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Most of them don't sound like "public servants" who work for us, but rather self serving bureaucrats who work or themselves, not us.
Here are the letters on the Arizona Republic web site: Here are the letters on the this web site: Source Sheriff Joe Arpaio praises former target Sandi Wilson MCSO accused official of crimes in the past by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez - Dec. 5, 2011 09:49 PM The Arizona Republic Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has written a letter of recommendation on behalf of a top county administrator whom he once accused of being a racketeer and of other crimes involving conspiracy, bribery and misuse of public money. Arpaio's Aug. 26 blanket recommendation for Deputy County Manager Sandi Wilson exalts her professionalism and competency, saying she has been invaluable in resolving difficult issues. Two county supervisors, Fulton Brock and Don Stapley, also wrote letters in September praising her management of the county's $2.2 billion budget. The county's three other supervisors, Andy Kunasek, Max Wilson and Mary Rose Wilcox, declined to write blanket letters, but they or their representatives said they would write recommendations on a case-by-case basis. Some privately said they were uncomfortable with the manner in which they were asked to write the letters, suggesting a "quid pro quo." In 2009, Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas named Wilson in a federal civil racketeering lawsuit, accusing her and others of hindering criminal investigations and depriving their offices of resources. They later withdrew that lawsuit. The following year, Arpaio's office asked a grand jury to indict her, accusing her of spending public funds to sweep county offices for illegal listening devices. The grand jury refused to indict. Last year, Wilson filed a notice of claim against the county and demanded $2 million for damages and attorneys' fees or an apology from Arpaio; his former chief deputy, David Hendershott; and Thomas and his former deputy, Lisa Aubuchon. She followed up with a federal lawsuit against the county. Wilson is one of several county employees, retired judges and others who have filed more than $175 million worth of claims against the county over the actions of Arpaio, Thomas and their employees. The county has settled a few of the lawsuits for $100,000 each. The letters of recommendation for Wilson came to light last week. County officials refused to talk about the letters and referred all questions to Steve LaMar, the private attorney hired by the county to resolve the lawsuits and claims filed against the county stemming from the years-long legal, political and financial battles among Arpaio, Thomas and the Board of Supervisors. LaMar did not respond to phone messages and e-mails requesting comment. Arpaio's one-page letter contains four paragraphs in which he says Wilson "has proven herself to be a valuable County asset, competent and professional in managing her staff and assigned responsibilities." He recommends her for any position she seeks. Mike Manning, Wilson's attorney, characterized the sheriff's letter as an apology but said it wasn't strong enough for his client. He suggested Arpaio and the two supervisors wrote the letters as part of a discussed settlement negotiation but said by law, he could not talk about those discussions. "It is as close to an apology as he is able to do, I believe," Manning said. "And for anyone that reads that letter, it ought to be clear that he's sorry for whatever role he played in trying to make her look like a felon. But this letter is not good enough." Manning said it's not an "explicit apology" and only comes from one member of the group that tried to paint Wilson as a criminal. Arpaio contradicted Manning, saying the letter was not at all an apology, just a general letter of support. "That's not an apology letter -- no way," Arpaio said last week. "I just appreciate what she's doing, and I've always supported her throughout the years. It's just thanking her for the hard work she's been doing." Arpaio pointed out that he did not personally investigate Wilson, but that his agency did, adding, "Maybe I'm a little unorthodox, but I'm still gonna do my job regardless of all these lawsuits and investigations. I was just doing my job, and this just proves it." Asked who wanted him to write the letter, the sheriff responded, "I don't recall." The supervisors and their staff members did remember. They said Rocky Armfield, the county's risk manager, approached all five board members, asking if they would either sign a template recommendation or write their own. However, Wilcox said she believed Armfield approached her not in his official capacity, but as Wilson's friend. "He was doing it as a friend," Wilcox said, recalling that he told her he felt bad for Wilson. Kunasek said he felt uncomfortable writing a blanket letter because it might look as though "I did it with strings attached." Another county official said Armfield approached him in his official capacity but added that he felt personal concern for Wilson, raising ethical concerns for the manner in which Wilson's lawsuit was being handled. About a month after the supervisors wrote the letters for Wilson, she urged the board to give Armfield a 5.3 percent raise, increasing his salary to $132,018 from $125,362 a year. The board rejected the raise in a split vote. |