by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Michael Kiefer - Sept. 13, 2011 12:00 AM - The Arizona Republic
Andrew Thomas wasn't there to hear it when the independent counsel for the State Bar of Arizona laid out a case against him that could end his legal career.
Thomas faces disbarment, but the former Maricopa County attorney did not attend Monday's opening statements in his disciplinary hearing at the Arizona Supreme Court.
His co-defendants and former deputies, Lisa Aubuchon and Rachel Alexander, sat silently in the front row of the gallery in a dark-paneled courtroom as other attorneys explained why they should or should not face sanctions for their investigations of or legal complaints against judges, county supervisors and others they believed engaged in "corruption."
"The evidence and testimony that we will present will establish a four-year period of prosecutorial abuse by Mr. Thomas and Ms. Aubuchon," said John Gleason, the attorney prosecuting the case. "Under the direction and supervision of Mr. Thomas, he and Ms. Aubuchon engaged in personal retribution against their enemies."
"If you crossed paths with the county attorney, Sheriff (Joe) Arpaio, or former (sheriff's) Chief Deputy David Hendershott, you should expect to be sued, criminally charged, or both, by the county attorney," Gleason said.
"The evidence will show that the primary purpose of the prosecutions was to punish those individuals with whom Mr. Thomas and Ms. Aubuchon disagreed."
A three-member panel will weigh evidence in the disciplinary hearing, which could stretch into November. The burden is on state Bar counsel to prove the allegations against the three attorneys. The panel must make a decision on their fate within 30 days of the last day of the hearing.
The three former prosecutors are charged with a total of 33 ethical violations stemming from actions against other county officials and judges between 2006 and 2010. Charges against them include conflicts of interest; filing criminal and civil cases to embarrass or burden rivals, or filing without probable cause or sufficient evidence; criminal conduct; and conduct involving dishonesty and fraud.
Among the allegations are that Thomas and Aubuchon filed bribery and obstruction charges against Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe without probable cause; that they pursued a grand-jury investigation of Donahoe, county supervisors and other officials despite conflicts of interest; and that they filed misdemeanor charges against Supervisor Don Stapley in 2008 despite the statute of limitations having lapsed.
Alexander's role is limited to joining Thomas and Aubuchon in what Gleason described as a "meritless and frivolous" federal-racketeering lawsuit against officials and judges.
The three also are accused of failing to cooperate with the Bar investigation, and instead attempting to delay and obstruct the extensive initial investigation conducted by Gleason and his team.
Gleason said he and his co-counsel, James Sudler, would prove their case with new testimony from judges, investigators with sheriff's and county attorney's offices, county supervisors, and others to show the depths of the unethical conduct. The disciplinary hearing will be the first time most of the witnesses will tell their stories under oath.
Gleason promised a glimpse into a "Bizarro World" of investigative techniques, where indictments were written before investigations began, and where tips came from newspaper articles, not shoe-leather detective work. Search warrants, he said, were drafted based on "creative writing . . . and a little fluff above, and a little fluff below."
But Thomas' lawyer, Don Wilson, said Thomas sincerely believed he was rooting out corruption at the highest levels of county government.
"He tried to investigate it, he tried to prosecute it," Wilson said, but, "he was stonewalled and stymied. He confronted bitter and powerful antagonists. He confronted a hostile judiciary."
The consequences, Wilson said, were that the county Board of Supervisors stripped Thomas of his civil litigation department and its budget, and interfered with his ability to hire special prosecutors to try the cases against them.
Thomas brought charges against Stapley in 2008, Wilson said, because of what he believed were improper dealings among Stapley, then-Presiding Superior Court Judge Barbara Mundell, and private attorney Tom Irvine, who represented both the county and the courts in planning a $340 million court-tower project in downtown Phoenix.
Aubuchon's attorney, Ed Moriarity, offered a summary of what he believes was a conspiracy among politicians and judges to bring his client to this point.
Presiding Disciplinary Judge William O'Neil has already ruled that the defendants cannot gather new evidence to try to prove that they were right in bringing cases against county officials. Still, Moriarity hinted that he would still try to prove that all of Aubuchon's actions were justified but were thwarted.
"Let's face it head-on: This is not a normal case . . . this is a political case. You will see the evidence and know what I mean by the time I am finished," he said.
Furthermore, Moriarity said, the press and even the Bar have distorted facts of the case for a "selective prosecution."
Alexander's lawyer, Scott Zwillinger, argued his client should not be part of the hearing. She was simply doing her job, he said, and was working at the direction of her boss.
She was drafted into the racketeering suit, he said, because Thomas told her it was a "crisis." Alexander's initial role in the racketeering suit was to research whether Aubuchon could sue the same people she was prosecuting criminally.
The answer was no, Zwillinger said, at which point Alexander was asked to take over the racketeering case, even against her better judgment.
Zwillinger questioned why Alexander was singled out for disciplinary proceedings when her supervisor and private attorneys from consulting law firms were not.
"Each of the charges brought against Rachel will fail," Zwillinger said. "Why is Rachel here? The answer is: she shouldn't be."
The hearing continues today with testimony scheduled from retired Superior Court Judge Kenneth Fields, former Deputy County Attorney Sally Wells and Irvine.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Private Investigator Warns of More FLDS Abuses
By Mary Garrigan, Rapid City Journal, Posted Thursday, September 1, 2011
The recent convictions of polygamist church leader Warren Jeffs proves that South Dakota and Custer County law enforcement officials should do more to investigate a Jeffs-affiliated compound near Pringle, said an expert on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Sam Brower is a private investigator from Cedar City, Utah, who spent seven years investigating the FLDS after being hired by a FLDS member who was engaged in a dispute with the group. Brower provided law enforcement with information that helped a Texas jury convict Jeffs of the sexual assault of two underage girls, a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old whom he had taken as "spiritual brides." He has also written a book about Jeffs titled "Prophet's Prey," which hit bookstores Tuesday.
Brower is convinced that underage marriages also occur at the FLDS site near Pringle, though he said he has no evidence to prove it.
Custer County Sheriff Rick Wheeler was on the compound Aug. 4, the same day that a jury convicted Jeffs. He was at the 140-acre compound to accompany staff from the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources. DENR was there to inspect a concrete batch plant and construction-related dirt runoff. The concrete is being used in the construction of two agricultural buildings.
Wheeler tries to visit the compound every week or so and usually accompanies government officials onto the property. He knows he doesn't see all of the compound's residents on his visits but said he has never seen any obviously pregnant underage girls. Wheeler didn't hear any conversation about Jeffs that day, nor find any evidence of child brides during any of his frequent visits.
"At this time, I don't," he said when asked if he has any evidence of child sexual abuse. "If we did, we'd act on it."
"The day that I was in there, there were women around, with kids, doing things. One thing I have noticed is that most of the women and guys that I see are fairly close to the same age," Wheeler said.
Brower was raised in the mainstream The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has no ties to the FLDS. He has been to the Pringle area three times in the course of his FLDS investigations, once with Jon Krakauer, the author of "Under the Banner of Heaven," a best-selling book that examines the ideologies of both mainstream and fundamentalist Mormons. Brower's book, however, deals mainly with activities at FLDS communities in Utah, Arizona and Texas.
Brower is familiar with the leadership in Pringle, however, and said he didn't see anyone from that compound in the San Angelo courtroom during Jeffs' trial. Jurors and spectators, including Brower, heard a tape recording of "a panting, pervert prophet raping a little girl," he said. That tape was confiscated by authorities the day the fugitive Jeffs was apprehended in 2006, but this trial was the first time it was used as evidence against him. Previously, a Utah judge sealed it as prejudicial and a federal judge said it was protected as "religious material."
"I hope ... that attorney generals in other states, including South Dakota, model their performance more after the attorney general in Texas than the one in Utah ... and don't let these atrocities continue," Brower said.
Among the mounds of evidence removed from the FLDS ranch in El Dorado, Texas, were diaries indicating that Jeffs has been at Pringle and directed its activities. Brower believes some of his estimated 80 wives may be living there now.
"I don't know that for a fact, but I think that's a good possibility that they are," Brower said. "It's a place of refuge for people in the hierarchy of the church. Only the most righteous are allowed to go there."
Meanwhile, the Texas verdict sends a clear message to FLDS leadership in Pringle and elsewhere, Brower said. "In the United States, we're not going to tolerate people raping little girls."
He warns South Dakotans that other jurisdictions that have taken a "hands-off" approach toward the FLDS have regretted it. "Everybody that believes it's easier just to look the other way has paid a price for it," he said.
Brower contends the FLDS is a "large criminal organization" that uses unfair labor practices to underbid legitimate existing businesses, particularly in the construction trades. His book recounts the plight of women who have left the FLDS, as well as "lost boys" -- young males with little education and no money -- who have been banished from their families and communities at the whim of church leadership.
Brower said South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley to take a "proactive" approach to the FLDS, even if no victims speak out.
"If I was there, I would be knocking on Marty Jackley's door, asking for an investigation; the law should follow them around," he said.
A spokeswoman for Jackley said her office wouldn't confirm or deny the existence of any investigation of the Pringle-area community.
"As with any matter, if we receive information regarding potential criminal activity, our policy is to investigate that information and see criminal prosecution if justified," Jackley said by email.
Brower said breaking the secrecy of the compound requires proactive investigation.
"It's much easier for people to look the other way. They don't want the headache, the hassle. It's the easiest thing to do," he said. "I know it's not easy. More than anybody, I know how hard it is to crack this religious facade. But human suffering is caused because of it."
Brower doesn't expect Jeffs' prison term to have much economic impact on Pringle, which is largely financed by church followers elsewhere, he said.
"They're completely supported by people in Shortcreek," he said. That community on the Utah/Arizona border is hailing Jeffs as a martyr for his religious beliefs, complete with a 38-foot-tall statue of the prophet that it had shipped from Texas to Shortcreek recently.
In it, Jeffs holds a Bible with one hand and a little girl by the other.
The recent convictions of polygamist church leader Warren Jeffs proves that South Dakota and Custer County law enforcement officials should do more to investigate a Jeffs-affiliated compound near Pringle, said an expert on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Sam Brower is a private investigator from Cedar City, Utah, who spent seven years investigating the FLDS after being hired by a FLDS member who was engaged in a dispute with the group. Brower provided law enforcement with information that helped a Texas jury convict Jeffs of the sexual assault of two underage girls, a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old whom he had taken as "spiritual brides." He has also written a book about Jeffs titled "Prophet's Prey," which hit bookstores Tuesday.
Brower is convinced that underage marriages also occur at the FLDS site near Pringle, though he said he has no evidence to prove it.
Custer County Sheriff Rick Wheeler was on the compound Aug. 4, the same day that a jury convicted Jeffs. He was at the 140-acre compound to accompany staff from the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources. DENR was there to inspect a concrete batch plant and construction-related dirt runoff. The concrete is being used in the construction of two agricultural buildings.
Wheeler tries to visit the compound every week or so and usually accompanies government officials onto the property. He knows he doesn't see all of the compound's residents on his visits but said he has never seen any obviously pregnant underage girls. Wheeler didn't hear any conversation about Jeffs that day, nor find any evidence of child brides during any of his frequent visits.
"At this time, I don't," he said when asked if he has any evidence of child sexual abuse. "If we did, we'd act on it."
"The day that I was in there, there were women around, with kids, doing things. One thing I have noticed is that most of the women and guys that I see are fairly close to the same age," Wheeler said.
Brower was raised in the mainstream The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has no ties to the FLDS. He has been to the Pringle area three times in the course of his FLDS investigations, once with Jon Krakauer, the author of "Under the Banner of Heaven," a best-selling book that examines the ideologies of both mainstream and fundamentalist Mormons. Brower's book, however, deals mainly with activities at FLDS communities in Utah, Arizona and Texas.
Brower is familiar with the leadership in Pringle, however, and said he didn't see anyone from that compound in the San Angelo courtroom during Jeffs' trial. Jurors and spectators, including Brower, heard a tape recording of "a panting, pervert prophet raping a little girl," he said. That tape was confiscated by authorities the day the fugitive Jeffs was apprehended in 2006, but this trial was the first time it was used as evidence against him. Previously, a Utah judge sealed it as prejudicial and a federal judge said it was protected as "religious material."
"I hope ... that attorney generals in other states, including South Dakota, model their performance more after the attorney general in Texas than the one in Utah ... and don't let these atrocities continue," Brower said.
Among the mounds of evidence removed from the FLDS ranch in El Dorado, Texas, were diaries indicating that Jeffs has been at Pringle and directed its activities. Brower believes some of his estimated 80 wives may be living there now.
"I don't know that for a fact, but I think that's a good possibility that they are," Brower said. "It's a place of refuge for people in the hierarchy of the church. Only the most righteous are allowed to go there."
Meanwhile, the Texas verdict sends a clear message to FLDS leadership in Pringle and elsewhere, Brower said. "In the United States, we're not going to tolerate people raping little girls."
He warns South Dakotans that other jurisdictions that have taken a "hands-off" approach toward the FLDS have regretted it. "Everybody that believes it's easier just to look the other way has paid a price for it," he said.
Brower contends the FLDS is a "large criminal organization" that uses unfair labor practices to underbid legitimate existing businesses, particularly in the construction trades. His book recounts the plight of women who have left the FLDS, as well as "lost boys" -- young males with little education and no money -- who have been banished from their families and communities at the whim of church leadership.
Brower said South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley to take a "proactive" approach to the FLDS, even if no victims speak out.
"If I was there, I would be knocking on Marty Jackley's door, asking for an investigation; the law should follow them around," he said.
A spokeswoman for Jackley said her office wouldn't confirm or deny the existence of any investigation of the Pringle-area community.
"As with any matter, if we receive information regarding potential criminal activity, our policy is to investigate that information and see criminal prosecution if justified," Jackley said by email.
Brower said breaking the secrecy of the compound requires proactive investigation.
"It's much easier for people to look the other way. They don't want the headache, the hassle. It's the easiest thing to do," he said. "I know it's not easy. More than anybody, I know how hard it is to crack this religious facade. But human suffering is caused because of it."
Brower doesn't expect Jeffs' prison term to have much economic impact on Pringle, which is largely financed by church followers elsewhere, he said.
"They're completely supported by people in Shortcreek," he said. That community on the Utah/Arizona border is hailing Jeffs as a martyr for his religious beliefs, complete with a 38-foot-tall statue of the prophet that it had shipped from Texas to Shortcreek recently.
In it, Jeffs holds a Bible with one hand and a little girl by the other.
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