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With Griffis now behind bars, Romley rejoins VA data probe
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Now that former Pinal County Manager Stanley Griffis is behind bars, Griffis investigator and former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley will rejoin efforts to investigate the theft of 26.5 million veterans’ personal information.
Romley said he has accepted Bush administration Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson’s request to serve as his personal adviser in the search for a database of Social Security numbers, birth dates, phone numbers and addresses stolen in May 2006 from a VA employee.
The Republican former county attorney served a threemonth stint for Nicholson as special adviser for information security last summer, but then returned to Arizona to take on the role of independent investigator in the case of Griffis, who pleaded guilty in late January to six felony counts of theft, fraud and tax fraud. Griffis began serving a 3 1/2-year prison sentence May 10.
“The Secretary had asked me to stay on full time, and I said I couldn’t because I had agreed to work on the Griffis case,” Romley said.
Romley’s return to Washington also will mark the end of a six-month, bipartisan agreement with Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard. Romley had been assisting attorneys in the criminal division and representing Goddard’s office before the Legislature. I .
“Rick has been a valuable asset, sharing his wealth of criminal prosecution experience and expertise,” Goddard said in a news release Tuesday. “From his advice on major cases to his work on legislative matters, the State of Arizona has benefited from his counsel and sound judgment.”
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