http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2010/01/09/20100109joe-arpaio-jury-update0109.htmlJoe Arpaio, MCSO investigation may not lead to indictmentby JJ Hensley and Yvonne Wingett - Jan. 9, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
The outcome of the federal grand jury investigating allegations of criminal conduct in the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is impossible to predict, but news of the panel left some county employees and observers relieved and others confounded.
Two county executives said Thursday they are preparing to testify next week before the grand jury, which is looking into allegations of misconduct in the Sheriff's Office.
Prosecutors can't discuss grand-jury proceedings in the interest of protecting the accused, but witnesses can disclose information. County Manager David Smith and Deputy County Manager Sandi Wilson contend the questions revolve around allegations that Sheriff Joe Arpaio has abused his power as a law-enforcement official. If that's true, the proceedings could trigger criminal charges of civil-rights violations. Quantcast
There are numerous potential outcomes: Prosecutors could drop the case; the panel could decline to indict Sheriff Joe Arpaio or his employees; it could determine there is probable cause to prosecute the five-term sheriff. However, experts said a prosecutor would be careful before asking for an indictment against Arpaio.
Federal prosecutors frequently use the grand-jury process to test the strength of a case, particularly when considering charges against a public official, said Craig Dolto, a retired FBI agent from New York who specialized in public- and police-corruption cases.
"To prosecute somebody like this takes a lot of guts from the U.S. attorney. If this thing doesn't go down, you know the defendant will say the federal government
has it out for him," Dolto said. "You lose a case like this, you're going to pay for it politically."
But Jack Chin, a University of Arizona criminal-law professor, said it's also common for prosecutors to use a grand jury to investigate sources and develop information.
"The use of a grand jury gives the prosecutor an ability to compel testimony and compel production of documents," Chin said. "Just because a grand jury is impaneled to look into something absolutely does not mean that an indictment is going to result."
Representatives from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix, the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and the FBI office in Phoenix would not comment on the grand jury.
Smith said on Thursday that, based on his discussions with the U.S. Attorney's Office, the grand jury appears to be focusing on a variety of issues, including budget negotiations, the county's courthouse project, deputies questioning county employees at their homes, threats of investigations of county employees and a fight over a criminal-justice computer system.
The Sheriff's Office denied any knowledge of the grand jury.
"I don't know what the basis for the grand jury is," said Jack MacIntyre, a chief deputy with the Sheriff's Office. "The first we heard of this was when David Smith and Sandi Wilson decided to publicize it."
Paul Charlton, a former U.S. Attorney in Arizona who defended a county supervisor in a case Arpaio brought last year, said it is rare for a grand jury to explore allegations into a local sheriff. "In this state, it's extraordinary. We've had a very good fortune of having a history of law enforcement that's been largely devoid of this level of concern," Charlton said.
Smith said friction over budget negotiations and the sheriff's decision to "criminalize administrative behavior" through investigations and lawsuits were among issues they discussed with the U.S. Attorney's Office, in preparation for their grand-jury appearance.
The Sheriff's Office also faces a separate Justice Department inquiry launched last year into allegations of racial profiling. Ashley Adams, an attorney and former prosecutor in the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office, said the racial profiling investigation shouldn't overlap with anything from the federal grand jury.
The wall between the Sheriff's Office and county administrators, fortified through more than a year of conflict over the budget and allegations of corruption, was as strong as ever after news of the grand jury broke.
On Friday, work was virtually paralyzed on the 10th floor of the county administration building in downtown Phoenix. Late Thursday, dozens of staffers from the Clerk of the Board, the Office of Management and Budget and other departments received advice from an attorney in the event they are subpoenaed to testify or are visited by deputies.
"I feel vindicated and relieved that somebody's doing something," Wilson said. "Somebody's finally looking at the abuses that we've been dealing with."
MacIntyre called Wilson and Smith's revelations about the grand jury "smarmy" and "political grandstanding."
