Peter Spaw, deputy county attorney, will have his law license on probation for two years and will pay a $15,060 fine for working on a bogus federal racketeering suit.

Peter Spaw, the negligent deputy county attorney who helped harass innocent officials with a merit-less racketeering lawsuit, will have his law license put on probation for two years, the state's Disciplinary Judge has ruled.

Spaw, who still has his high-level job as the Maricopa County Attorney's Office Asset Recovery Bureau manager, also agrees to keep his nose clean, take an ethics class and pay a $15,059.55 fine as part of his punishment for the Andrew Thomas-era violations.

See also: Bill Montgomery Wants Peter Spaw, a Disgraced, High-Ranking Deputy County Attorney Who Admits to Severe Violation of Legal Duties, to Get Off Easy

See also: Racketeering Lawsuit Against Maricopa County by Thomas and Arpaio is Weak Conspiracy Theory

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Image: Ray Stern

Andrew Thomas is running for governor. Here are our eight top reasons why he shouldn't get a single vote.

Andrew Thomas followed up on last year's rumor that he might run for governor with an official announcement today.

Knowing that anything's possible in Arizona, the so-called meth lab of democracy, we thought we'd put out this helpful voting guide.

So, without further ado, we offer you our best eight reasons why you'd have to be nuts to vote for Thomas:

See also: Andrew Thomas, Disbarred and Disgraced Ex-Prosecutor, Is Actually Running for Governor

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Developer Conley Wolfswinkel: $1.4 million richer thanks to incompetence and corruption by Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas.

Developer Conley Wolfswinkel, his family and company will received $1.4 million in the largest Maricopa County payout yet to victims of the legal abuses of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

As the county just confirmed, the Wolfswinkels are getting more in this settlement than the $1.27 million that went to former Judge Gary Donahoe, or the still-disputed $975,000 settlement to Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox.

Corrupt practices by Thomas, Arpaio and some of their overly loyal underlings from 2008-2010 have now cost the county a cool $5 million in taxpayer-funded payouts to victims.

See also: More Fallout From Sheriff Arpaio and Andrew Thomas Corruption: Potential Multi-Million-Dollar Settlement Going to Developer Conley Wolfswinkel and Family

See also: Andrew Thomas, Disbarred and Disgraced Ex-Prosecutor, Is Actually Running for Governor

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Conley Wolfswinkel

The costs keep climbing for the corrupt acts of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

Late last month, the Board of Supervisors agreed to pay $1.27 million to a former judge smeared with bogus criminal charges, plus another $250,000 to former county Schools Superintendent Sandra Dowling, another of Arpaio's political enemies. The settlements were part of $3.6 million paid out to various victims of Thomas and Arpaio's schemes.

Tomorrow at 10 a.m., the Supes will convene in executive session to review a potential settlement for Valley developer Conley Wolfswinkel and his family, the targets of a bad search warrant that Arpaio exploited for publicity. Wolfswinkel's been asking for $5 million, having originally demanded $10 million, so this potential settlement could be the largest of the lot.

See also: Conley Wolfswinkel, Smeared by Andrew Thomas in Stapley Investigation, Files Notice of Claim with Maricopa County

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Image: Twitter

Big office for a big ego: Sheriff Joe Arpaio's new office in the agency's soon-to-be-finished building will be 574 square feet, says a county official.

Arpaio's new office just might be bigger than your first apartment.

When the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office headquarters moves this summer from the downtown Phoenix Wells Fargo building to its new digs on Fifth Street and Jackson, the tough-talking, 20-year sheriff will be welcomed into a personal office in the new building of no less than 574 square feet.

That's a luxurious amount of office space for any would-be humble servant of the people.

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Peter Spaw could get off easier than the subordinate he supervised in the Maricopa County scandal that also led to the disbarment of former County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

Bill Montgomery, Maricopa County Attorney, is showing his preference for Andrew Thomas-style ethics by pushing for a lenient punishment for Peter Spaw, one of his high-ranking deputy attorneys.

Spaw admitted yesterday in an agreement with the state Supreme Court that he committed "conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice," filing a case that had no merit, incompetent lawyering and neglecting his duties as a supervisor.

Montgomery, through his spokesman Jerry Cobb, refused comment to the Phoenix New Times on Friday about the admission of responsibility by Spaw, the head of Montgomery's Asset Recovery Bureau. Montgomery preferred instead to give a short statement to Michelle Ye Hee Lee of the Arizona Republic, saying he thought Spaw's desire to avoid suspension of his law license in the proposal was "appropriate."

Really, there's nothing "appropriate" about the proposal, which would put Spaw's law license on probation for two years.

If approved, it would mean essentially no discipline for Spaw for the unethical acts that last year brought severe legal punishment down on his subordinate, Rachel Alexander.

See also: Peter Spaw, High-Ranking Deputy County Attorney, Admits He Violated Legal Duties in Bogus Racketeering Suit; Bill Montgomery Isn't Saying a Word

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Peter Spaw, a high-ranking deputy county attorney, could receive two years' probation of his law license and a $17,060 fine now that he's admitted to committing injustices related to the 2009 filing of a racketeering lawsuit against county officials, judges, and lawyers.

The head of the Maricopa County Attorney's Office's Asset Recovery Bureau, Peter Spaw, has admitted to working on a racketeering lawsuit he knew was unsupported by evidence.

Yet the county attorney, Bill Montgomery, won't say a word about it.

Does the admission and potential two years' probation of his law license for knowingly working on a bad racketeering case impact his job, which presumably deals with racketeering cases?

"We're not commenting on it. I'm sorry," says Montgomery's spokesman, Jerry Cobb.

UPDATE: We clarified this article, which previously indicated the two years' probation was a done deal. In fact, the proposed punishment must be approved by the state Supreme Court's Disciplinary Judge.

See also: Peter Spaw, Deputy County Attorney, Focus of New State Supreme Court Probe Stemming From Andrew Thomas Case

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peddlersson.com

A chicken wearing a tuxedo jacket and sunglasses.

Clint Hickman, whose family name graces egg cartons in local grocery stores -- the ones with the chicken wearing sunglasses and a tuxedo jacket -- was chosen by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to be the newest supervisor.

Hickman was one of more than a dozen people who applied for the spot, which became available after Supervisor Max Wilson announced at the beginning of the month that he was retiring due to health reasons.

See also:
-Max Wilson, County Supervisor, to Retire and Resign His Post; Cites Health Concerns


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maricopa.gov

Mary Rose Wilcox

We're not sure whether this is a serious thing, but right-wingers are touting their response to the attempted recall of Sheriff Joe Arpaio: an effort to recall County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox.

Forgive us for being skeptical, but if you think it's a longshot that Arpaio will be recalled, consider the fact that Wilcox just got re-elected by nearly a 40-point margin.

See also:
-Why Sheriff Joe Actually Is Nervous About the Recall Effort Against Him


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Andy Kunasek will receive a $123,110 settlement for the legal fees incurred while fighting bogus investigations launched by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

Another day, another six-digit award by Maricopa County to a victim of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

This time it's the chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Andy Kunasek, who was framed for a crime he didn't commit as part of an apparent plan to usurp power from the Board of Supervisors.

Kunasek, a Republican who represents the county's north-central District 3, will receive $123,110 from the county to settle a claim he made in the aftermath of the multi-year squabble we call "county craziness."

The money will go entirely to pay off legal and investigation fees he incurred to fight the unethical legal attacks against him, Kunasek and his lawyer, David Derickson, say.

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