Andrew Thomas abused the power of his office in witch hunt against political enemies

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Well the shit has finally hit the fan. It is up to the voters of the State of Arizona to throw this corrupt politician out of office. Republican and independent voters can vote against Thomas in the GOP primary. Of course, your other option is the equally corrupt "Banned for life by the SEC" Tom Horne. Hold your nose and vote.

H/t to Arizona Guardian for the video

The Arizona Republic today has extensive coverage of the release of Grand Jury transcripts ordered released by the Judge "in the furtherance of justice." Sheriff Joe Arpaio's investigations detailed in grand jury documents released Thursday:

Interim Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley said grand-jury documents released publicly Thursday show that the Sheriff's Office and Thomas had a single-minded purpose: to prosecute their political enemies.

Chief Deputy David Hendershott, Sheriff Joe Arpaio's top deputy, and Thomas still insist the cases are valid. One involves allegations against a judge who disqualified Thomas from an investigation of the court tower under construction in downtown Phoenix. The other involves county officials who spent public money last year to sweep their offices for illegal listening devices.

An independent prosecutor told county prosecutors in June 2009 that they had insufficient evidence crimes had been committed.

Still, they took the case to a grand jury in December, transcripts released by Romley show. That jury voted in March to end consideration of the cases, questioning why the county attorney and sheriff were involved in the cases, given conflicts with county officials.

Again, the law-enforcement agencies pursued their cases, in April taking them to Gila County Attorney Daisy Flores, who refused to review the cases. Finally, they sent the cases to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The new details in documents released Thursday reiterate broad allegations that county officials have made for months: that the Sheriff's Office and Thomas were intent on finding wrongdoing despite their insistence on their innocence.

Rarely does the court agree to unseal material from a grand jury, composed of local residents who meet in secret to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to hold a trial.

In June, Romley petitioned the court to unseal the records. He received them in July and gave them to the Justice Department and the FBI for probes into alleged misconduct by Arpaio and Thomas.

Romley says he decided to petition the court to release the documents after Hendershott threatened to release details of an investigation into County Supervisor Andy Kunasek. Hendershott contends he would only have given the records to the county risk manager.

On Aug. 5, Judge Monica Stauffer of Greenlee County Superior Court unsealed the records, saying it was "in the furtherance of justice."

* * *

The documents released by Romley show sheriff's detectives and prosecutors sought criminal charges in two areas: for hiring a firm to sweep county offices for illegal listening devices and because Donahoe had terminated their investigation into the county's court-tower project.

Prosecutors referred the cases to Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, who told the sheriff's officials there was insufficient evidence in one of them and that no crime had been committed in another.

Still, Thomas lodged criminal charges against Donahoe. The same day, the County Attorney's Office empaneled a Maricopa County grand jury to review the two cases.

After weeks of meeting, the jury decided to end the inquiry.

Both Thomas' prosecutor and officials in Romley's office described an "end the inquiry" as rare.

* * *

[O]ne of Thomas' own prosecutors had explained to the jury during orientation that to "end the inquiry" meant "the case is so bad, there's no further evidence that could be brought to you folks," according to the transcripts.

"Frankly, I have been doing this a long time, and I have had three in my whole career," deputy county attorney William Moore had said.

Thursday's release of the grand-jury transcripts will have repercussions.

• Federal probe: The Justice Department is investigating Arpaio, Thomas and Hendershott, and Deputy County Attorney Lisa Aubuchon for alleged abuse of power. The files released Thursday could be used as evidence into that federal investigation.

• Ethics investigation: The files also could influence ethics probes into Thomas and Aubuchon. The Arizona Supreme Court is determining if their behavior violates ethical standards. The high court's investigator told The Republic Thursday that his team will review the files as they receive them.

• Politics: Though Arpaio and Thomas have depicted the release as a Romley political ploy, it could complicate Romley's bid for re-election. Romley faces a tough Republican primary against Bill Montgomery, an ally of the popular sheriff.

Thomas also faces a tough GOP primary in the state attorney general's race.

• Public costs: The failed investigations could cost taxpayers millions in payouts to those who allege their reputations have been harmed. Judges, supervisors, employees and one private citizen seek $46 million to settle claims, and some attorneys assert the grand-jury records show a pattern of zealous persecution against political enemies.

* * *

Thursday's revelations provoked outrage from Arpaio and Thomas. Arpaio said it was wrong, if not unethical, to release the documents.

Link to Maricopa County documents

Cockroaches never like to be exposed to the cleansing light of sunshine on their nefarious activities. The reign of terror in the State of Maricopa by Thomas and Arpaio must be brought to an end. Hopefully the Feds will prosecute.

The Arizona Republic editorializes today Pay attention to the people, end the inquiry:

As the saying goes, a determined prosecutor could get a grand-jury indictment against a ham sandwich. For a grand jury to demand an end to an investigation, the case must appear patently without merit. It must be baseless.

And by the reckoning of Andy Thomas' own grand jury, the charges he sought so passionately against his political enemies are thoroughly baseless.

All of this dramatic evidence came to light via a news conference called Thursday by interim County Attorney Rick Romley, who said Sheriff Arpaio's continuing, dogged pursuit of criminal indictments based on the charges constitutes a "miscarriage of justice."

The grand jury's remarkable act of defiance in pursuit of justice is underscored with other evidence recently released by order of Greenlee County Superior Court Judge Monica Stauffer. We now know that Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk found the charges specious. And Gila County Attorney Daisy Flores turned down a request to investigate, saying it was outside the scope of what she had agreed to do.

But it is the astonishing choice of the grand jury that so dramatically alters the county's long-running conflict.

It reflects most harshly on Thomas, who now is running for the Republican nomination for attorney general.

* * *

Citizens who supposedly could be persuaded by Thomas' prosecutors to indict a ham sandwich instead have eaten his lunch.

Despite it all, Sheriff Arpaio clings tenaciously to these now-thoroughly discredited charges. It is time he paid attention to the people and ended this contemptible inquiry once and for all.