.
It’s grown tedious hearing about, and writing about, the doings of Crazy Joe in Maricopa. No doubt he has a few more bullets in his gun that will soon whistle through the air. If there’s no one, from the Governor to the United States Attorney to the indicted Chairman of the Board of Supervisors to the judges to the lawyers to the citizens, with the guts to take him on, then why waste more time or bandwidth on Joe Arpaio?
We can either officially declare Sheriff Joe Arpaio the King of Maricopa, or his subjects can rise up against him, take a chance, maybe even take a bullet, and put an end to his reign. If the locals are unwilling to stand up, to take a risk (as if it was a risk, since they are getting hammered anyway), and do something for themselves, then injustice, corruption and impropriety in Maricopa will be just too banal for further discussion.
There are plenty of people in Arizona with the power and authority to take on Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The absurd Gary Donahoe indictment, if nothing before it, is a clarion call. Either do something to protect your own house from insurrection, or accept the fact that you are a subject of the King. Maybe, like Andrew Thomas, you can offer an oath of fealty and serve in his court.
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So… are you proposing an armed insurrection? Probably not effective, given the muscle of Arpaio’s star-wearing Stasi.
Attorney General Terry Goddard no doubt squats when he pees. Dennis Burke, the freshly-minted US Attorney in Arizona, was the acolyte of former governor and current Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Janet did nothing to check Arpaio’s aggression during her tenure. It is unlikely that she will now. Sarah Lopez, chief investigator with US DOJ Civil Rights Division, wrings her hands and whines like a kicked puppy when queried on Arpaio. After all, he did throw her out of his office.
So, what exactly should a good, law-abiding citizen of Marikafka County do?
Great Article. Tip of the ice-berg as far as these two are concerned. I agree with the sentiment of the post. The people have GOT to rise up, even it requires a physical resistance. Sometimes you have to lean into a pitch.
Why doesn’t Judge Flores start dismissing cases where she can’t get courtroom security on the basis that the state is failing to provide a speedy trial?
I don’t know Az caselaw on the subject (nor am I going to look it up, because I’m a member of the “me” generation, so I’ll just wait for someone else to do the work for me), but where I practice, that would certainly be within the Judge’s discretion. And turning a boatload of criminals loose because sheriff Joe was unwilling to assist in bringing them to justice would certainly make a point.
Because, of course, she hasn’t the ovaries to do it. If they weren’t all so cowed by Arpaio, they’d take him on for real. But they are. So when they get brave, they nibble around the edges (like telling Stoddard to apologize). And then look what happens.
Flores, you’ll recall, began by telling Joanne Cuccia to calm down when she first complained about sticky-fingers Stoddard.
The obvious answer is: the same thing anybody reasonable would do if they found that they were living in a banana republic with an unguarded border. There are six adjacent counties and, at present, there are no checkpoints preventing exit.
The folks in Pinal county may not be welcoming an influx of “sand people”, though.
Note: use a car; escape by boat would be very, very slow.
Is there no one in the state of Arizona that will stand up to this clown?
As in; “Is there no one who will rid me of this troublesome priest?”
I always thought Becket was meddlesome.
If Sheriff Joe ever leaves Maricopa County, for any reason, I would hope he’d run for office here in New York. I laugh when I think of him and Andrew Thomas going after the criminals in Albany !You are very fortunate to have Sheriff Joe and your current County Attorney.
Nah. It’s “is there no one who will rid me of this turbulent Priest?” Very famous; it was what Harlan Ellison exclaimed upon the publication of “The Last Deadloss Visions”.
But I digress.
Why don’t people stand up, rise up, or flee the county? Perhaps reality does not match hyperbole.
There are colorful comments about people’s lack of equipment, but does anyone really believe that everyone in a position to act is so cowed by the Sheriff that they are being derelict in their duties (by not acting)? From the comments I’ve read that would be at a minimum: the entire Maricopa County Judiciary, AG Terry Goddard, and the U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke. I am not sure if that would also include the Department of Justice, but it has had an investigation of the Sheriff going for about 10 months.
There is dysfunction in Maricopa County to be sure. But it is wrong to lay it all at the Sheriff’s door; he, the County Board and the Judiciary have been battling over a number of issues for years.
I have a very hard time with that as well, and I wish I had some answers.
“Attorney General Terry Goddard no doubt squats when he pees.” — Jameson Johnson
So, what you’re saying is, he acts as if he has a vagina, because women clearly never believe in the constitution or stand up for what’s right, instead of a penis which would make him defend the constitution like a Real Man. Never should have given anything without a penis the right to vote, eh?
I think you need some help with your issues regarding your perception of women.
You’re very funny, but it’s unfortunate that you didn’t have the guts to put your name to your comment, making it appear that you squat to pee as well.