Supervisor Alleges He's Victim of County Attorney Extortion Attempt
There’s no shortage of legal news out of Maricopa County, Ariz., when it comes to Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas.
After reports of the Justice Department’s threats to sue Arpaio and allegations that private investigators were tailing a court-appointed lawyer hired to investigate abuse-of-power claims, came news from CBS Channel 5 that a member of the county board of supervisors alleges that when then-Maricopa County Attorney Thomas was preparing to resign so he could run for attorney general, a deputy county attorney, Lisa Aubuchon, tried to extort him into making sure Thomas and Arpaio got their choice for Thomas’ interim replacement.
County Supervisor Andrew Kunasek says his lawyer recorded the conversation with Aubuchon and then turned the tape over to the FBI, the station reports.
Kunasek’s open letter (PDF posted by Channel 5) released Thursday says he “was informed about the purpose of this scheme by a person to whom one of the actual participants confided.”
Former special assistant county attorney Barnett Lotstein denies the extortion claims.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Justice Department threatened to sue Arpaio for not cooperating with an investigation of civil rights violations.
Then came word that an out-of-state ethics investigator, brought in by Arizona’s chief justice to look into alleged abuses by former county attorney Thomas and others, has been tailed by a private detective working for an assistant county attorney who is on paid leave while under scrutiny.
No truce is expected anytime soon in the Maricopa Wars.
Also see:
ABA Journal: “The Maricopa Courthouse War”
