So it looks like Sheriff Joe Arpaio is exonerated, in a way. The US Attorney’s office has dropped its investigation into whether or not he mismanaged millions of dollars to go after political enemies. In other words, the DOJ didn’t have anything on Arpaio. They were just out to intimidate him.
The federal government has closed a criminal probe of alleged financial misconduct by Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio, who styles himself as “America’s toughest sheriff,” saying no charges would be filed, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said on Friday.
A separate federal investigation relating to allegations of civil rights abuses by Arpaio’s office is continuing.
The announcement on Friday marked the end of an investigation that began in November 2010 at the behest of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to examine alleged financial improprieties by the county sheriff and his deputies.
A federal criminal inquiry into several of those matters was concluded last summer with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona declining to initiate criminal charges.
Maricopa County authorities were informed on Friday that federal prosecutors had likewise declined to bring charges in connection with allegations that the sheriff’s office had misused county credit cards or misspent money from jail facilities excise taxes.
In addition, the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute two former officials of the county attorney’s office who were accused of wrongfully prosecuting a local judge.
Arpaio has also denied any wrongdoing.
He is flying back from the Republican National Convention and has not been available for comment.
“America’s toughest sheriff” has stood up to the federal government over and over, and yet, the feds have backed down time and again. Sheriff Arpaio is like the Matt Dillon (from Gunsmoke fame) of Arizona. He’s out to uphold the law and doesn’t care what people think about him. Men like him are hard to find now days.
