A Maricopa County jury convicted Harold "Bud" Lee Jr. of three felony counts related to gambling on Friday, including conspiracy and illegal control of an enterprise.

 

​The 68-year-old Lee, who once served as a Phoenix Justice of the Peace, was allowed to remain free from custody until his sentencing, now scheduled for March 7. Lee will be eligible for probation but also faces a possible prison term.

We published a story back in April 2009 about Lee's mission in life--which has been to convince the world that Arizona's anti-gambling laws are lunacy.

Trouble for Lee was that he walked the walk, which led the state Attorney General's Office (under then-AG Terry Goddard) to secure a grand-jury conviction against the Phoenix man and two co-defendants, both of whom pleaded guilty earlier to reduced charges.

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nocoboys.blogspot.com

​Now that fireworks are legal in Arizona, we know you're excited to get out there and wreck pyrotechnic havoc on your backyard this Fourth of July weekend. But slow your roll for just a minute.

In an effort to prevent patriotic mishaps, we've decided to offer up safety tips on how not to handle your new-found explosive endeavors.

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Just about everyone we know who routinely plays around on the Net -- which is just about everyone -- has gotten a Nigerian scam letter.

 

​You gotta know the deal:

Someone has $30 million awaiting them in a Swiss bank, or something, but only if you fork over $3,000 or so to the cause. If you are so kind, your new friends will be happy to part with, say, $3 million or so.

Endless variations on that theme exist.

We got one via e-mail recently, and it goes like this:

The return address is the "Anti-Terrorist and Monitory (sic) Crimes Division, FBI Headquarters, Washington D.C."

The "writer," who says he is FBI director Robert Mueller himself, instructed us "to contact the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, Phoenix, Arizona" and ask for the Reverend Daniel Parker, who is that alleged agency's "principal staff officer."

"Once you contact them, I will get back to you," writes the man masquerading as Mueller, "or else I will have an agent come visit you at home for questioning."

The Reverend Parker's address was listed as 1224 Mabo Lane Road in Phoenix, and his phone number has a 206 area code.

For the record, there is no Mabo Lane Road in Phoenix, and 206 is in the state of Washington.

No matter.

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James King

​The Chevron station on the corner of McDowell and 51st Avenue is giving away discounted gas from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, which has caused hundreds of people to flock to the station -- some even got in line last night -- and the cops aint happy about it.

Ready for the best part -- many of the people waiting won't even get any gas.

The gas station is offering 99-cent-per-gallon gas for three hours, with a limit of 10 gallons per customer and enough gas for about 250 people.

We crunched the numbers, and with gas prices over three bucks at the moment, your average gas-junkie stands to save about $25 on the deal.

According to one of the attendants we spoke to, the thought of saving 25 bucks prompted some people to get in line at 11 p.m. last night. Those fucking idiots dedicated souls were the first of hundreds of people who created a line that stretched from the gas pump, around the gas station, onto McDowell Road, down 51st Avenue, all the way to the Interstate 10 -- causing backups stretching well-past the 51st Avenue exit.

With hundreds of people swarming to save a few bucks at the pump, you would assume that the organizer of the event would let the police know what was going on in advance. You would be wrong.

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