Sheriff Joe Run Out Of Arizona

From crimefilenews.com

Friday, April 18, 2008

Sheriff Joe Run Out Of Arizona Town Before Sundown--Not Quite.

Click On Picture To Enlarge.

Just a little Southeast of Phoenix Is the Town of Guadalupe. The town has a population of poor and ignorant Hispanic and Yaqui Native American Indians. Since America’s Drug War began there has always been an over abundant population of Illegal Aliens here along with a high crime rate.

Guadalupe has a local government with a history of corruption. They had their own police department run by criminals and the local magistrate could and would fix anything.

After a law enforcement crises in the 1980s they disbanded what was left of their police force and contracted for law enforcement services with the Maricopa County Sheriff.

Recently, Sheriff Joe Arpaio known for being America’s Toughest Sheriff has been attacked by town politicians, clergy and citizens for enforcing the law of the land. The town’s politicians want to select what laws will or won’t be enforced.

I have my own issues with the sheriff about the treatment of prisoners in his jails who have yet to be convicted of anything. That’s the people accused of crimes who are unable to post bail and be released during the one to three years it takes to get their day in court. Often the lies of supposed victims and witnesses are exposed at trials and the former suspects are set free. Sheriff Joe punishes everyone in his jails.

The other issue I have is Arpaio’s publicity stunts are often over the top. Examples are the pink underwear, prison stripes and chain gangs. Again being tough on innocents accused along with convicted criminals is wrong.

The latest rhubarb is over Immigration Law violations. Guadalupe’s politicians think Arizona is part of Mexico. Of course they demand welfare, education and medical benefits meant for American citizens and lawful aliens.

Guadalupe wants Sheriff Joe to turn his head and wink at the violations while taxpayers are soaked paying for medical care, schools, food and imprisonment of dangerous felons who sneaked across our borders.

Sheriff Joe has given the town 180 days to find alternative police services to their liking.

I’m firmly with Sheriff Joe on this one. Guadalupe deserves what they get.

The following is a press release from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office:

Recent actions and statements made by the Town of Guadalupe against the Sheriff's Office are unjust and ignore the professional law enforcement services provided by the Sheriff's Office for the past 30 years. These criticisms are not only a disservice to the deputies serving the Town but reflect poorly on the community as a whole. The current law enforcement contract provides 1.66 beats which includes patrol, responses to emergency calls, arrests of suspects, traffic enforcement and accident investigations, investigation of alleged crimes, property and evidence safekeeping, up to date reporting systems, dispatch and police communications services for a total charge to the Town of $1,186,000. At no additional cost, the Sheriff's Office provides canine, SWAT, posse and helicopter search and rescue. As with all law enforcement contracts, the Sheriff's Office only charges the Town for actual cost recovery. Neither the Sheriffs Office nor Maricopa County profit from the payment received for law enforcement services to the Town.

The Office has provided the community with proactive crime suppression enforcing all laws of the State of Arizona on a quarterly basis. These additional enforcement activities have been successful in reinforcing the safety of the community. Our recent activity resulted in 45 individuals arrested and booked. Of the 45 arrests, 18 individuals were warrant arrests (a total of 28 warrants were cleared); 6 individuals were arrested for drug violation; 9 individuals, after being interviewed, were determined to be illegal immigrants; 12 individuals were arrested for miscellaneous other charges. In addition, 22 misdemeanor citations and 120 traffic citations were issued.

The Sheriff's Office is not a sanctuary law enforcement agency. The Office does not pick and choose which laws it will or will not enforce. The Sheriff's Office is totally committed to enforcing all laws fairly and equitably. Statements made by you and the Phoenix mayor reflect a disturbing discrimination and selective enforcement agenda that certain laws passed by the legislature and voted upon by the citizens of Maricopa County should not be enforced. As the position of the Sheriff's Office is one of dedication to full law enforcement and the Town's position is one of selective and self serving law enforcement, the Sheriff's Office has decided to invoke the termination clause of its law enforcement agreement with the Town of Guadalupe.

This letter will serve as the 180 day written notice. This should give the Town sufficient time to study and research the law enforcement needs of the community and explore other law enforcement alternatives.

Sincerely,
Joseph M. Arpaio. Sheriff

Firm lands 2-year deal to run Midway

March 5, 2008

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com

The Daley administration has chosen a new manager for Midway Airport, signing a two-year, $21.2 million contract that will tide the city over until the airport is privatized.

Skyline Management Group has replaced a clout-heavy partnership that's held the contract since 2001 and includes former Illinois Gaming Board Chairman Elzie Higginbottom, Mayor Daley's chief fund-raiser in the black community.

The new manager is a joint venture of three equal partners: Chicago-based Diverse Facility Solutions, Florida-based AvAir Professional Services and Linc Facility Services of Houston.

Skyline principals have "experience working with Midway Airport Management," the terminal's current manager, "some going back to 1994," according to the company's proposal, posted on the Procurement Services Department Web site.

The new manager is also promising to "maintain an appearance equal to a five-star hotel at Midway's main terminal, concourse and maintenance complex" by retaining the existing work force of janitors, engineers and electricians.

The staff will be "mostly comprised of incumbent personnel who have firsthand knowledge of Midway Airport and a proven track record of quality service delivery," the company stated.

Two custodians will serve as "restroom patrols" to keep six public and four private restrooms at the Midway terminal spic and span. A full-day workshop will be held with the outgoing Midway Airport Management to ensure "minimal disruption of ongoing work," the document stated.

Midway Airport Management was a joint venture of Enron Building Services, Transportation Building Services and Higginbottom's East Lake Management and Development Corp.

In 2005, Higginbottom voluntarily forfeited the minority business certification that gives his construction companies a leg up on city contracts after acknowledging that his net worth was "a heckuva lot more" than the $750,000 ceiling at that time.

Last month, Mayor Daley put a "For Sale" sign on Midway, the landlocked airport that came back from the dead after the demise of Midway Airlines.

It happened after five of seven airlines signed on to the deal, the first of its kind in the nation.

The city's "request for qualifications" set in motion a yearlong process that could end with a $3 billion windfall to shore up city pensions and rebuild Chicago's aging infrastructure.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the city's office of budget and management said the new Midway contract could be "terminated for convenience" at any time. "Our time table for the long-term lease has not changed," said the spokeswoman, Wendy Abrams.

Whistleblower files suit to get job back

December 24, 2007

Sun-Times Staff Reports

Political activist, whistleblower and now-fired city employee Frank Coconate filed suit today in an effort to get his job back. Coconate, a former city water department employee since 1978, was fired in July 2005 for allegedly falsifying work sheets and related issues.

In November, a city board upheld his termination, leading to the lawsuit filed by attorney Frank Avila Jr. in Cook County Circuit Court.

Daley Corruption at it again

Clockwise from bottom left: Joseph McInerney, Robert Vanecko, Mayor Richard M. Daley, the mayor's son Patrick Daley, and Robert Bobb. (Sun-Times files)

Sun-Times Exclusive: Daley’s son had secret deal Mayor Daley’s son Patrick had a hidden interest in a sewer-inspection company whose business with the City of Chicago rose sharply while he was an owner, a Chicago Sun-Times investigation has found. Patrick Daley invested in Municipal Sewer Services in June 2003, along with Robert Vanecko, a nephew of the mayor. The pair cashed out their small investment about a year later.


What about the deal with concourse communications. Pat Daley worked there and now they have the wireless contract at midway & Ohare

Chicago Department of Water Management Hero Michael McGann

From Chicago Clout

Chicago Department of Water Management Hero Michael McGann

Excellent article by Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun-Times. Michael McGann is one of the most intelligent Plumbing Inspectors in the City of Chicago. I read his report and he is 100% correct in his review of the troubled plumbing in the Chicago School. Read here: 'They're trying to make me the fall guy' SCHOOL'S WATER WOES | City inspector may be disciplined for faxing report on dangerous plumbing to principal

November 30, 2007
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com
An $85,068-a-year city plumbing inspector who uncovered "two pages worth" of building code violations that left 1,100 children at Jose de Diego Community Academy without water for weeks is facing disciplinary acton for faxing a copy of his inspection report to the school's principal.
Michael McGann, a 14-year inspector assigned to the city's Department of Buildings, said he gave the Oct. 24 report to de Diego principal Alice Vera so she could use the information to try to expedite repairs that had languished for weeks, endangering students at the 116-year-old school at 1313 N. Claremont.
He can't believe he's being punished for it, simply because the embarrassing story of his bosses' bureaucratic bungling -- that prompted the school's 14 water fountains to be taped shut for weeks -- ended up in the Nov. 23 Sun-Times, with a copy of the inspection report posted on the newspaper's Web site.
The report contained two pages of code violations with "dead-ends everywhere ... uncirculated distribution lines that connected to and endangered" the integrity of the drinking water system, McGann said. It was faxed to Vera earlier this month.
"It's a disgrace. They're being exposed for not doing their job and, because I'm the one who made the inspection, they're trying to make me the fall guy, the scapegoat," said McGann, 52. "They should have processed the violation notice immediately . . . . Instead, they sat on it and did nothing."
Water reportedly back on
He added, "The principal was frustrated. . . . Nothing was happening. . . . She called me and we kept in communication. . . . It had gone weeks without any word from any of my superiors about getting the water back on in the building so the water was safe for the children. So, I sent her my report so she would know the severity of the violations and how they were to be resolved. . . . My motive was to protect the health and safety of the children of the school."
Buildings Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey said McGann faces disciplinary action -- to be determined after hearings that got under way Thursday -- for violating internal rules that prohibit preliminary inspection reports from being shared with outsiders until approved by higher-ups. "Inspection reports are subject to review by immediate supervisors and chiefs. Until the report is approved, it is still a draft document. Once it's finalized, it can be distributed outside the department," he said.
Vera could not be reached for comment.
Last week, de Diego officials told the Sun-Times they had been instructed to ration water since Sept. 14, when a water main broke outside the school in the Humboldt Park/Wicker Park area. That meant giving students as little as a half a glass of water a day for eleven weeks straight.
According to McCaffrey, the water was turned back on at de Diego on Monday after new "check valves that prevent water from flowing backwards through the system" were installed to remedy concerns about "dead-end piping."
The school is also planning to take other steps to "remove some of the pipes that just end," he said.

Sounds like whistleblower retaliation, and I know whistleblower retaliation.
But remember, dead ends must be removed, check valves do not correct dead ends, Patrick McDonough.
Photo by Jean Lachat, Patrick McDonough