Sheriff Joe Arpaio Accused of Illegally Misspending $80 Million While Conducting Draconian Immigration Round-ups

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has found himself at the center of yet another controversy, but this time the issue is not illegal immigration. A county budget report made public Wednesday accused his department of misspending as much as $80 million on immigration sweeps, public-corruption probes, and a range of other unauthorized activities and expenditures over the past five years.

The Board of Supervisors responded by placing Arpaio’s office under new budget restrictions as Maricopa County Board attorney Tom Irvine called the improper expenditures the “biggest misspending of state funds in the history of Arizona.”

Much of the analysis, by the Office of Management and Budget, centered on the misuse of a tax-based jail-detention fund that was approved by Arizona voters in 1998 for jail expansion, guards’ salaries, and related expenses. Instead, according to the report, Arpaio’s office diverted the funds for such activities as immigration sweeps and public-corruption investigations against the sheriff’s critics.

The report also raised concerns about unexplained travel expenses, questionable transactions on county credit cards, and secret outside bank accounts that prevented county officials from monitoring the department’s transactions.

The budget accusations come as Arpaio’s office is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over allegations of abuse of power. The budget findings will be forwarded to the DOJ, Irvine said.

The nature of the misspending is not considered criminal, according to the county budget manager, David Smith. But the use of taxpayer-supported jail funds for other purposes violates the law.

Related to Abuse-of-Power Probe?

Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, a Republican and longstanding Arpaio political foe, said the findings may shed light on the abuse-of-power investigation.

He said the misspending could explain why Arpaio’s office has refused to cooperate with county officials over budget issues and initiated a number of corruption investigations against them instead.

“It seems like that was the catalyst for the start of the criminal investigations—it provides a motive for why this has been going on for a number of years,” he said. “They fight the board, and when the board doesn’t cave in, they start criminal investigations to pressure them to cave in. It all makes total sense.”

When asked for comment by New America Media, Arpaio said only: “We are trying to correct the deficiency.”

But Maricopa County Deputy Manager Sandi Wilson said the improprieties went well beyond a “deficiency.” The sheriff’s office actually kept a separate set of payroll books for its employees showing their assignments, and justifying expenses from the jail fund, different from the records that the office provided to the county, she said.

"A Shadow System"

“They actually kept a shadow system,” Wilson said. The misspending dates back as far as 2006, according to county officials.

Chief Deputy Sheriff Jerry Sheridan said the findings had taken the office by surprise.

“It’s very complicated. I’m very disappointed with what I consider to be a very inflated number,” he said, referring to the $80 million figure. Sheridan said that part of the problem was that the financial system that tracks payroll was very “cumbersome” and sometimes wouldn’t transfer employees properly from one assignment to another.

Smith admitted that the financial system was outdated, but said there was a clear intention on the part of Arpaio’s office to use the jail funds for unauthorized purposes.