Tuesday, April 10, 2018

County Attorney Montgomery Continues Attack On Alexander, Taxpayers On Hook

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery raised eyebrows when he attacked popular Townhall contributor Rachel Alexander on a conservative website last week. Montgomery went after Alexander after she questioned whether it is “misfeasance for public officials to use taxpayer dollars in pursuit of a vendetta.”
Alexander was referring to the decision by the Maricopa County supervisors and Montgomery to continue the legal battle waged on Alexander and her senior attorney at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Lisa Aubuchon. At issue is the decision of the supervisors to rack up $101,292.75 in costs associated with the” disciplinary show trial” against Aubuchon and Alexander nearly nine years ago. The two women were disciplined by the Arizona Bar for following the orders of then-Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

Monday, April 9, 2018

IT'S TIME TO CALL OFF THE DOGS

American Post-Gazette
Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E in Arizona
April 5, 2018

It’s time – no, it’s way past time – to call it quits to the miscarriage of justice Maricopa County has caused against two former attorneys in the County Attorney’s Office. Lisa Aubuchon and Rachael Alexander were fired, prosecuted and had their law licenses suspended following the botched investigation and prosecution of then-County Board of Supervisors Don Stapley and Mary Rose Wilcox, and the unwise decision to go after corrupt County judges. Those decisions were made by Lisa’s and Rachael’s boss, then-County Attorney Andy Thomas and also then-County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Without reliving the entire episode, while all that unfolded at the time, the American Post-Gazette watched these activities play out, and while we supported Thomas’ and Arpaio’s efforts to prosecute Stapley and Wilcox, who each were indicted for dozens of crimes, we opposed Thomas going after the judges.

But all that is beside the point. Lisa and Rachael were doing their jobs; nothing illegal or unethical. Lisa and Rachael were swept up in an apparent attempt by the County to slam the hammer on Thomas and Arpaio for daring to go after County judges. Stapley and Wilcox were the greatest benefactors of the revenge against the investigations when a Pima County judge ruled Thomas’ efforts were politically motivated (regardless of whether there was any truth to the charges). Thomas resigned to run for State Attorney General; Arpaio ran again and won; but Lisa and Rachael were left holding the bag and huge attorney bills – plus their suspensions.
It’s past time for our current County Attorney Bill Montgomery and our current County Board of Supervisors to call an end to this ridiculousness. Although a court ruled the County is not required to pay their expenses for what Rachael correctly calls a “vendetta” and a “disciplinary show against us,” Montgomery needs to recommend and the Board needs to step up and do the right thing – pay Lisa’s and Rachael’s costs, clear their names and their records. If not, then let there be a warning to anyone who would consider working for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office – even if you follow orders and do your job, if political winds change the County will not have your back.

Yours in the Cause of Truth,

A. Hamilton

GOP activist Wes Harris responds to waste of tax dollars on political witch hunt by county supervisors and county attorney

Gentleman,

For three years now I have spoken and written to each of you regarding what I personally felt was a gross miscarriage of justice on the part of The County of Maricopa not standing behind their employees in the case of Lisa Aubuchon (once the #2 Attorney in the County Attorney's Office) and Rachael Alexander.  Prior to all that went down, well before any of you took office, I received a verbal promise from the then County Chairman that under no circumstances would he allow the County to settle out of court regarding the claims from then Supervisors Mary Rose Wilcox and Don Stapley.  Well we all know where that promise went and the Citizens of Maricopa County never got their day in court and these two walked away with millions of our tax payer dollars for their trouble.  We also know that the two County Attorneys noted above have been dragged through the mud and virtually bankrupted as a reward for doing what they were charged to do and have become the scap goats on this entire sad case.

As I noted, I contacted each of you numerous times and, frankly, only two of you responded in any way and those responses were to basically wash your hands of the problem.  I asked each of you to just sit down and talk one on one with Rachel and Lisa and none of you would agree to even do that.  Since none of you, including our current County Attorney Bill Montgomery whom I count as a personal friend, were there at the time, I again ask:  Isn't it time that we end this and give these two competent attorney's their lives back?  Surely there is enough evidence that this as been a gross miscarriage and each of you can finally do what I strongly believe is the right thing to do...if nothing more than to stop the hemeage of our Tax Payer Dollars.  Won't you please at least sit down with them and hear them out?  I don't understand why that seems to much to ask.

All the Best


Wes

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Maricopa County Supervisors & County Attorney wasting hundreds of thousands of your tax dollars on political witch hunt

This ran in MCRC Briefs on April 4, 2018.

Townhall Contributor and IC Arizona Editor Rachel Alexander – Maricopa County taxpayers deserve to know how the Maricopa County Supervisors and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery are abusing their tax dollars. For eight and a half years, the supervisors have spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars in pursuit of a vendetta against myself and another former government attorney, Lisa Aubuchon, merely because we followed orders from our former boss County Attorney Andrew Thomas as he worked with former Sheriff Joe Arpaio to root out corruption in the supervisors’ office and combated illegal immigration.
     The supervisors and Montgomery refuse to pay $101,292.75 in costs associated with the disciplinary show trial against us – a trial they instigated with bar complaints against us. Unbelievably and fiscally irresponsible, Montgomery said publicly that the supervisors are in the right to refuse to pay it. They have now fought for years in court to resist paying it, even though they paid the costs for my immediate supervisor, Pete Spaw, because he caved to save his own hide. They have now spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on this vendetta in order to have to avoid paying the $101,292.75 – a gross abuse of tax dollars. Since Lisa and I cannot afford to pay it, we are prohibited from practicing law. We both have lost all of our savings, racked up immense debt, and I lost my health over the never-ending stress.
     This past month, the supervisors and Montgomery asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to award them $67,347.50 in attorneys’ fees for the latest round of legal proceedings. The county has relied on law firm Sacks Tierney. The court denied their motion but that puts the taxpayers on the hook. Although the current county supervisors were not in office when the vendetta started, they are continuing the vendetta.
     It is misfeasance for public officials to use taxpayer dollars in pursuit of a vendetta. As one former official familiar with the long witch hunt described it, “Rachel and Lisa are being sacrificed at the altar of official Maricopa County corruption. The County’s actions are reprehensible.” Isn’t eight and a half years of a government vendetta against two former subordinates enough? Any attorney thinking about working for the County should be warned. If you get in trouble for doing your job, you WILL be thrown under the bus if it is politically expedient. Please consider contactingthe five supervisors and the county attorney and demand that they end the misfeasance of taxpayer dollars in this ongoing witch hunt. For more information, click hereEditor’s Note: Briefs offered Montgomery an opportunity to respond.  Montgomery replied: “It is so full of misrepresentations and faulty conclusions that I would have to write a response at least twice as long.  But for the fact that Rachel and Lisa kept appealing the case, there wouldn’t have been a need to continue litigating it.  Additionally, my Office could not handle the case because of conflicts so an outside firm had to handle it.”
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My response to Montgomery: I have never lied once about the 8.5 years of legal abuse I have suffered at the hands of the county supervisors and now by your office as well. Shame on you. Time for a new county attorney who is honest and won't cow to the corrupt people in the supervisor's office because he's scared. Ironically, if I had my law license, I'd run against you myself to get you out of there. Shame on you for abusing the taxpayers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars for years.