Keeping up the image of America’s toughest sheriff can’t be cheap.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has certainly made enemies in Arizona and around the country for his stance on immigration, but recent developments surrounding his office’s use of money over the past five years have tacked some quantifiable problems to the long list of complaints against him.
Multiple investigations by Maricopa County into the Sheriff’s Office’s use of funding dug up leads on about $80 million in misused county money. Now the county is tightening the leash, imposing budget restrictions and passing its findings along to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to the Arizona Republic.
Although Arpaio has a strange affinity for pink trousers and Wilbur the Wildcat hats, he is a powerful man. People in high places throughout the state have risen to their positions with his help, and in a time when no part of government has enough money to operate, we somehow let what would be equivalent to $16 million a year get pushed around without consequence or regulation.
While the more obvious misuses of the money were spent on travel, like a $2,200 Disneyworld Yacht Club Resort stay and flights to Belize, Puerto Rico and Honduras, a greater sum of the money came from using money for staffing people who were doing a different job than on paper.
No amount of imagining Arpaio floating through Disney’s “It’s A Small World” ride can shake the hypocrisy of someone who would likely call himself a “fiscal conservative” spending money so freely that he doesn’t have.
County Manager David Smith told the Arizona Republic that the problem came from an abused “trust policy.” That makes sense when thinking about the pains to regulate every dollar spent in government, but given the sheriff’s reputation, the fact that he was able to get away with so much for so long — like resisting five audits this year — is a greater reflection on the county’s character than its Ol’ Nickel Bag.
As a candidate, Arpaio has been pretty keen with his money. He’s raised more than $3 million for his next reelection, and that’s not happening for another two years. But there’s an obvious disconnect between this big spender and the official whose popularity comes from persuading voters that illegal immigrants are draining our resources.
E-mails are being checked to validate the Sheriff’s Office’s knowledge of the misuse of money. By Oct. 31, Arpaio and his office should be on their best behavior when the county begins to closely monitor any non-routine transactions. Inappropriate expenses will be forwarded to the Sheriff’s Office to cover.
We’re doubtful that just one more blemish on this record will have sweeping consequences, but we might as well consider it a plus if it brings more awareness and scrutiny to one of this state’s most privileged politicians.
