Mexican Drug Lords

Mexican Drug Lords Put Out Hit on Arpaio?

by Steven D

Clearly Sheriff Joe Arpaio of anti-immigration fame has an attention disorder, because he keeps seeking it by making ludicrous claims like this one:

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Monday that his office is investigating a report of a $1 million bounty on his head.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Lisa Allen said the death threat was relayed by the FBI and a caller who told Fox affiliate KSAZ-TV in Phoenix that it was from a Mexican drug cartel. [...]

Question for you Sheriff Joe? Why would a drug cartel care about a man who is more concerned with spending his department's money to arrest and round up dirt poor day laborers rather than drug dealers? You aren't a threat to their business. In fact, you distract people from the flow of drugs from these gangs by your expensive but ineffective immigration sweeps.

Part of the reason is because there is no clear data demonstrating the crime-fighting effectiveness of such policies. While it succeeds in locating illegal immigrants, its effectiveness in combating major crimes is questionable, and there are concerns that such sweeps draw resources away from activities that do combat major crimes. [...]

A three-day sweep in Mesa last summer paid 83 deputies and supervisors to arrest 59 people at a cost of $38,387. A two-day operation in Fountain Hills in May 2008 used 13 deputies, cost $3,947 and resulted in 20 arrests.

I'll bet your life isn't worth a plugged nickel Sheriff Joe, because who would spend more than that to put out a hit on you? Not the Mexican drug cartels. They have more important concerns than wasting their money on "whacking" a Sheriff in Phoenix who wastes the taxpayer's money chasing people who rarely commit major crimes like -- drug dealing.

The sweeps did result in some felony arrests of legal residents on charges including assault on a police officer, aggravated assault, trafficking in stolen goods and aggravated driving under the influence. The majority of legal residents arrested in the operations were booked on suspicion of driving with suspended licenses or on outstanding warrants.

Most of those suspected of being in the country illegally were arrested when Arpaio's deputies still had an agreement with the federal government that authorized them to act as immigration agents. The bulk of those inmates landed in jail based on their immigration status, though one was booked on suspicion of aggravated assault and another on suspicion of possession of dangerous drugs for sale.

One arrest of a possible drug dealer is all your anti-immigrant sweeps have turned up since 2008? That's a pretty piss poor record for a man who talks as tough as you. And for that the Mexican drug cartels have put out a $1 MILLION hit on you? Why would the Mexican Drug Cartels bother to kill you? It wouldn't be cost effective.

On the other hand, stories like these keep your name in the news, and are designed in my view to make you look like the tough guy you aren't instead of the bully and publicity hound that you are?

Anyone can send out large numbers of heavily armed deputies to arrest frightened Latinos in your community (legal citizens and residents and/or those without proper legal immigrant status). Anyone can send a SWAT team to arrest Sal Reza, an unarmed peaceful human rights activist standing by his car (without probable cause he conmitted any crime by the way) and then hold him for 18 hours before having a night court judge finally release him without bail on his own recognizance.

Yeah you're a BIG Man Joe. Baddest man in the whole damned state. Or so you say:

Arpaio said it's not unusual for him to receive death threats as sheriff and an outspoken advocate of immigration enforcement. He said the last bounty against him was for $5 million.

"The economy must be bad down there in Mexico," Arpaio said, referring to the $1 million offer for his life.

He said the threats do not deter him from his work.

Gee, if the threats don't bother you, why report them? Especially if the most recent one is actually lower by a factor of 5 from the last "bounty" that was placed on your pointy little head? My guess is that your reporting of this "bounty" has nothing to do with the seriousness of the threat and everything to do with boosting your public image.

"Look everyone! The Mexican Bad Guys want me Dead! I must be doing the right thing by raiding and arresting every brown skinned person who dares to enter my jurisdiction!" *

* My humble opinion on the "message" Sheriff Joe wants all the scared old white people in Maricopa County to take away from this story.

Oh, by chance has the FBI confirmed this alleged $1 MILLION bounty against Sheriff Joe, yet and are they actively investigating it? Uh, sadly no:

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Lisa Allen said that the FBI is assisting in the probe of the threat against Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

But FBI Special Agent Manuel Johnson, a spokesman for the bureau's Phoenix office, said that he knows of no FBI investigation, although, he said, they were aware of it. Johnson said the bureau would pitch in if Arpaio's office requested their assistance.

What a surprise. That's what I call a giant middle finger directed by the local FBI office toward Sheriff Joe and his "spokeswoman" Lisa Allen. Poor Sheriff Joe. The FBI wouldn't lie for him. Maybe because he's the subject of a federal grand jury investigation:

His critics say he has a long history of abusing his power and launching bogus criminal investigations against political opponents. Those critics note that while the probes were launched with great public fanfare, they rarely resulted in convictions.

A federal grand jury is probing the complaints, but Arpaio's allies have defended the investigations as necessary. The 78-year-old sheriff, who has been chief law enforcement officer for the county that includes Phoenix and many of its suburbs since 1992, would not discuss the issue with CNN in a July report, citing the federal probe.

But hey, who among his devotees in Arizona and nationwide reads past the headline anyway?