The Arpaio Scandals: It's getting where you need a scorecard to tell them apart

Posted by Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

With the latest scandal to hit Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Maricopa County Sheriff's Office this week, the arrest of three MCSO employees for involvement with drug and human-trafficking cartels, it seems as if the scandals could form their own baseball team.  Here's the lineup:

Leading off and playing center field, the fleet-footed rookie above

Batting second and playing second, the politically motivated investigations and indictments of Maricopa County supervisors and Arpaio political adversaries Don Stapley and Mary Rose Wilcox

Batting third and playing left field, the politicall motivated investigation of and charges levelled against a county judge who failed to kiss Arpaio's behind

Hitting cleanup and playing first, the news that Arpaio and his office misspent almost $100 million of jail funds

Hitting fifth and playing the hot corner (3rd base for the heathens out there :) ), former Chief Deputy Dave Hendershott, who's as famous for taking one for the team as he is for hitting them out of the ballpark

Batting sixth and catching, Joel Fox and the SCA laundered campaign contributions/depraved attack ad

In the seventh spot and playing shortstop, the new linchpin of Arpaio's defense, Bill Montgomery and the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of campaign finance violations

Batting eighth and playing right field, the Taj Mahal of buses, ostensibly purchased to transport prisoners, but now used to throw loyalists under in hopes that the bodies will stave off a federal indictment

And batting ninth and pitching, the master of distraction, Joltin' (rhymes with Revoltin'), Joe Arpaio.

The MCSO scandal bench is pretty deep - dead bodies at the hands of his detention officers, millions of dollars in lawsuits, junkets to Honduras to "train" the military there, just months before a right-wing military coup there, and more await their turn at the plate.

His team does have one glaring weakness - his star relief pitcher and biggest ally at the legislature, State Senator Russell Pearce, has troubles of his own.  Like a growing recall effort and a son who has been sentenced to a year in prison.  Wonder if he's going to do his time in  a luxury hotel room one of the private prisons that his father so ardently supports?

Fortunately for Arpaio, if this lineup ever sees a game, the umpire will be a federal judge, not any of the Maricopa County judges that he has tried to intimidate.

Unfortunately for him though, if this lineup ever sees a game, the opposing team captain won't be the prosecutor he's hired for his team, it'll the the US Attorney.

Comments

[AZ BlueMeanie]

Thanks Craig! Claire Doan of KGUN-9 News in Tucson unbelievably ran a puff piece about Arpaio on May 16, http://www.kgun9.com/story/14653833/what-you-didnt-know-about-sheriff-Arpaio, for which KGUN-9 ran radio ad teasers for "A day in the life of Joe Arpaio." The accompanying report claimed "9 On Your Side's Claire Doan followed him around for an entire day to get an uncensored glimpse – a raw and brutally honest look – at "Sheriff Joe." Yeah, not so much. Not one of the scandals you document were included in her puff piece. Some of her hard hitting questions: "[name] three adjectives that define you on the job, and three off the job." And "are you afraid that when you retire, you won't know what to do with yourself?"

KGUN-9 is owned by the Journal Broadcast Group, the same media organization that owns 104.1 FM "The Truth" with right-wing screechers like Jon Justice on talk radio all day long. This is not a serious news organization. They make FAUX News blush with their unabashed right-wing partisanship.

[desertflower]

What are you? Four? Product of a great AZ education,I see. If you think this is a "rag blog" then why have you decided to park it here? Move on.