He was Pinal County's first Republican sheriff.[2]. Babeu could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Babeu was first elected as sheriff in 2008. Typically, county employees have the right to appeal any discipline they receive to the Pinal County Merit System Commission, a five-member board that can uphold, modify, or overturn county officials' decisions. He graduated from the Arizona Law Enforcement Academy as the #1 overall police recruit and was voted by his fellow officers as the class exemplary officer. Since taking office, Lamb also has appeared with the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an anti-immigration organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center considers a hate group. Vale declined to say anything else about the company or provide any details about funding, revenue or viewership. It could be his demeanor, at once confident and aw-shucks. Paul Babeu was a 2016 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 1st Congressional District of Arizona. ", Babeu: "You have crossed the line. Another $63,772 distributed from the foundation went to public service announcements for both offices. By 2016, he had moved to Pinal County and decided to seek the sheriffs job, running as a Republican and, in his words, a constitutional conservative; he made a point of opposing abortion rights in his campaign, but he ran without the same cowboy image he has today. On Jan. 6, the day rioters stormed the Capitol in Washington, Lamb appeared at a rally in Phoenix to protest the presidential election results. "Jose came to our firm because he felt he was being intimidated, and he was in fear for his life," Weiss-Riner says. The FBI issued a subpoena last year to the Arizona Public Safety Foundation, which for years operated out of the Sheriff's Office and was staffed by sheriff's deputies. true. The subpoena comes on the heels of an FBI probe of Babeu and former Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles and whether they inappropriately used profits from seized property for personal and professional expenses. One day, in the mid-2000s, he went on a ride-along with a neighbor who worked in law enforcement and, armed with courage and a flashlight, Lamb says, he found a suspect they were after hiding in a trailer. Another patron of the diner walked by. Fight Night: How Phoenix Became a Hotbed for Mixed Martial Arts Champions, Super Fans, Mascot Mania, and All-Stars: Suns and Nuggets Get Ready to Rumble, Katie Hobbs Gets Singed After Unwrapping Tamale-tastrophe, New Attainable Not Necessarily Affordable Housing Coming to Downtown Phoenix, I Love the Rivalry: Fans Soak Up U.S.-Mexico Soccer Showdown in the Valley. FBI probe of Babeu and former Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles. [19], In late 2010, Babeu was asked by Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio to investigate allegations of wrongdoing in Arapaio's department. "It is truly puzzling why Captain Karns overreacted to an organizational change that has yet to take place, and I can only surmise that some other issue is in play that made him lash out," Gaffney says in his statement. 5542%. The FBI is asking new questions about Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and his office's use of seized criminal money. Descended from a long line of Mormons and still an unabashed member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he grew up all over the world, he is fond of saying, including the Philippines, Panama and Argentina, where he did his Mormon mission. Orozco admits that he lashed out on news websites featuring stories about Babeu. Grand jury investigates Paul Babeu's use of RICO funds as Pinal County (The spot got picked up on Fox.) Super Fans, Mascot Mania, and All-Stars: Suns and Nuggets Get Ready to Rumble, Katie Hobbs Gets Singed After Unwrapping Tamale-tastrophe, Fight Night: How Phoenix Became a Hotbed for Mixed Martial Arts Champions, New Attainable Not Necessarily Affordable Housing Coming to Downtown Phoenix, I Love the Rivalry: Fans Soak Up U.S.-Mexico Soccer Showdown in the Valley. Newly elected Sheriff Mark Lamb was ordered by subpoena to deliver records to the grand jury evidencing misuse of county, state or federal RICO funds by Pinal County Sheriffs Office employees.. Lamb, too, is on the advisory committee, but hes also the groups most prominent public representative. He says DeRose demanded the passwords to Babeu's websites and social-media accounts. I have to protect the families of my county, even in the absence of the federal government. All but a fraction of the foundation's money came from Pinal County's RICO fund, and the money was used to buy items such as automatic weapons for deputies, supplies, police dogs, horses and feed, according to the lawsuit. See also: Babeu Turns Distortion of Truth Into an Art Form A group of kids gathered around Lambs truck for sheriff-branded stickers. The audit highlighted 31 awards, totaling $683,406 that went to the Arizona Public Safety Foundation. And I will serve the people where I can.. They seemed unsurprised to see their sheriff talking to a reporter and flashing his TV-ready smile. Orozco: "Dont threat me. Karns tells Babeu that his proposal ensures that if command staff doesn't "bow and accede" to his "every wish and desire, they face termination." Babeu has been a national leader on the need to secure our border and stop illegal immigration and drug and human trafficking. Burghart says the distinction between the two groups might be more about style that Protect America Now is taking a slicker, more palatable approach, with a much better sense of PR than Mack and his crowd.. Papi. With an action figure-style charisma and a growing media platform, Lamb sees it as his mission to educate the American public about the role of the sheriff, which he described to me as to protect people from the bad guys, and I always say the sheriff is also there to protect the people from government overreach. As much as he glorifies law enforcement, though, Lamb is selective about which laws he chooses to enforce. Under Babeu and Voyles, Pinal County became the poster child for abuse of RICO funds, prompting lawsuits and legislative reforms. A Republican, he was elected in 2010 to represent the neighboring 1st congressional district . The FBI is asking new questions about Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and his offices use of seized criminal money. If approved, the change effectively would strip those affected PCSO employees, primarily PCSO lieutenants, of their ability to appeal to a review board any decision Babeu made to discipline or terminate them. this is no good. Lambs advocacy follows in the tradition of constitutional sheriffs, who for decades have propagated the idea refuted by constitutional experts that sheriffs are the supreme legal authority in America, above even the president and the Supreme Court, and that they can choose not to enforce any law they consider unconstitutional. The Goldwater Institute, a conservative watchdog group, raised concerns about the foundationin 2017 and sought records to determine if Babeu was using it to bypass campaign-finance laws and promote his 2016 congressional campaign. In a speech, Lamb talked about issues with the vote and blamed the state and federal governments. Those who are classified as "at-will" employees do not. All rights reserved. We dont go to a shooting range as much as an open, sandy field that Lamb says belongs to a friend of his. Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu who became the face of Arizona border security nationally after he started stridently opposing illegal immigration threatened his Mexican ex-lover with deportation when the man refused to promise never to disclose their years-long relationship, the former boyfriend and his lawyer tell New Times. He withdrew from the race prior to the primary. In 2017, the FBI launched a probe into RICO expenditures in Pinal County and conducted an informal search of the Pinal County Sheriff's Office. Home - Paul Babeu for Congress The lawsuit claimed the county agencies were misusing RICO funds and funneling money through the Arizona Public Safety Foundation. He Calls Himself the 'American Sheriff.' Whose Law Is He Following? He led Barrett by just 145 votes. Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County Arizona has emerged as a Republican face for tougher US-Mexico border security. Privacy Policy | FCC Public File | Contest Rules | Sheriff Paul Babeu outed in homosexual scandal by Mexican lover Babeu campaigned for the office of Pinal County Sheriff in 2008 and defeated Democratic incumbent Chris Vasquez, 54% to 46%. (A federal judge later found Arpaio in criminal contempt of a court order to stop racially profiling Latino residents, but Trump later pardoned him.) Yet he styles himself as the American Sheriff a moniker around which he has spent the past several years trying to build a national brand as a fervent defender of law enforcement. Babeu said that after the two had broken up, Jose committed crimes against him, including posting defamatory information online under Babeu's name. Agents also approached the County Attorney's Office about financial records kept by Voyles, who oversaw and approved expenditures of the funds. Babeu is vice president of the Arizona Sheriffs' Association[15] and was named the National Sheriff of the Year in 2011 by the National Sheriffs' Association. He says he commented anonymously that the sheriff was not who people thought he was. Devin Burghart, who runs the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, which analyzes far-right social movements, says understanding sheriffs like Lamb is important in the long-term fight for democracy. Researcher Cloee Cooper said Lambs highly politicized approach to his job is ultimately undermining a safe and just society. Asked about how supporters might interpret his anti-government messaging, Lamb told me, Im a very pro-freedom person. He has called vaccine mandates garbage and spoke at a recent anti-vaccine rally in Phoenix, where he told supporters, Were going to find out what kind of patriots you are. The following February, Jose Orozco, who was an undocumented immigrant, claimed that Babeu and Orozco had been lovers since meeting in 2006 on an online dating site. He asked the auditor general to recommend the best way to use those funds. The law requires prosecutors to get approval from county boards of supervisors before using RICO funds. Lamb said this month that he is reviewing every aspect of RICO expenditures before releasing funds and wants to create a new approval and review process. What started with an online invitation from Babeu for the two to get together, he says, turned into not only a personal relationship but a professional one. Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. The school closed in 2004, following the death of its founder Michael DeSisto. Doug Barrett for POLITICO. | Kjzz He said his own review of RICO funds indicated past requests were made in round numbers and did not require itemization. A spokesperson for the NSA told me that, while the code of ethics is the basis of an organizational creed, sheriffs generally rely on their state laws for legal guidance. Orozco says he created and maintained Babeu's campaign websites, his Facebook page, and his Twitter account. Follow him on Twitter @robertanglen. Paul Babeu was the tenth of eleven children born into the family. Protect America Now is new enough that its tax filings have not yet been made public, but Vale told me Lamb does not get paid by the group, outside reimbursements for expenses. Lamb says he was always interested in guns but didnt plan for a law enforcement career. Senate. Phoenix's independent source of He became the Republican nominee for Arizona's 1st congressional district in the 2016 elections after winning the primary on August 30, 2016. Lamb loves it. RAW VIDEO: Watch Babeu talk DeSisto punishments - KNXV The terms were not disclosed. He insists he doesnt have political ambitions beyond the sheriffs office, though. It would be an inappropriate use of already-limited resources to prosecute Orozco for a misdemeanor. Any money left over must be returned. Babeu and Voyles this month demanded an apology from Volkmer, saying he unfairly maligned them and subjected them to disparaging statements over the use of RICO funds. It could be his size hes 63, 240 pounds, or so he writes in his self-published book, American Sheriff: Traditional Values in a Modern World. The subpoena, obtained by The Arizona Republic through a public records request, was issued in the spring and ordered Lamb to provide the RICO documents before September. Paul Babeu, Martha McSally struggle to respond to Donald Trump fallout The latest of the alleged threats were made through Babeu's personal attorney, who's also running the sheriff's campaign for Congress in District 4, the ex-lover says. After filing for bankruptcy in 2003, Lamb decided to start again in Arizona, he writes in his book, where he moved with his five kids and his wife, Janel who today has her own book, The Sheriffs Wife, and often appears with her husband at public events. [8] In the general election, Barrett won re-election and defeated Babeu 53%-47%,[1] a difference of just 353 votes, in an election with an unusually high turnout rate of 75% among registered voters. Doug Barrett for POLITICO. Lamb supported the stop the steal campaign in Arizona and has expressed sympathy for the Jan. 6 rioters. The man's allegations were first published Friday in the Phoenix New Times, an alternative weekly magazine. They exchanged more texts on September 6. See additional photos from text-messages between Sheriff Babeu and his ex-lover. [11][12], Babeu joined the Massachusetts National Guard as a 21-year-old. Initially, Lamb worked in pest control, with a focus on pigeons. The audit also found that $151,645 of the community outreachmonies awarded to the foundation went to unauthorized uses benefiting the County Attorney or Sheriff's Office programs. In public, Lamb commands attention. Senator John McCain, who called Babeu his friend. including yourself & your family. He said none of the audits found problems. According to sources with knowledge of the interviews, agents have asked about Sheriff Babeus use of a non-profit foundation run by some PCSO employees that received hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds that come from this seized criminal money. For questions about programming, membership or anything else about KJZZ, please visit kjzz.org/contact. Time on the screen says 5:02 p.m. . Auditors said the pair funneled money to community groups without proper oversight and sometimes without paperwork detailing how the money would be spent. Babeu's statement said that "Border Patrol agents were shot at by drug smugglers last month on the Tohono O'odham Reservation south of Pinal County," but it's unclear whether the shooting involved . The FBI declined comment Wednesday. DeRose said gossip about Babeu would focus attention on Orozco, attention that could result in his deportation, Orozco says. Im just speaking . Sheriff Paul Babeu: Arizona border hawk, rising conservative star [5], At age 17, while still in high school, Babeu campaigned against a proposed raise for North Adams, Massachusetts, City Council members. I believe in letting people live the way that they feel like they need to live., To spend time with Lamb is to realize just how far a lawman can drift from the law itself and how little people seem to care, as long as he says the right stuff on TV. Questions about the foundation also were raised in a 2015 federal lawsuit by attorneys from Perkins Coie and the American Civil Liberties Union. Compared with climbing on roofs all day to pick up bird poop, he says, law enforcement seemed safer. Sheriff Paul Babeu is the Sheriff of Pinal County in Arizona. | A three-member committee made up of a detention officer, a sheriff's sergeant and a civilian review all requests for RICO funds. He sarcastically thanks Babeu for "notifying me that you were involuntarily forcing an 'at-will' position on mepunitively reducing my pay by approximately $15,000 [and] handing me as good a 'Constructive Termination' cause of action as I have ever seen.". As KJZZs Dennis Lambert reports from Phoenix, Babeu will run for re-election as sheriff instead. I asked Sean Kennedy, a professor at Loyola Law School who is on the oversight commission for the Los Angeles County sheriff, about Lambs involvement with Protect America Now and other outside activities, and he said he believes Lambs behavior violates the NSAs code.
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