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19 August 2004

If you or yours are in a position to help Outlaw Joe in the future, then you probably don't have to worry about going to Tent City

For the privileged, there's a different standard employed by Sheriff Arpaio when it comes to incarceration of lawbreakers.
We all know how Joe Arpaio serves up justice to average schmucks. He proudly shows no mercy. He subjects them to the vilest of conditions. Death and injuries often result.

But it's a different story for the rich and powerful.

If you're the daughter of Jerry Colangelo or Glen Campbell, you don't go to Tent City, you get to stay at the "Mesa Hilton".

Several law enforcement sources tell me that Mandie reported to Joe's secret jail. Maricopa County detention officers call it the "Mesa Hilton." I call it the Glen Campbell Unit -- in honor of the country singer who spent 10 cushy days there in July before throwing his Tent City concert that garnered Outlaw Joe worldwide publicity.

Arpaio claimed to have shuttered the small Mesa jail several years ago. There's a sign on the front door telling visitors that the facility is closed. But the truth is, Arpaio uses the Mesa jail to house those who can either scratch his back themselves or get it scratched.

Mandie, my sources say, was allowed to bring her cell phone and her own meals into the jail, which is air-conditioned, quiet and safe. She was allowed to leave the jail each day for up to 12 hours to attend to work and to her children. Campbell had a similar arrangement.

10 August 2004

You don't go hunting for deer with a tank

Unless you're the MCSO. Yes, time for another entry in the Sheriff Joe watch log…
In less than 30 minutes, Arpaio's special forces unleashed an unprecedented wave of violence on this quiet community. Consider this:

  • Just after the tear gas canisters were shot, a fire erupted and destroyed a $250,000 home plus all the contents inside. (The home's occupants believe the tear gas canisters caused the fire. Phoenix fire officials say the blaze was probably started by a lighted candle that was knocked onto a bed during the confusion.)

  • The armored personnel carrier careened down the street and smashed into a parked car after its brakes failed.

  • And in the ultimate display of cruelty, a SWAT team member drove a dog trying to flee the home back into the inferno, where it met an agonizing death.

    Deputies then reportedly laughed as the dog's owners came unglued as it perished in the blaze.

  • Good Gates, I wonder how much this is going to cost the taxpayers of Maricopa County…