17 October 2019

Fast & Loose Times For Latter-Day Maricopa County >


Maricopa County is growing fast - some say the fastest growing county in the country and Mesa is the fastest-growing city. . . and it looks like the time is here (and way overdue) for one more major scandal the way things are going now when there's so much temptation from all that fast growth 
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As you can see in "Family-Guy" Maricopa County Assessor Paul D. Petersen's job description in the image above The Assessor notices and administers over 1,7000,000 real and personal property parcels/accounts with FULL CASH VALUE OF MORE THAN $508 Billion in 2018. According to all rosy reports so far for 2019, it is way more than that now - by leaps and bounds and annexing more lands with increasing values.
Hard to believe former AZ Governor Jan Brewer said this >
(screen-grab from a report by all people The Rose Law Group Reporter)
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Since the Feds stepped in last week after the Maricopa County Sheriff turned over Petersen into their custody, Board of Supervisor Chairman Bill Gates has unilaterally called for AN INTERNAL AUDIT.
An audit of the Assessor’s Office, which he said may be completed in a matter of days.
“We have a fiduciary responsibility as the board of supervisors to the taxpayers of Maricopa County, to all 4.5 million residents in Maricopa County,”
Gates said.
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OK if that's the case, DO AN INDEPENDENT THIRD-PARTY AUDIT . . .A questionable INTERNAL AUDIT that can get completed in just 'a matter of days' ??? TO INVESTIGATIVE THEMSELVES??? Whoa!
Hold on ---- Gates goes on:
“And so, given the situation the assessor is in right now, it’s important we understand all of our options as a board to make sure that those taxpayers can continue to be protected and provided the customer service that they’re entitled to from Maricopa County.”
To that end, the board is working with new Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel to determine if Petersen, who hasn’t resigned, would be struck from his elected office.
BLOGGER COMMENT: now that's another story to add to all these fast times in Maricopa County for sure! Just how good can all this get!
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FOR THE INTEREST OF READERS OF THIS BLOG:
5 Ways Internal Audit Can Fail to Adequately Serve Its Organization
 
SOME MORE FAMILY CONNECTIONS IN ARIZONA POLITICS PASSED-DOWN
"The Family Guy" :: Sins of The Father David Petersen who was AZ State Treasurer
Source: Rose Law Group Reporter
By Phil Riske | Senior reporter/writer 11 Oct 2019
" One of the whistle blowers handed me an audio cassette that 13 years ago became a development in the case involving Arizona Treasurer David Petersen.
The recorded conversation was a discussion among members of Petersen’s family after he resigned from the state post. . .
The recording, which was released along with transcripts by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was part of an ongoing investigation into a $1.9 million payment from the treasurer’s office to the office of Attorney General Terry Goddard.
The transcript of the recorded conversation begins with Petersen asking his son Paul, “Does that mean it’s on, though?” and then stating, “Oh, I see it’s off now.” . .
Goddard has denied any sort of deal was struck for the money, which was a payment he said the office was entitled to for helping the state and local governments recover a portion of $131 million lost in investments from National Century Financial Enterprise in 2002.
Petersen had pledged to cooperate with the investigation by Arpaio and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas regarding the payment . . Members of the Board of Investment, which oversees the state’s $10 billion investment portfolio, expressed displeasure upon learning about the payment to the Attorney General’s Office . . "
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Audio + excerpts from KJZZ 
Maricopa County Board Of Supervisors Orders Audit Of Petersen's Office
Published: Tuesday, October 15, 2019
". . . With Petersen now in federal custody, he’s obviously unable to perform the duties of the county assessor, responsible for setting property values that determine how much Maricopa County residents and businesses owe in property taxes.
That doesn’t sit well with Board Chairman Bill Gates. - As chairman, Gates also unilaterally ordered an audit of the Assessor’s Office, which he said may be completed in a matter of days.
“We have a fiduciary responsibility as the board of supervisors to the taxpayers of Maricopa County, to all 4.5 million residents in Maricopa County,” Gates said. “And so, given the situation the assessor is in right now, it’s important we understand all of our options as a board to make sure that those taxpayers can continue to be protected and provided the customer service that they’re entitled to from Maricopa County.”
To that end, the board is working with new Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel to determine if Petersen, who hasn’t resigned, would be struck from his elected office. "
> To explain what could happen next, The Show reached out to former U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke, now an attorney with Ballard Spahr.
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More Stories From KJZZ
Uploaded by: azfamily powered by 3TV & CBS5AZ,Oct 14, 2019
There will be an internal audit of Paul Petersen's office. This comes after investigators arrested him last week on felony charges
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MORE
According to Phoenix New Times staff writer Steven Hsieh
"The nonprofit news organization Honolulu Civil Beat a year ago published an extensive investigation of Petersen's business, reporting that his adoptions likely violated an international treaty prohibiting Marshallese women from traveling to the U.S. for the purpose of giving birth.
Among Civil Beat's other findings:
> Petersen owns a house in Salt Lake City where up to 10 Marshallese women stay at a time.
> Civil Beat also found that lawyers who facilitate adoptions of babies from Marshallese women to American parents stand to make thousands of dollars per transaction. 
> Petersen, who makes $76,606 a year as County Assessor, owns three homes in Arizona and the house in Utah used for lodging Marshallese mothers.
> Many of Petersen's customers are Mormon.
Petersen, a Republican, was appointed as Maricopa County Assessor in 2013.
Voters elected to keep him in the seat in 2016. 
> Contact: Steven Hsieh                        
> Follow: Twitter: @stevenjhsieh                        
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NEW AZ ATTORNEY GENERAL
Board appoints new Maricopa County Attorney
Allister Adel sworn in Oct. 3 following unanimous vote
Posted
Please take the time to find out more about the work history and background of the new MCC
Attorney ....there's not much in the article by Matt Roy

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The  Rose Law Group Reporter reproduced a report by Jeremy Duda 14 Oct 2019
County supervisors examining options for ousting indicted assessor
Posted by   /  October 15,
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors prepares to go into executive session on Oct. 14, 2019, to discuss indicted county Assessor Paul Petersen. Photo by Jeremy Duda | Arizona Mirror
By Jeremy Duda | Arizona Mirror
The supervisors have called on Petersen to resign his position, as have county Treasurer Royce Flora, Recorder Adrian Fontes and Gov. Doug Ducey.
But unless he’s convicted – felons cannot hold state or local office in Arizona – it’s questionable whether he can be forced from office by anything but a recall campaign. Petersen has not communicated with the board, and his attorney did not return a message from the Arizona Mirror
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". . . In a closed-door executive session that lasted for more than an hour on Monday, the supervisors discussed legal issues with Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel and Tom Liddy, who heads up the office’s civil division. Supervisor Bill Gates, the board’s chairman, said the supervisors are still seeking additional information from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office on whether it has the power to remove Petersen.
“We’re receiving legal advice on that, and we have additional questions as it relates to that. And we look forward to hearing back from the county attorney soon,” Gates said.
Gates said the board has also instructed the county’s auditor, Mike McGee, to determine whether Petersen used any public resources as part of his adoption business or the dozens of crimes with which he’s been charged. Fields Mosley, a spokesman for the county, said the board has no indication that county funds were used or mingled with Petersen’s business, but that it ordered the audit out of an abundance of caution.

Maricopa County Supervisors Order Audit Of Assessors Office, Look To Remove Petersen From Office
Source: https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2019/10/14
It is alleged that the Marshallese women were not residents of Arizona at the time their AHCCCS applications were submitted and therefore ineligible for state-funded medical benefits. Petersen and Jennet are charged with directing these women to fraudulently misrepresent their residency status in order to obtain AHCCCS benefits.
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