Feds Will Press Criminal Contempt Charges Against Ariz. Sheriff Arpaio

Enlarge this image toggle caption Ross D. Franklin/AP Ross D. Franklin/AP

Federal prosecutors will charge Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio with criminal contempt of court for violating a judge's order to stop immigration patrols that led to a court finding of racial profiling.

The controversial sheriff is expected to be officially charged on Wednesday. If he is convicted of misdemeanor contempt, the 84-year-old Arpaio could face up to six months in jail. The court set a tentative trial date of Dec. 6.

The charge is the latest development in a long-running legal battle over Arpaio's policy of enforcing federal immigration laws.

In December 2011, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow issued a preliminary injunction ordering Arpaio and his deputies to stop targeting Latino drivers. Prosecutors allege that Arpaio's deputies defied the injunction for at least 18 months. In May 2013, Snow ruled that Arpaio's office had engaged in racial profiling.

Arpaio and his deputies have admitted to violating the judge's order, but they claim their defiance wasn't intentional. Snow didn't buy that argument, saying Arpaio continued the immigration patrols because he thought the actions would aid his 2012 re-election.

The case has taken some bizarre twists, such as in April when Arpaio admitted that his lawyers had hired a private detective to investigate Snow's wife.

According to the Associated Press, Arpaio's legal problems have cost Maricopa County taxpayers close to $50 million and the price tag could climb to more than $70 million.

The self-described "America's Toughest Sheriff" faces re-election this November for his seventh term as Maricopa County sheriff. Arpaio was first elected in 1992. He has more recently allied himself with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and those who believe President Obama was not born in the United States.</s>PHOENIX — Prosecutors said Tuesday they will charge Sheriff Joe Arpaio with criminal contempt-of-court for defying a judge's orders to end his signature immigration patrols in Arizona, exposing the 84-year-old lawman to the possibility of jail time.

The announcement in federal court sets in motion criminal proceedings against the sheriff less than a month before Election Day as he seeks a seventh term as Maricopa County sheriff. The 2016 election cycle has also seen Arpaio take a prominent role on the national stage, appearing alongside Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on several occasions.

A judge previously recommended criminal contempt charges against Arpaio but left it up to federal prosecutors to actually bring the case. Prosecutor John Keller said in court that the government will bring charges, with the next step being a court filing possibly in the next day that's akin to a criminal complaint.

Arpaio could face up to six months in jail if convicted of misdemeanor contempt.

Arpaio lawyer Mel McDonald said the sheriff will not be arrested and no mugshot will be taken. He will plead not guilty by court filing and hopes to prevail before a jury.

"We believe the sheriff, being an elected official, should be judged by his peers," McDonald said.

The move is yet another key defeat for the sheriff who became a national political figure over the past decade by aggressively carrying out immigration patrols and attention-getting endeavors such as making prisoners wear pink underwear.

Following complaints by Latino drivers about racial profiling, a judge demanded that Arpaio stop the enforcement efforts. He was later found to have violated the order, causing it to morph into a contempt of court case.

Arpaio has acknowledged violating the order to stop the immigration patrols but insists his disobedience wasn't intentional.

County taxpayers have shelled out $48 million so far in the profiling case, and the costs are expected to reach $72 million by next summer.</s>PHOENIX — Federal prosecutors say they will file criminal contempt-of-court charges against Sheriff Joe Arpaio for disobeying orders to stop his immigration patrols.

The announcement in federal court Tuesday sets in motion criminal proceedings against the sheriff just as he seeks a seventh term in office.

A judge previously recommended criminal contempt charges against Arpaio but left it up to federal prosecutors to actually bring the case. Prosecutor John Keller said in court that the government will bring charges, with the next step being a court filing that's akin to a criminal complaint.

Arpaio could face up to six months in jail if convicted of misdemeanor contempt.

Arpaio was told by federal judge Murray Snow to stop his immigration patrols amid allegations of racial profiling by Latinos.

Arpaio has acknowledged violating the order but insists his disobedience wasn't intentional.</s>Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the self-proclaimed Toughest Sheriff in America, is about to find out if he's tough enough to weather a criminal charge and still win re-election.

A misdemeanor charge of contempt appears inevitable after today's hearing in federal court in Phoenix, when officials from the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office moved forward with the charge.

Arpaio wasn't charged on Tuesday, but apparently will be tomorrow. Arizona U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton asked prosecutors to write up a statement of cause and present it to her on Wednesday, indicating that she would sign it.

Arpaio, who is 84, could be sentenced to up to six months in jail if convicted.

Don't expect justice to be swift: Arpaio has asked for a jury trial, which could take months to set up.

But the popular and controversial sheriff, who is running for his seventh four-year term, could be in trouble at the polls based on the allegation alone. On November 8, Arpaio will face off against retired Phoenix police officer Paul Penzone, a Democrat.

Although U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow also referred Arpaio's chief deputy Jerry Sheridan, Captain Steve Bailey, and attorney Michelle Iafrate for a potential contempt charges in August, the U.S. Attorney's Office has only taken aim at the sheriff — so far.

In May, Snow declared that Arpaio and Sheridan were guilty of civil contempt of his court, saying the men had deliberately and willfully defied his orders in the landmark civil-rights case Melendres v. Arpaio. That case ended with Snow finding that Arpaio and the MCSO were guilty of systemic discrimination against Latinos. The judge appointed a federal monitor to oversee Arpaio's office.

The sheriff denies that he intentionally violated Snow's orders, but five-term Republican County Supervisor Andy Kunasek thinks that's a lie.

"I honestly believe that the sheriff did understand the judge’s orders to stop doing what he was doing and made a conscious decision to ignore it, and to actually, unbelievably, use that judge's orders as a fundraising tool," Kunsek told Channel 12 News (KPNX-TV) last week.

Kunasek said that as a fiscal conservative, there's no way he'll vote for Arpaio this year. The sheriff's policies toward immigrants and subsequent flouting of Snow's orders in the Melendres case cost the county at least $50 million, he said. The Associated Press has predicted the costs will ultimately amount to $70 million.

Kunasek understands the corruption and abuse in Arpaio's office like few others. Back in 2010, Arpaio launched a bogus criminal investigation of Kunasek that — according to a well-respected deputy county attorney — was intended to destabilize the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and prevent it from fighting or underfunding the sheriff's office.

Ultimately, the county was forced to pay Kunasek $123,000 to cover his legal fees in the case.

"I think there's been an extreme level of deceit and dishonesty," Kunasek told Channel 12's Joe Dana.

Cecilia Wang of the American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the Melendres case against Arpaio and his agency, said that holding the sheriff accountable for his contempt of court constitutes "justice."

"Sheriff Arpaio's conduct violating court orders was willful and deliberate and therefore criminal in nature," Wang said.

Mel McDonald, Arpaio's lawyer and a former Arizona U.S. Attorney General, told the press on Tuesday that "there was never any criminal contempt and we’re going to vehemently fight that."</s>PHOENIX — The longtime sheriff of metro Phoenix has walked away from criminal investigations in the past without facing charges and still has managed to get re-elected.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who became a national name by cracking down on illegal immigration and forcing inmates to wear pink underwear and live in tents in the desert heat, faced federal investigation four years ago on allegations he retaliated against two local officials and a judge at odds with him by accusing them of corruption.

His office also was investigated for misspending more than $100 million in jail funds, including on those failed investigations into rival officials and on patrols that a judge later concluded had racially profiled Latinos.

Neither investigation led to prosecution of the sheriff nor his employees, but federal authorities plan to reverse course and charge the defiant 84-year-old lawman with misdemeanor criminal contempt of court, marking a major blow on the day early voting begins in his bid for a seventh term. There was no sign that charges had been filed as of early Thursday.

Despite the investigations and unorthodox approach to his jails, the sheriff has won solid support from voters for his tough-on-crime tactics. But Arpaio now faces his toughest push yet for re-election as he finally faces criminal repercussions in the heavily Hispanic state.

Joel Robbins, a Phoenix attorney who has filed dozens of lawsuits against Arpaio over the years, said a criminal contempt charge will be a long-awaited comeuppance for a lawman who has flouted the rules and exposed taxpayers to millions of dollars in unnecessary legal costs.

"Even if it's a misdemeanor, someone has said we have had enough of the sheriff's violations of people's rights and violations of laws," Robbins said.

Chad Willems, Arpaio's campaign manager, said the U.S. Justice Department is purposefully trying to hurt the sheriff's re-election chances by charging him less than a month before Election Day.

"You don't file charges for revenge or political gain, and that's what you see from the Department of Justice," Willems said, adding that voters might initially be shocked by such a charge but will eventually conclude the case is politically motivated.

The Justice Department declined to comment on Willems' claims.

Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that they would charge Arpaio for ignoring a judge's order to stop the signature immigration patrols that helped make him a national political figure. The order was issued in a racial profiling case that Arpaio lost three years ago in which he was found to have violated the civil rights of Latinos.

The U.S. Justice Department also is conducting an obstruction-of-justice investigation into Arpaio's defiance of a court order to turn over 50 hard drives in a secret investigation that critics say aimed to discredit the judge in the racial profiling case.

Arpaio, who has already collected $12 million in campaign cash during this election cycle, emailed a fundraising plea to supporters Wednesday that focused on the upcoming charge, saying it would mark the Obama administration's "last shot at taking me down."

Mike O'Neil, a pollster in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, said the charge would not bode well politically for the sheriff, who won his 2012 race with nearly 51 percent of the vote. Since then, the sheriff has faced a steady stream of unfavorable news from his racial profiling case, including revelations that it's expected to cost taxpayers $72 million by next summer.

"The drip-drip-drip of legal developments has hurt him," O'Neil said, but noting that Arpaio's die-hard supporters won't back away in his race against Democrat Paul Penzone.

Years ago, Arpaio sidestepped charges after a federal grand jury spent nearly three years looking into criminal abuse-of-power allegations over his failed criminal investigations of local officials. Prosecutors closed the case in 2012.

Federal authorities also investigated complaints from officials in Maricopa County, where Arpaio polices, that his office inappropriately spent more than $100 million from two jail funds over an eight-year period to pay for different law enforcement operations.

Nearly $85 million came from a voter-approved sales tax that could be spent only on running the jails. An additional $14 million came from a fund for inmates to buy household items and make phone calls.

The agency said there was no attempt to hide the spending and it was the result of an innocent accounting mistake, attributing the problem to an outdated payroll system. In the end, prosecutors said they found no evidence that shifting funds from one law enforcement purpose to another constituted a criminal violation.</s>PHOENIX — The Latest on the contempt of court case against Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona (all times local):

Federal prosecutors say they will file criminal contempt-of-court charges against Sheriff Joe Arpaio for disobeying orders to stop his immigration patrols.

The announcement in federal court Tuesday sets in motion criminal proceedings against the sheriff just as he seeks a seventh term in office.

A judge previously recommended criminal contempt charges against Arpaio but left it up to federal prosecutors to actually bring the case. Prosecutor John Keller said in court that the government will bring charges, with the next step being a court filing that's akin to a criminal complaint.

Arpaio could face up to six months in jail if convicted of contempt.

Arpaio was told by federal judge Murray Snow to stop his immigration patrols amid allegations of racial profiling by Latinos.

Arpaio has acknowledged violating the order but insists his disobedience wasn't intentional.

A judge will hold a hearing to discuss legal issues raised by a recommendation that prosecutors charge a famously defiant Arizona sheriff with criminal contempt of court for defying orders in a racial profiling case.

Tuesday's hearing falls the day before early voting starts in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's bid for a seventh term as metro Phoenix's top law enforcer.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton called the hearing to discuss issues raised by another judge's request that Arpaio face criminal contempt charges after refusing to stop targeting Latinos in patrols.

Arpaio has acknowledged violating the order but insists it wasn't intentional. But he and his second in command were found in civil contempt of court this summer.</s>BREAKING: Prosecutors say they will charge Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio with criminal contempt of court over immigration patrols.</s>PHOENIX (AP) — A judge will hold a hearing Tuesday to discuss legal issues raised by a recommendation that prosecutors charge a famously defiant Arizona sheriff with criminal contempt of court for defying orders in a racial profiling case.

The hearing Tuesday falls the day before early voting starts in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s bid for a seventh term as metro Phoenix’s top law enforcer, his toughest fight yet after more than two decades in office. Arpaio, who calls himself “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” made a name for himself cracking down on illegal immigration and forcing jail inmates to wear pink underwear.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton called the hearing to discuss issues raised by another judge’s request that Arpaio face criminal contempt charges after refusing to stop targeting Latinos in patrols.

Arpaio has acknowledged violating the order from U.S. District Judge Murray Snow but insists it wasn’t intentional. Snow disagreed, concluding Arpaio knowingly continued the patrols because he believed his immigration enforcement efforts would help his 2012 re-election campaign.

Requests for comment from the sheriff’s office and his re-election campaign were not immediately returned Monday night.

Snow also requested criminal charges against Arpaio and his second in command, Jerry Sheridan, for withholding 50 hard drives in a secret investigation that critics say targeted Snow.

The racial profiling lawsuit that Arpaio lost more than three years ago morphed into a contempt case after the sheriff was accused of violating court orders. It revealed deep flaws in Arpaio’s internal investigations, which Snow said had been manipulated to shield sheriff’s officials from accountability.

County taxpayers have shelled out $48 million so far in the profiling case, and the costs are expected to reach $72 million by next summer. That includes $17 million in spending ordered by Snow to make changes to the agency.

Arpaio would face up to six months in jail if convicted of misdemeanor criminal contempt and an unspecified sentencing range if such a conviction is deemed a felony.

A felony contempt conviction would force Arpaio from office, while he could remain sheriff with a misdemeanor conviction. If prosecutors charge him, the case is not expected to be designated as a misdemeanor or felony until later.

Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/jacques-billeaud.</s>PHOENIX (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department’s promise to file a criminal contempt-of-court charge against the longtime sheriff of metro Phoenix comes less than a month before the 84-year-old lawman will learn whether he gets a seventh term in office.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio will face the possibility of jail time and a clouded political future when prosecutors file a misdemeanor contempt charge against him for defying a judge’s orders to end his signature immigration patrols. The charge is expected to be filed Wednesday.

Arpaio, who didn’t attend a hearing Tuesday in his contempt case, could face up to six months in jail if convicted of misdemeanor contempt.

The sheriff issued a statement saying he was confident he would be exonerated and accused President Barack Obama’s administration of trying to influence the sheriff’s race.

“It is no coincidence that this announcement comes 28 days before the election and the day before early voting starts,” Arpaio said. “It is a blatant abuse of power and the people of Maricopa County should be as outraged as I am.”

The U.S. Justice Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Authorities were still considering a possible obstruction of justice charge against Arpaio that could result in more severe punishments, including losing his job.

The contempt case also focused on Arpaio’s actions in carrying out what critics said was a secret investigation of federal Judge G. Murray Snow in the case. Snow demanded Arpaio and an aide turn over 50 hard drives that were part of the probe, but they ignored the order.

Keller said the Justice Department cannot prosecute those allegations within the criminal contempt case because the one-year statute of limitations had run its course. But federal authorities will investigate the allegation as a possible obstruction of justice charge, Keller said.

Obstruction of justice is a felony that carries a punishment of 15 months to 37 months in prison and would bar Arpaio from office if he is convicted. Prosecutors did not give a timetable on when they would decide whether to bring an obstruction charge.

Prosecutors are also considering a possible obstruction charge against two Arpaio aides and a former attorney suspected of concealing nearly 1,500 IDs in an investigation into whether officers pocketed items during traffic stops.

The criminal contempt charge involving the immigration patrols will mark yet another defeat for the sheriff who became a national political figure over the past decade by aggressively carrying out immigration patrols and attention-getting endeavors. Among other things, he made prisoners wear pink underwear, put them on chain gangs and confined them in tents in stifling desert heat.

Following complaints by Latino drivers about racial profiling, a judge demanded that Arpaio stop the enforcement efforts. He was later found to have violated the order for 17 months, causing it to turn into a contempt of court case.

County taxpayers have shelled out $48 million so far in the profiling case, and the costs are expected to reach $72 million by next summer. The expenses and Arpaio’s legal woes have become a centerpiece of his Democratic opponent’s campaign, but they have not stopped Arpaio from amassing $12 million in campaign cash, most from out-of-state donors.

“No one is above the law, and today’s announcement in court epitomizes the strength of the judicial system,” Democratic opponent Paul Penzone said.

Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/jacques-billeaud.
The Obama administration through the U.S. Department of Justice announces that they will file criminal contempt of court charges against Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio for violating a judge's order to stop immigration patrols that led to a court finding of racial profiling. The charges carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail.