Ex-judges stunned by raid on Mesa buildings

Two former high-ranking county judges on Friday said Sheriff Joe Arpaio's secret raid on Mesa's City Hall and other buildings represents an "extraordinary" and possibly unprecedented action in the state.

Mesa mayor rips Arpaio on city buildings raid

Group airs grievances about Arpaio at rally

Colin Campbell, the former chief judge of Maricopa County Superior Court, and Ronald Reinstein, the former chief criminal judge, in separate interviews said the raid was unusual and left many questions unanswered.

"This is certainly extraordinary," Campbell said.

"I was trying to think about that this morning, and I just can't remember anything like it," Reinstein said.

The reaction of the former judges came amid a day of fallout and furor over the pre-dawn raid, which took place Thursday and caught city officials by surprise.

The searches at City Hall, a records office and the main library by heavily armed sheriff's deputies targeted janitors who worked for a private company hired to clean city buildings.

They resulted in the arrests of three janitors, each suspected of identity theft and being in the country illegally, at the city's central library.

New details also emerged Friday about what led up to the raids, including the identity of the so-called tipster who told sheriff's deputies about the possible illegal workers.

Meanwhile, Arpaio agreed to meet next week with Mayor Scott Smith to discuss rising tensions between the city and sheriff's office.

Both former judges raised questions about what prompted the sheriff's office to execute such unusual warrants at city buildings when it was a private company, not Mesa employees, that was under investigation.

"Do they think the city is not going to cooperate?" said Campbell, who is now in private practice. "I mean, that's what's bizarre about it."

Reinstein, who now works for the Arizona Supreme Court as an administrator, said it's rare for a judge to even sign off on a nighttime raid under any circumstance.

"You wouldn't think that in a business or on a government building you would need to do it at night," he said, adding that only about 15 percent of search warrants are executed then because nighttime is considered a higher risk.

An indignant Arpaio again spent much of his day defending the operation, particularly in light of new details.

Yelling during a telephone interview, he pointed out that his agency arrested another 13 suspected illegal immigrants working for the company later that day and said his office "should be given a medal" for the work.

"Everybody's after me. Why?" Arpaio said. "This is all hype put out by the police and the mayor to cover up their embarrassment that we went in there and we took care of business when their own police department avoided it."

The raid took place at night because that was when the janitors were working and the city buildings would be otherwise empty, Arpaio said. "Very simple."

Mesa police on Friday also released a report written by one of its lieutenants, showing that an officer came across the sheriff's deputies prior to the raid.

When some of the dozens of heavily armed and uniformed deputies were asked what they were up to, one lied by saying they were training their dogs.

Both Arpaio and Mesa's mayor said they would be meeting next week, possibly Friday, to discuss the increased tension between the two.

Smith said in a statement: "While I still have serious concerns related to past enforcement activities, I am encouraged that this meeting is taking place and look forward to it."

Arpaio said he planned to give the mayor "an earful" at the meeting.

"He's going to get the real story from this sheriff when he comes down here," he said. "Believe me."

Mesa also released the personnel information about a fired employee who originally told the sheriff's office that illegal immigrants were working for the cleaning company, Management Cleaning Controls.

Chuck Wilson, a Mesa Municipal Security officer, was fired Sept. 22, more than a year after sending e-mail to a woman who found it offensive.

During an internal affairs investigation, Mesa police determined Wilson inappropriately used a city computer and committed sexual harassment.

In August 2007, Wilson helped a co-worker e-mail an offensive limerick to the woman.

When he realized people were offended by the e-mail and an internal affairs investigation had been opened, Wilson and his co-worker turned themselves in.

Wilson said he was remorseful and didn't intend to offend anyone with the prank.

According to the report, Wilson tried to downplay the incident at first and minimize his actions, but after subsequent interviews it became apparent he was a "principal party."

In May of this year, while he was under investigation, he reported the illegal workers to the sheriff's office.