ARIZONA CORNER
August 1,2011
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| Research: Admin Staff |
ATF AGENTS WATCH CONVICTED FELONS
BUY GUNS
Jacob Wayne Chambers and Sean
Christopher Stewart, both from Phoenix, Arizona, are convicted felons. Their
criminal records include burglary, dealing in stolen goods, resisting arrest,
and drug charges.
Convicted felons are barred from
purchasing firearms under federal law… and yet these two bought over 360 guns
between them, acting as straw purchases for violent drug cartels. The FBI
didn’t stop them. Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives sat and watched them buy their guns via closed-circuit TV.
Yes, it’s “Operation Fast and
Furious” again.Fox
Newshad a look at the paltry handful of twenty defendants indicted by
this massive operation, and spotted the radioactive rap sheets of Chambers and
Stewart. The FBI does not wish to comment, but it seems hard to escape the
conclusion that federal gun laws were knowingly abrogated so that “Fast and Furious”
could move forward. http://republicbroadcasting.org/?p=16183
Why Citizens
For Phoenix?
In January of 2010, Phoenix City Manager, David Cavazos,
informed the public that we were facing a $240 million dollar shortfall. His
response to this fiscal crisis was to submit a proposal to the Council whose would
inevitably divide the community by pitting neighbor against neighbor and
everyone against Public Safety. The Mayor’s response was to propose a 2% tax on
food with a 5 year sunset to help reduce, but not eliminate, the shortfall.
Paul
Barnes, of the Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix, and Ann Malone, of
the Indian School Corridor Citywide Coalition, refused to participate in this
divisive process and together decided to re-write the City Manager’s budget.
While agreeing to accept $50 million of the City Manager’s cuts, that would
have put Phoenix’s most vulnerable citizens at risk with no warning, and
therefore, no safety net. Once their new budget was ready, they contacted the
President of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA), Mark Spencer, and
asked him if the Phoenix police union would stand with them. With no
hesitation, http://www.citizensforphoenix.org/about/
Posted: 31 Jul 2011 01:40 PM PDT
Over the years, covering multiple Boards of Supervisors
andCountyManagers,PinalCountyentered into numerous agreements waiving impact
fees. These are fees used to cover the cost of expanding the water supply and
other necessary services as required byArizonalaw. The waiving of impact fees
literally means property taxpayers must make up the loss of revenue to the
County.
In October 2006, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors passed and
adopted Ordinance No. 101806-DF, which established a development fee schedule
forPinalCounty. The purpose of the ordinance is to require new developments to
pay for their proportionate share of capital costs associated with providing
public safety, streets, and parks facilities.
Barnes and Malone: On Phoenix's
budget, we shouldn't rewrite historby Paul Barnes and Ann Malone - Aug. 1, 2011 12:00 AM
Our turn
Two years ago we were eye witnesses to the greatest economic train
wreck in Phoenix history: the $270 million deficit of 2009 that caused a tidal
wave of fear, bitterness and divisiveness during the city's budget hearings. It
resulted in massive reductions to city services across the board. And for
citizens hit hardest by the cuts, feelings of betrayal lingered, even as they
stretched themselves thinner to survive.
In 2010, we saw the train barreling down the track again with a
$277 million deficit, at the same time Phoenix was being hit by record
unemployment and foreclosure rates. This train promised to lay off 350 police
officers and would finish gutting core services, destroying the very fabric of
our community.
"Bozo"
Busted; Notorious Gang Member -- With Idiotic Tattoos -- Pulled Gun on
Neighbor, Cops Say
James King – Phoenix New Times - Aug. 1
2011 at 2:43 PM
As predicted, it didn't take long for police to track down
"Bozo," a member of the 18th Street East Side Posse street gang, who
allegedly pulled a gun on a man in Goodyear last month.
As you can see in his booking photo, "Bozo," a.k.a. Leo Rufus
Rodriguez Jr., stands out a little bit.
"Bozo," police say, pulled an assault rifle on a man near Las
Flores Avenue and Santa Cruz Drive last month.
Ame was locked in a tiny footlocker by her cousin and her
husband, Samantha and John Allen, each 23, because she "stole" a
Popsicle in the early morning of July 12. They left her there overnight and
when they found her body the next morning she had suffocated. Read the tragic
details of Ame's death here. http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/08/bozo_busted.php
10-year-old's
horrific death sparks calls to action
Stacey Delikat – TV-3 - azfamily.com
- Friday, Jul 29 at 9:57 PM
PHOENIX - The horrific murder of 10-year-old Ame Deal has officials
asking members of the community to speak out if they suspect child abuse.
Deal was found dead in a 32-inch long trunk on July 12 and while her
guardians originally told police she accidentally suffocated while playing hide
and seek, police now say it was a case of murder. http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/Ten-year-olds-horrific-death-sparks-calls-to-action-126442093.html
Do
we save all the children we can?
EJ
Montini – COLUMNIST – Arizona Republic – July 31, 2011
There
appears to be nothing that the state of Arizona – meaning you and I – could
have done to save Ame Deal, the 10-year-old girl whom police say was brutally
mistreated and then jammed into footlocker where she died.
The
adults who ran the household (you can't call it a family) didn't send the
children to public school, where teachers might have noticed problems. The kids
were “schooled” at home.
Neighbors
spoke of the children being outside at all hours. They spoke of angry words and
cruel punishments, like making Ame walk on a hot street barefooted. But no one
notified authorities. http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/EJMontini/136024
'Poison Ivy Fraud Ring' Members Arrested
Police
say fraud went from Tempe to Bulgaria
FOX
10 Phoenix - Sunday, 31 Jul 2011, 8:57 PM MST
PHOENIX
- Police have made a big fraud bust that they say went all the way from Tempe
to Bulgaria.
The
Maricopa County Attorney's Office said six people from the Poison Ivy Fraud
Ring were arrested and are facing multiple felony charges including fraud,
identity theft, computer tampering and money laundering.
They're
accused of using devices to skim information from customers’ bank cards at a
TruWest Credit Union ATM and then using it to make fake ATM cards to withdraw
as much as $300,000. http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/money/poison-ivy-fraud-ring-members-arrested-07312011
Maricopa
County probes past use of RICO funds
AP
– Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff – azcentral.com - Sunday, July 31, 2011 12:20
pm
Also,
KOLD TV Tucson, Beaumont Enterprise, Texas
Maricopa
County Attorney Bill Montgomery is looking into reports that his predecessor's
staff paid law firms with money earmarked for crime fighting.
The
Arizona Republic reported Sunday that Andrew Thomas' office dipped into the
RICO funds to pay for private civil attorneys representing the county
attorney's office and the sheriff's office http://azdailysun.com/news/state-and-regional/maricopa-county-probes-past-use-of-rico-funds/article_2097d416-e418-5d6b-b2d1-a349fff18ec8.html.
Attorney's
Office paid law firms with crime-fighting money
Yvonne
Wingett Sanchez and Michael Kiefer - The Arizona Republic - July 31, 2011
The
Maricopa County Attorney's Office under Andrew Thomas dipped into a pot of
money earmarked for fighting racketeering crimes to pay for private civil
attorneys representing his office and the Sheriff's Office, a practice that is
now raising some unanswered legal questions.
Referred
to as RICO funds, the racketeering money comes from cash and assets seized in
criminal investigations. It is generally used to combat certain crimes spelled
out in state and federal statutes. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/07/31/20110731rico-spending-maricopa-andrew-thomas.html
Phoenix
elections could determine next, and future mayors
Mike
Sunnucks - Phoenix Business Journal - Monday, August 1, 2011, 5:09pm MST
Phoenix
voters will be electing the city’s next mayor this year, but they may also be
opening the door for mayors further down the line.
Former
state lawmaker Jim Waring is running for Phoenix City Council in a northeast
Phoenix seat vacated by mayoral contender Peggy Neely. http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/blog/business/2011/08/phoenix-elections-could-determine.html
I
serve the county - and I intend to stay
OpEd
- Fulton Brock – Arizona Republic - July 29, 2011 09:14 PM
I
am responding to Wednesday's editorial "Supervisor needs to exit
spotlight."
As
you know, I cannot comment upon my family's legal matters until the ongoing
case against my daughter has concluded. However, I am compelled to respond to
the false statement that I am withdrawn, uncommunicative and "scarcely
involved" in the important policy decisions before the Board of
Supervisors. That is simply not true. Not even close. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2011/07/30/20110730fulton-brock-my-turn.html
Russell
Pearce's Favorite Scribe Linda Bentley Repeats Smear of Mesa Woman
Stephen
Lemons – Phoenix New Times - Mon., Aug. 1 2011 at 3:18 PM
I'm
getting pretty annoyed at having to berate Sonoran News' nutjob newshound Linda
Bentley over her myriad stupidities, but I can't let this one go.
As
I noted in a recent column, neither Bentley, her publication, nor the crotchety
bigot who runs it, Don Sorchych, have corrected their recent slime of American
citizen Benita Lantigua, a private woman whose misdeed, in their screwy
opinion, is to have signed the petition to recall state Senate President
Russell Pearce, while boasting a Hispanic surname. http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2011/08/russell_pearces_favorite_scrib.php
