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Virginia Ross Covers Pinal County in Her Bid for Recorder

November 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 1, 2011
CONTACT: Teri Grier

PINAL COUNTY – Virginia Ross, candidate for Pinal County Recorder, came out to support Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and the PCSO Casino Night fund raiser for the Pinal County Youth Explorers program.

Virginia joined a host of participants at Gold Canyon Gold Resort on Friday night to celebrate the National Day of the Cowboy.

The day is set aside by the United States Senate to pay homage to our Cowboys and Western heritage, as well as to honor working Cowboys and Cowgirls, rodeo athletes, western musicians, Cowboy poets, western artists, ranchers and all others who continue to contribute to the Cowboy and western culture in America today.

Since announcing her candidacy in May, Virginia has met weekly with citizens from all over the county to get insight into the concerns regarding the Pinal County Recorder’s office.

When asked why she is running for Recorder, Virginia Ross responded, “I plan to bring a new direction with a fresh approach,” she said. Pinal County’s reputation for accurate Voter Registration data is not in the top-tier.”

She went on to say that, the recorder’s office has two main purposes: recording and archiving documentation, as well as handling voter registration rolls and managing provisional ballots.

Having spent her entire career in the private sector, Virginia works with cutting edge technology for a Fortune 100 company. She has a proven track record of working on teams that are called in to solve individual client’s technology issues and make their companies more streamlined, user friendly, cost effective, and efficient.

Virginia Ross is a business professional with a progressive private sector career that encompasses office management, technology design including customer service systems and document management. She holds an M.B.A. from the University of Miami.

She is currently participating in intensive public service training through the 2012 Dodie Londen Series. This prestigious program will prepare her to be more effective in government, politics, and in the community.

To learn more about her background go to www.rossforrecorder.com. Virginia Ross committed to an accurate, efficient, accessible, cost effective process.

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Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, County Government, Press Release Tagged With: ,

Arizona Conservative Rally – November 12, 2011

October 31, 2011 By 4 Comments

Filed Under: Conservatives, Special Event Tagged With:

Hayden Police Chief Antcliff keeps job after Rios attempts to have him fired

August 24, 2011 By 2 Comments

A few weeks ago, we carried a post about Pinal County Supervisor, Pete Rios getting busted speeding. He tried to pull a “well officer don’t you know who I am?” but ended up getting a ticket anyway. That led to some politically incestuous dealings resulting in the police chief of the small rural town of Hayden having his job put on the line.

Earlier tonight, the mayor and council met to discuss the fate of Chief Monty Antcliff who was represented by local attorney, Chris DeRose.

Here is some media coverage by the ABC affiliate out of Tucson, KGUN-9, and a call-in by Sheriff Paul Babeu to the Mike Broomhead show this afternoon:

Mike Broomhead interview with Sheriff Paul Babeu.

Pete Rios is no stranger to threatening people who challenge him. As we noted in the earlier post, Rios threatened to punch fellow blogger Greg Patterson for exposing the scam he had going on his reimbursement for mileage to a property Rios owns but does not actually communte to. All I have to say is that it’s a good thing Sheriff Babeu didn’t pull him over that night!

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Democrat Pete Rios in trouble with the law again

August 5, 2011 By 8 Comments

Well, this isn’t the first time longtime Democrat and Pinal County Supervisor Pete Rios has been belligerent.

You may remember when the former State Senator threatened fellow conservative blogger, Greg Patterson. Straight from the archives of EspressoPundit…

Filed Under: Crime and Punishment, Elected Officials Tagged With: ,

Sheriff Babeu: Mr. President – Protect America First

May 26, 2011 By 5 Comments

May 26, 2011

Sheriff Paul BabeuPresident Obama says the border is more secure than ever, declared the border fence complete and said, “these people will never be satisfied, until we build a moat and put alligators in the moat.” We don’t need a moat or alligators in Arizona – we simply need the federal government to do their job and secure the border!

Last year, 219,300 illegal immigrants were apprehended in just one sector of Arizona and many with violent felony criminal records. The US Border Patrol estimates another 400,000 made it safely past them in Arizona and now reside in your community.

If the majority of regular illegal immigrants can sneak into America, what does this say about the ability of terrorist sleeper cells? The porous US/Mexican border is the gravest national security threat facing America. This is no longer just a political fight to stop Barak Obama from giving amnesty to over 12 million illegals, it’s also about protecting our nation from terrorist threats. Thousands of illegal entrants hail from State Department countries of interest–Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and others. In some cases, we have confirmed their troubling ties to terrorism. Yet for those we apprehend, how many today live amongst us?

If the border is secure, why did the feds post 15 Billboard signs in Pinal County warning American citizens; Danger – Public Warning – Travel Not Recommended, due to armed drug cartel smuggling? This is 70 miles into Arizona, where Homeland Security confirms that no fewer than 100 of our beautiful mountains have been repurposed as lookouts for the Mexican Drug lords.

America can secure the border if we replicate the success of what was accomplished in the Yuma Sector. The Yuma Sector has now attained a 96% reduction of illegal border crossings. The Senator McCain/Kyl 10-Point Border Security Plan is developed largely from the learned successes of the Yuma Sector during Operation Jump Start.

This plan calls for immediate deployment of 6,000 armed soldiers for a period of two years. While soldiers are deployed, the double barrier fence is completed with video surveillance, lighting, sensors and roads to support rapid deployment of US Border Patrol. Thirdly, fully enforce the law without any diversion option.

We need focus on the solution to secure our border, not on a path to citizenship or amnesty for 12 million. If President Obama were sincere, why did he not pass immigration reform in his first two years, when he had supermajorities in the House and Senate? Instead, in a purely politically and racially divisive manner, he says he’ll fight now when there is little hope of passage. The President has failed to fulfill his core constitutional duty to protect America.

President Obama led us to believe he would end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We’re no closer to leaving than when he made these false promises. He bombs Libya for humanitarian reasons and yet ignores the outcry of neighboring Mexico in their war against the drug cartels, which have claimed over 35,000 lives and nearly toppled their government. Mexico is America’s second largest trading partner and we share nearly 2,000 miles of porous border, which presents a far graver national security threat than anything we face in the middle east.

Mexico is not our enemy. The cartels are the enemy of Mexico and America. They have brought their violence here to America. Local Sheriffs can’t fight them alone. We can address this growing threat, or we can make jokes, laugh and believe the border is more secure than ever.

Respectfully,

Paul Babeu, Sheriff
Pinal County, Arizona
President, Arizona Sheriff’s Association
2011 National Sheriff of the Year

(Sheriff Babeu is also a retired Army Major and served as the Commanding Officer for Task Force Yuma)

 

 

 

Filed Under: Border, Crime and Punishment, Drugs, Guest Opinion, National Security Tagged With: ,

Criminal Allegations Against Chairman Pete Rios Sent to the Arizona AG to Investigate

March 14, 2011 By 3 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 14, 2011
CONTACT: Tim Gaffney

On January 27th, 2011 the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office received the attached letter from a “Concerned Citizen.” The Pinal County Attorney’s Office received the same letter. According to the letter, it was also sent to numerous media entities. The individual has raised issues regarding the residency and reimbursement requests for travel by Pinal County Board of Supervisor Chairman Pete Rios. If the allegations are true, they would be Theft and Fraudulent Schemes both of which are felony offenses.

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office and County Attorney’s Office agreed the investigation would best be handled by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. On February 9th, 2011 Chief Deputy Steve Henry forwarded the investigation to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has received media inquiries regarding this case as well as calls from citizens with information pertaining to this case. I am asking that all media inquiries and individuals wanting to forward information related to this investigation to please contact the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

Sheriff Paul Babeu stated, “These are serious allegations against a well known political leader and Chairman of our Board of Supervisors. The allegations are best investigated by a neutral outside authority. Transparency will prove to be the best manner in which to overcome the past reputation of corruption in Pinal County.”

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February 9, 2011

Arizona Attorney General
Attn: Mr. Tom Horne
1275 West Washington Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Dear Mr. Horne,

Attached is a citizen complaint letter which was submitted to Sheriff Babeu and Pinal County Attorney James Walsh by a citizen requesting an investigation into Pinal County Board of Supervisor Chairman Pete Rios. The Letter alleges Mr. Rios does not reside within the boundaries of his supervisory district. It also alleges Mr. Rios has submitted fraudulent travel vouchers and received payments from the county and also the state.

As you may be aware, Mr. Rios is currently the Chairman of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors and has also served in both the house and state Senate, where he served as Senate President. If the allegations are true, this will certainly prove to be a high-profile public corruption case, due to the significance of the criminal allegations and the political standing of Mr. Rios.

Attached are photos which have been forwarded to my office of these properties in question and some of his past reimbursements. Also attached are letters that have been submitted in the past to the media regarding this same issue by concerned citizens.

To avoid any possible conflict, I am requesting your assistance in investigating this matter to determine if it is credible. If the investigation supports the claims by this citizen, I ask that appropriate charges be filed

Regards,

Steve Henry, Chief Deputy
Pinal County

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January 24th, 2011

Pinal County Sheriff’s Office
Attn: Sheriff Paul Babeu
971 Jason Lopez Circle
Florence, Arizona 85132

Pinal County Attorney’s Office
Attn: James Walsh
30 North Florence Street
Florence, Arizona 85132

Re: Chairman Peter Rios

Sirs,

During the past two decades, Peter Rios has committed theft and fraud from Arizona taxpayers and it is time he be held accountable. Peter Rios lives at [redacted] East Mesquite, Apache Junction. I know this because neighbors who live next to him have confirmed he has lived there full time for many years. On the Pinal County website Mr. Rios says he lives in Dudleyville and has a temporary residence in Superior. Although Apache Junction is in Pinal County it is not in District One which he was elected to represent.

Mr. Rios commits theft and fraud each and every month when he submits paperwork to Pinal County for reimbursement. He lists his travel from the residence in Dudleyville ( [redacted] Malpais Road) or Superior ([redacted] West Palo Verde Drive). Both Dudleyville and Superior are within District One which he represents.

  • The miles according to Mapquest from his home in Dudleyville to Florence is 83 miles.
  • The miles according to Mapquest from his home in Superior to Florence is 30 miles.
  • The miles according to Mapquest from his home in Apache Junction to Florence is 32 miles.

Although living in Apache Junction Mr. Rios has claimed mileage reimbursement from Dudleyville during his time in the State Legislature and now for the past several years with Pinal County. Not only does Mr. Rios not live in the district he was elected to represent but he has stolen tax payer money with his fraudulent mileage reimbursement. This fraudulent practice has cost the state of Arizona taxpayers thousands and thousands of dollars.

If there is any doubts as to his residency, just ask the neighbors who live in his Apache Junction neighborhood and they will confirm he lives there full time.

As a Pinal County taxpayer, I demand an investigation into this manner. Pinal County is hurting for money just as every other county across our state. Why should an elected member sworn to represent us be allowed to steal from us.

Sincerely,

Fed Up With Pinal County Corruption

Cc:

Channel 3 News – 5555 North 7th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85013
Channel 5 News – 4016 North Black Canyon Road, Phoenix, AZ 85017
Channel 10 News – 511 West Adams Street, Phoenix, AZ 85017
Channel 12 News – 200 East Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Channel 15 News – 515 North 44th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85008
Arizona Republic – 200 East Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Apache Junction News – 115 North Apache Trail, Apache Junction, AZ 85220
KTAR – 7740 North 16th Street, Suite 200, Phoenix, AZ 85020
KFYI – 4686 East Van Buren Street, Suite 300, Phoenix, AZ 85034
Channel 4 News – 7280 East Rosewood St, Tucson, AZ 85710
Casa Grande Newspapers – 200 West 2nd Street, Casa Grande, AZ 85122
Coolidge Examiner – 353 West Central Avenue, Coolidge, AZ 85128
Eloy Enterprise – 710 North Main Street, Eloy, AZ 85131
Maricopa Monitor – 19756 North John Wayne Parkway, Suite 106 Maricopa, AZ 85139
San Tan Valley – 270 East Hunt Highway, Suite #16 San Tan Valley, AZ 85143

Filed Under: County Government, Crime and Punishment, Government Reform, Media Tagged With: , ,