"It’s true that the 58-year-old Sheridan is a pale shadow of his
Machiavellian former boss, who once bestrode Arizona like a gloating,
malevolent colossus.
- But it’s not quite true that Sheridan’s reign
carries no Arpaio-esque echoes.
- Like his erstwhile jefe, Sheridan
inexplicably rocks five stars on his collar. (The standard is usually
four.)
And Sheridan occasionally espouses revanchist fantasies of
bringing back a revamped Tent City or beefing up the much-diminished
sheriff’s posse — both old calling cards for ol’ Joe.
Since taking office in January, Sheridan has hired, re-hired or promoted
at least four notable figures from the notorious Arpaio era,
surrounding himself with some of the same badge-wearin' bubbas who
helped place the sheriff’s office under federal scrutiny in the first
place.
- One retired sheriff’s office insider, who asked not to be named,
called the new command staff “Arpaio light.”
“You can't say that you're not like your former boss when you're
checking all the same exact boxes that your boss checked,” the insider
said.
“It's the same players, the same roster.”
Among those Arpaio all-stars are:
- Paul Chagolla, who once reportedly threatened to call Child Protective Services on an uncooperative local reporter
- Jeff Gentry, who led a unit that was often sicced on Arpaio’s biggest critics
- Steve Bailey, who was once recommended for federal contempt proceedings
- Chad Willems, a political strategist with zero law enforcement experience
Sheridan’s even brought back old-timer Rollie Seebert to be his
executive chief of custody. Seebert, who retired in 2012, had been gone
so long that county officials had a hard time finding his personnel
records when Phoenix New Times asked.
Sheridan may be “putting the band back together,” the insider said —
only “they’re a lot older and don’t sing as well.” But it’d be a shame
to forget their greatest hits.. . ."
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