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Mesa police investigating Arpaio's accusation
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Mesa police have opened an internal affairs investigation of the lieutenant whom Sheriff Joe Arpaio accused of turning a blind eye to illegal immigrants forging documents to get city identification badges.
Documents contradict Arpaio's claim in Mesa raid
Mesa police Chief George Gascón sent a letter Friday asking for the cooperation of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in the internal investigation by providing names of witnesses and investigative leads to support Arpaio's allegations.
Sheriff's deputies raided the city library, city hall and a records building Thursday, acting on a May 21 tip from fired security technician Chuck B. Wilson, who said illegal immigrants working for a cleaning contractor were using fake identification to get authorization into city buildings.
Arpaio said Wilson, a civilian, initially tipped off Lt. Ward Pew, a sworn police officer and one of the supervisors in the municipal security unit. But Pew did nothing, even though the allegations involved felony crimes, according to Arpaio.
The city has acknowledged that Pew and other officials met with representatives of Management Cleaning Control on May 21 to admonish the company about the importance of following state and federal hiring laws. The city also sent a follow-up e-mail on the same subject, according to city records.
Detective Diana Tapia, Mesa police spokeswoman, said the internal investigation will look into what conversations Pew and Wilson had.
The Tribune has requested copies of any police reports Pew may have written about his contact with Wilson or any criminal investigation that might have been generated from the tip.
Tapia said Pew might not have necessarily generated a report or an investigation, depending on what information he gathered and his evaluation of it.
Arpaio, who is scheduled to meet with Mayor Scott Smith on Friday to discuss the friction between the city and the sheriff's office, said Monday he will continue to investigate the case.
Deputies arrested three janitors inside the library at 64 E. First St. and one outside. Thirteen more were arrested at their homes or at the company's Phoenix location.
They were jailed without bail on suspicion of forgery and fraud.
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