The cast of characters who are now 'coming out-of-the-woodwork' tells more than the allegations and more than 60 federal charges lodged in 3 states than the suspension appeal.
It's none other than the long-time notorious conservative Mesa Republican Russell Pearce* who's now got a new gig as chief deputy to Maricopa County treasurer Royce Flora. He testified for only two minutes as the last defense witness for Petersen's attorney Kory Langhofer.
He said the treasurer’s office works very closely with the assessor’s office, and that the treasurer saw no evidence of the office’s official duties not being performed during Petersen’s absence.
_________________________________________________________________________
BLOGGER NOTE: Ostensibly the Feds seized Petersen and leveled more than 60 charges against him in three states over a private adoption business that took him into custody and out-of-state at the end of October.
There's way more to the story than that when you take a look at what the Assessor's Office is in charge of . . . and Petersen is willing to resign for 9 month's of severance pay???
_________________________________________________________________________________
Just how good can these suspension hearings get when a character like Russell Pearce* appears in public "out of the woodwork" and just happens to testify how very closely the county treasurer's office and the county assessor's work?
In an AZ Mirror report yesterday at 5:00 p.m. by Jeremy Duda we also heard that Petersen’s chief deputy assessor Tim Boncoskey testified to the effect that no work went undone or was neglected at the county assessor’s office during Petersen's federal custody.
The office is sending its annual property valuations to the Arizona Department of Revenue this week, and he noted that the office has won two awards since Petersen’s arrest!
OK. No prob - "Business-as-usual"
This public hearing opens up a 360-Degree opportunity to shine some more light on the under-belly of Arizona politics.
For one thing, the sheer incompetence of the Maricopa County Supes stands out and it looks like Denny Barney got out of the firing-line of media attention just in time to avoid a potential mess.
Perhaps they inadvertently brought to light too much when more details than anticipated have emerged.
The hearing ended early due to "an adversarial attitude by an attorney for the county" that made it pointless to continue after Petersen's lawyer Langhofer repeatedly objected to the lines of questioning pursued by attorney John Doran, who is advising the supervisors in the matter.
> An investigation commissioned by the supervisors found no evidence that Petersen had neglected any of his official duties.
But the preliminary investigative report from law firm Mitchell Stein Carey Chapman also concluded that Petersen used county resources for private business, and that the board could find that he had a duty to follow county policies forbidding such activities, even though those policies don’t apply to elected officials.
> According to Jeremy Duda, Petersen's chief deputy Tim Boncoskey also testified “It is our position that the assessor’s private business is such and that it has not and will not interfere with valuations and classifications and other programs run by the office,” Boncoskey said. “I believe every statutory duty of the assessor has been adhered to because that is our job. It is a job bigger than one person.”
___________________________________________________________________
Accusations are flying-off in all directions to cast a wider net to see who else is getting caught-up and ensnared in one more Arizona scandal that's getting very familiar and very closely-connected to corruption in Maricopa County that usually flies under-the-radar of public scrutiny until circumstances say otherwise. . .
Dillon Rosenblatt published this in The Arizona Capitol Times on December 10, 2019
Petersen’s attorney lobs ethics claim at County Attorney as he prepares for hearing on suspension
"As suspended County Assessor Paul Petersen fends for his job in a hearing Wednesday, his attorney has leveled conflict-of-interest allegations against Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel similar to what led to the downfall of her predecessor Andy Thomas.
Attorney Kory Langhofer accused Adel in a Nov. 11 letter of acting adversely against Petersen by advising the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors how to remove him from office while she also represents him in a tax-court matter.
“Direct adversity against a concurrent client is per se unethical,” Langhofer said in the letterLanghofer compared Adel’s handling of the suspension to Thomas’ attempts to pursue false criminal charges against county supervisors, judges and other political foes, a charge for which he was subsequently disbarred.
In response to the accusation, Jennifer Liewer, a spokeswoman for Adel, said the letter was sent “to create a distraction to the issues at hand” and deferred any other comments to the letter written back to Langhofer.
Adel’s attorney Lynda Shely responded in a Nov. 26 letter that called Langhofer’s claim “misplaced.”
Langhofer argued that Adel is being unethical because the county attorney (and the office) have represented Petersen in other matters and is also now working “to remove him from office.” He noted that the entire five-member board called for Petersen to resign long before any investigation had taken place or evidence had been presented, and argued Adel should have recused herself from the case. . ."
mmm
He said the treasurer’s office works very closely with the assessor’s office, and that the treasurer saw no evidence of the office’s official duties not being performed during Petersen’s absence.
_________________________________________________________________________
There's way more to the story than that when you take a look at what the Assessor's Office is in charge of . . . and Petersen is willing to resign for 9 month's of severance pay???
_________________________________________________________________________________
In an AZ Mirror report yesterday at 5:00 p.m. by Jeremy Duda we also heard that Petersen’s chief deputy assessor Tim Boncoskey testified to the effect that no work went undone or was neglected at the county assessor’s office during Petersen's federal custody.
The office is sending its annual property valuations to the Arizona Department of Revenue this week, and he noted that the office has won two awards since Petersen’s arrest!
This public hearing opens up a 360-Degree opportunity to shine some more light on the under-belly of Arizona politics.
For one thing, the sheer incompetence of the Maricopa County Supes stands out and it looks like Denny Barney got out of the firing-line of media attention just in time to avoid a potential mess.
Perhaps they inadvertently brought to light too much when more details than anticipated have emerged.The hearing ended early due to "an adversarial attitude by an attorney for the county" that made it pointless to continue after Petersen's lawyer Langhofer repeatedly objected to the lines of questioning pursued by attorney John Doran, who is advising the supervisors in the matter.
> An investigation commissioned by the supervisors found no evidence that Petersen had neglected any of his official duties.
But the preliminary investigative report from law firm Mitchell Stein Carey Chapman also concluded that Petersen used county resources for private business, and that the board could find that he had a duty to follow county policies forbidding such activities, even though those policies don’t apply to elected officials.
> According to Jeremy Duda, Petersen's chief deputy Tim Boncoskey also testified “It is our position that the assessor’s private business is such and that it has not and will not interfere with valuations and classifications and other programs run by the office,” Boncoskey said. “I believe every statutory duty of the assessor has been adhered to because that is our job. It is a job bigger than one person.”
___________________________________________________________________
Here's an upload of the streaming video that shows some of the interactions at yesterday's suspension appeal hearing:
________________________________________________________________________
Accusations are flying-off in all directions to cast a wider net to see who else is getting caught-up and ensnared in one more Arizona scandal that's getting very familiar and very closely-connected to corruption in Maricopa County that usually flies under-the-radar of public scrutiny until circumstances say otherwise. . . Dillon Rosenblatt published this in The Arizona Capitol Times on December 10, 2019
Petersen’s attorney lobs ethics claim at County Attorney as he prepares for hearing on suspension
"As suspended County Assessor Paul Petersen fends for his job in a hearing Wednesday, his attorney has leveled conflict-of-interest allegations against Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel similar to what led to the downfall of her predecessor Andy Thomas.
Attorney Kory Langhofer accused Adel in a Nov. 11 letter of acting adversely against Petersen by advising the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors how to remove him from office while she also represents him in a tax-court matter.
“Direct adversity against a concurrent client is per se unethical,” Langhofer said in the letterLanghofer compared Adel’s handling of the suspension to Thomas’ attempts to pursue false criminal charges against county supervisors, judges and other political foes, a charge for which he was subsequently disbarred.
In response to the accusation, Jennifer Liewer, a spokeswoman for Adel, said the letter was sent “to create a distraction to the issues at hand” and deferred any other comments to the letter written back to Langhofer.
Adel’s attorney Lynda Shely responded in a Nov. 26 letter that called Langhofer’s claim “misplaced.”
Langhofer argued that Adel is being unethical because the county attorney (and the office) have represented Petersen in other matters and is also now working “to remove him from office.” He noted that the entire five-member board called for Petersen to resign long before any investigation had taken place or evidence had been presented, and argued Adel should have recused herself from the case. . ."
READ MORE > https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2019/12/10
_________________________________________________
Roberts: How can Russell Pearce get by on a mere $233,000 a year?
"Pearce isn’t working on a triple dip. He’s already enjoying three taxpayer-supported pensions.
This, in addition to last week’s $70,000 raise added to his $85,000 annual salary from the Maricopa County Treasurer’s Office. . ."
> Turns out he’s already “retired” from government service. Since 2012, he’s been collecting an ASRS pension. David Cannella, spokesman for ASRS, told me on Tuesday that Pearce is collecting $12,444 a year as a result of 8.35 years of state employment in the 1990s, capped by his firing from the Motor Vehicle Division in 1999.
> That doesn’t count the $53,937 a year he draws from the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System for his 21 years at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.
> Or the $10,446 pension from the Elected Officials' Retirement Plan for his gigs as a justice of the peace and state legislator, capped by his recall from office in 2011.
In all, he's collecting $233,827.
Not too terribly bad for a guy who used to call himself a champion of the taxpayer."
__________________________________________________________________________
RELATED CONTENT [another traffic stop for speeding]
Jan 7, 2016 - Pearce, son of recalled State Senator Russell Pearce, was driving without lights or sirens in an unmarked SUV at speeds up to 81 mph when ...
https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com › news › maricopa-county-deputy-sean...
