Posted inPhoenix

Joe and Peyton go after, gasp, real-estate crime!

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Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley's legal troubles provide an instructive window into much of what's wrong with Arizona. He was indicted by a grand jury on 118 felony counts for properly failing to disclose his real-estate dealings. The first "tell" on the case is that it's being pushed by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Peyton Thomas, who are hardly the most reliable figures in law enforcement. As New Times' Sarah Fenske pointed out:

Seven years ago, as my former colleague John Dougherty first reported,
Arpaio obtained a court order to purge his real estate records from
county files. Arizona law allows judges, cops, and prosecutors to
petition the court to keep their home addresses and telephone numbers
out of county records.

That's right. The sheriff of one of the most populous counties in America had deals for shopping strips going on the side. 

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