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Special prosecutor drops corruption case against Stapley

by Michael Kiefer - May. 24, 2011 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

After 14 months of review, Gila County Attorney Daisy Flores decided not to file charges of fraud, perjury, theft and false swearing against Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley.

Stapley had twice been targeted for criminal investigation by former County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The first case was thrown out on technicalities. The second ended Friday with Flores' conclusion that Stapley may have committed some fiscal transgressions - even seven minor felonies - but that most of the 27 felonies charged by Thomas did not rise to the level of crimes.

Furthermore, Flores, who conducted an independent review at the request of the Marciopa County Attorney's Office, determined that the investigation methods used by Thomas and Arpaio were suspect and that the prosecution was politically motivated, so she threw out all the counts.

"The way in which the investigation and prosecution of Stapley progressed was fundamentally wrong, and to pursue further criminal actions against Stapley would be a miscarriage of justice," she concluded. "The vast record is littered with behavior so egregious that a reasonable person's sense of fairness, honesty and integrity would be offended. The (Gila County Attorney's Office) is left with no choice but to decline this matter."

In a speech during a Board of Supervisors meeting Monday morning, Stapley characterized it as a victory, calling the investigations "abusive, indefensible, illegal attacks."

"The long nightmare is over; I am relieved and grateful," he said.

In a May 20 letter to County Attorney Bill Montgomery made public Monday, Flores detailed her reasoning. Stapley, she said, on various occasions misrepresented his net worth on loan applications, moved campaign money from one account to another in inappropriate ways, used money donated to a campaign fund that was not bound by campaign laws, and then used some of the money for personal purchases.

"While making no comment on the Fiesta Bowl matter itself," Flores said, referring to the bowl's recent scandals, "the pure depth, duration and nature of Stapley's 'gift' related conduct is significantly of a more sinister nature than the reported conduct of elected officials involved in the Fiesta Bowl matter."

But most of the charges, although having a leg in reality, were never investigated sufficiently to bring to trial, she said.

Seven cases of false swearing that Flores believed had merit were minor crimes related to financial-disclosure forms and campaign funds. As Class 6 felonies, the lowest and least serious, they could earn 20 months in prison, if that.

"We strongly disagree there is a basis for those charges," said attorney Merwin Grant, who is representing Stapley in a $10 million lawsuit against the county because of the prosecutions. "But it doesn't really matter. What matters is that it was dismissed."

Flores said there was no point in bringing those charges because Thomas and former Deputy County Attorney Lisa Aubuchon, who spearheaded the prosecution, "abdicated their roles as ministers of justice and their conduct was so egregious that we are unwilling to even attempt to justify it."

Flores noted that the allegations were not brought to prosecutors by independent parties. In many interviews, she wrote, sheriff's investigators misrepresented the statements of political donors to characterize them as victims, when they had given money as gifts. And she cited several recent reports and investigations, including the state Bar charges against Thomas and Aubuchon, a Pinal County sheriff's report about the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, and an indictment against Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox that was thrown out in court.

Flores re-examined that case as well and chose in January not to press charges against Wilcox.

Montgomery had little reaction to the decision.

"I appreciate the thorough review the Gila County attorney gave to the matter," he said.

Sheriff's Deputy Chief Jack MacIntyre was more outspoken, saying that Stapley "was not exonerated."

"Our investigators uncovered seven felonies against Stapley," MacIntyre said. "He would have at least faced a civil fine."

But MacIntyre blamed the failure of the case on Thomas' administration.

Thomas had mixed reactions. "While I appreciate that Ms. Flores agreed there was a viable criminal case against Don Stapley, I'm deeply disappointed she levels accusations that are untrue and that she did not even give me the opportunity to respond to," Thomas said. "It's becoming increasingly clear no prosecutor in Arizona is willing to prosecute Don Stapley or Mary Rose Wilcox even when there are viable criminal cases against them. Given the way I've been targeted by Stapley, Wilcox and their allies, I can't entirely blame them."

Stapley was first indicted in November 2008 on 118 felony and misdemeanor counts. Most of the counts were built out of discrepancies in Stapley's financial-disclosure statements. The case was handled by the Yavapai County attorney to avoid a conflict of interest for Thomas.

But a judge later ruled that the Board of Supervisors had never properly instituted reporting standards for financial disclosure, and the misdemeanor counts were thrown out.

In September 2009, just days after the entire case was dismissed, Stapley was rearrested on new charges, over the objections of Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, who was investigating whether to prosecute him on the new charges. Polk responded by giving the case back to Thomas to prosecute. The case was not filed until that December, when Stapley was indicted on new felony charges.

Thomas dismissed the case in February 2010 after a judge determined that a case built against Wilcox was politically motivated. At that point, both investigations were sent out of Maricopa County, to Flores, for reconsideration.

Flores is the fourth sitting Arizona county attorney to speak out against the methods used by Thomas and Arpaio.

Polk wrote a public letter to The Arizona Republic in 2009, decrying the handling of the Stapley and Wilcox cases. Her letter was followed by a letter from Pinal County Attorney James Walsh. Late last year, Navajo County Attorney Brad Carlyon threw out several other so-called corruption cases filed by Thomas and Arpaio.

Republic reporters William Hermann and JJ Hensley contributed to this article.