Phoenix ex-officer Contreras sees fraud charges renewed

A one-time Phoenix police officer has been indicted for the second time in a year on fraud and racketeering charges.

A Maricopa County grand jury indicted former patrolman George Contreras on three counts of fraud and illegal control of an enterprise after investigators presented evidence suggesting Contreras and his employees were paid for hours of off-duty security work that they did not perform.

Contreras was originally indicted with three other Phoenix officers in 2010 on similar charges, but the case was sent back to a grand jury in July after a judge determined that testimony presented to the grand jury could have violated the officers' due-process rights.

Contreras was the only officer to be reindicted. Prosecutors dismissed charges against his former co-defendants, Steven Paul Peck, Benjamin Hugh Sywarungsymun and Aaron Lentz.

The new indictment alleges that Contreras committed fraud and operated an illegal enterprise by receiving payment from condominium complexes for security work that Contreras and his employees never performed.

Contreras' attorney, Cary Lackey, said that any wrongdoing on the part of his client was an oversight and that Contreras was the victim of a "witch hunt" orchestrated by Phoenix police administrators who disliked the former patrolman.

The new indictment handed up last week eliminates four theft counts that targeted the other three officers. Their charges were dismissed on Friday.

Lackey said state prosecutors cut deals with the other three officers in exchange for testimony against Contreras, but he said he was not concerned about what their testimony might reveal.

"There was really not a whole lot they could say that was that damaging anyway," Lackey said. "I don't hold it against them or any of their attorneys for what they did."

The case centers on whether Contreras and employees of his company, Raptor Services, performed security work they were paid for from 2005 through 2007 at a townhouse complex near 48th Street and Broadway Road.

The criminal case grew out of a three-year police administrative investigation that reviewed the work of nearly 30 officers, including 15 from the South Mountain Precinct where Contreras worked.

A spokeswoman for Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne said the Phoenix Police Department will use administrative investigations to handle any remaining issues with the three officers whose charges were dismissed.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Karen O'Connor's July order sending the case back to a grand jury included instructions that state prosecutors had to tell the jurors a number of facts:

That there were no written agreements in place between the officers and the homeowners associations.

That none of the HOAs involved had documentation showing any financial loss.

That Contreras' business did not coordinate payments to the officers that came directly from the HOAs.

Lackey said the absence of Police Department guidelines prohibiting Contreras' business and the lack of any victims from the townhouses will continue to play a role in his defense, in addition to ensuring that prosecutors heed O'Connor's instructions about grand-jury testimony.

"I plan to go over that (grand jury) transcript with a fine-tooth comb and hold the state's feet to the fire," Lackey said. "We have an attorney general willing to sign off on this investigation on a 5-year-old overbilling of a condo complex when they can't even get their victims straight. There was no intent. They have to prove he intentionally or knowingly stole something from somebody."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/11/22/20111122phoenix-ex-officer-contreras-sees-fraud-charges-renewed.html

Bail cut for Arpaio staffers tied to drug ring

Two of three Maricopa County sheriff's employees implicated in a multinational heroin smuggling ring have been released from custody after posting bail, and the highest-ranking member of the trio had his bail reduced to $25,000 this week after a judge determined the original $1 million cash bail was excessive.

The developments in the case, which accused the sheriff's employees of conspiring to smuggle heroin and launder money, came as prosecutors have offered plea deals to all 19 defendants and dismissed charges against one in the interest of justice.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the reduced bond amounts and dismissed charges do not reflect on the quality of the investigation his deputies performed. But Arpaio said he was concerned about the release of some suspects who have ties to other countries.

Evidence that investigators presented to the grand jury after the months-long probe, which included the use of court-ordered wire taps, indicated that former Deputy Alfredo Navarrette and former sheriff's detention officer Marcella Hernandez discussed moving to a ranch in Mexico before their arrests.

Investigators said the ranch is owned by the smuggling ring's alleged leader, Francisco Arce-Torres, who is accused of having ties to the Sinaloan cartel and whom detectives believe fathered a child Hernandez gave birth to shortly after her arrest.

"I'm a little concerned about my people being released on $25,000 bond when intelligence shows they have this farm in (Mexico) and they're thinking about moving there," Arpaio said.

The efforts of attorneys to reduce bail amounts, get charges dismissed and have cases sent back to a grand jury are part of any vigorous defense. But the involvement of three members of the law-enforcement community being investigated by their own agency makes the case distinct.

The group mostly moved heroin, according to investigators, and officials suspect each of the arrested sheriff's employees played a crucial role in moving the drugs and hiding illicit profits. Authorities say the ring moved about $56,000 worth of heroin a week through the Valley.

Arce-Torres arranged for the heroin to be brought into the Valley after his brothers produced the drug on the family's ranch in Mexico, according to court documents.

Hernandez's brother, who was also among those arrested, is suspected of operating one of several stash houses, and investigators believe Hernandez coordinated the pickup and delivery of heroin from the drug houses.

Navarrette and Sylvia Najera, the other arrested detention officer, helped set up a shell corporation called West Utilities Group Inc., which was used earlier this year to launder nearly $50,000 in drug proceeds, according to court documents.

Najera was released after posting $12,000 bail this summer.

Hernandez's bond was reduced from $2 million to $25,000 and she was released shortly after 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

But it was Navarrette who was depicted as among the most egregious suspects to emerge in the investigation, in part because of his role in the sheriff's human-smuggling unit and the presence of two undocumented immigrants in Navarrette's Phoenix home when deputies raided it in May.

Navarrette's attorney painted a different picture in documents he filed requesting reduced bond for his client.
The undocumented immigrants in Navarrette's house were simply renting space from the divorced deputy, who needed the extra income to keep his home, according to his attorney.

And the lifestyle Navarrette lived before his arrest does not fit with that of a money-laundering smuggler, Navarrette's attorney, Herman Alacantar, told the court.

"Mr. Navarrette was not once during this investigation spending large amounts of money, driving of possessing fancy or expensive cars or otherwise living an expensive or extravagant lifestyle," Alcantar wrote. "On the contrary, Mr. Navarrette's utilities were regularly cut off for nonpayment; he was always behind on all his bills and often had to borrow money from other deputies and friends to make ends meet."

The filings included numerous letters from Navarrette's family and friends, who cited his longstanding ties to the Valley, where he was born and raised, his service in the military and work in the Sheriff's Office.

Prosecutors declined to comment on the case, but their filings point to some of the same factors - particularly Navarrette's work in law enforcement while allegedly involved in a criminal enterprise - as reason enough for the bond to remain at $1 million.

The filings also cited months of surveillance and intercepted phone calls that allegedly support prosecutors' claims that Navarrette was intimately involved in the smuggling ring.

"While the defendant has many letters in support of him, it is apparent that those who continue to support him do not grasp the depth of his behavior and actions," prosecutor Rebekah Browder wrote. "If the defendant was able to commit these crimes while wearing a badge, it can only be assumed that if he is released from jail, he will have free reign to break the laws again."

But Superior Court Judge Janet Barton ruled Tuesday that Navarrette's $1 million bond was "clearly excessive."

The decision left Arpaio steamed.

"You have a deputy sheriff who has worked on our human smuggling and given intelligence out, putting my deputies in danger, tipping them (smugglers) off and now this guy's getting back on the street with $25,000?" Arpaio asked. "I don't understand this, I really don't."

The sheriff's employees and other defendants are due back in court in early December.

Navarette remained in custody as of Wednesday.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/10/12/20111012arpaio-staffers-bond-reduced1012.html

Two Former Pima County Sheriff's Deputies Charged for Allegedly Ripping Off Drug Dealers

The United States Department of Justice announced today that two former Pima County Sheriff's deputies have been indicted on charges that they used their positions as law enforcement officials to help three other men rip off drug dealers and steal government-seized narcotics.

Francisco J. Jimenez, Jr, and Miguel Arvizu -- both former Pima County sheriff's deputies -- conspired with Frankie Carlos Cancannon, Jesus Corrales, and Emerick Rene Parra, to steal the cash and drugs.

Arvizu, the feds allege, told Cancannon, Corrales, and Parra that he was a cop, and that he knew other cops who would be willing to help them steal cash from drug smugglers.

In one instance, June 6, Jimenez stopped a vehicle he was told contained the proceeds of a drug deal. In the vehicle's glove box, Jimenez found $4,000, which he stole and shared with his cohorts.

A similar incident happened on October 8, when authorities say Jimenez pulled behind a car in the parking lot of a Tucson mall that he was told was carrying drug money. Again, Jimenez found $4,000 in the glove box and shared it with his Arvizu and the other alleged conspirators.

In another instance, Jimenez acted as "security" as Cancannon and Parra stole drugs and money from a police storage facility in Green Valley. Jimenez stood watch in his patrol car as the two men broke into the facility and stole about three kilograms of cocaine and cash.

"This Deputy Sheriff -- and his co-conspirator who is a former Deputy - dove head-first into the illegal drug trade and fomented an outrageous breach of the public's trust," U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke says in a statement.

Arvizu is charged in all of the eight counts of the indictment, which include which include conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, theft of government money and property, attempted distribution of three kilograms of cocaine, attempted possession with the intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana, and assaulting a person having lawful charge, custody, and control of money and other property of the United States, with the intent to rob, steal, and purloin said money and property of the United States.

Jimenez is charged in the conspiracy count, three counts of theft of government money, and with attempted possession with the intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana.

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/06/two_former_pima_county_sheriff.php

Mesa police: Officer used crime database to harass women

A Mesa police officer has been indicted on charges of misusing a law-enforcement database to date and harass women he met on duty.

One of the women was a theft victim, and others were suspects he had pulled over for traffic violations.

The indictment came just a week after another Mesa police officer and his wife were indicted on felony mortgage fraud charges in an unrelated case.

Mesa Police Chief Frank Milstead said he was "outraged" by the two cases and has placed both men on paid leave pending internal investigations.

Officer Todd Randall Duthie, an five-year veteran, was indicted on four felony counts of having unauthorized access to a state criminal history database and one misdemeanor count of harassment.

The charges stem from Duthie allegedly using his position to follow and score dates with four women, according to a police report.

Duthie's attorney Scott Halverson declined to comment on the case and Duthie did not return a message left at his Queen Creek home.

Mesa police initially opened an internal investigation last fall after one of the women complained, a police report states. But once an investigator found Duthie may have violated the law, a criminal investigation was opened, Wessing said.

Duthie contacted the first woman Sept. 15, 2009, after she reported a theft at the Las Palmas Carniceria at 7246 E. Main Street, the report states. The officer then began calling her and stopping by the store and the woman's residence.

A GPS system inside Duthie's squad car tracked his movements as he repeatedly parked outside another woman's house and as he continued to pull over two other women, who claim he tried to date them.

During a traffic stop with another woman July 8, 2010, Duthie reportedly said "I'm supposed to give you a ticket, but I won't. Since I'm not . . . let me have a date or something," the report states.

Duthie has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which came just a week after Officer Mark Anthony Escarcega and his wife Blanca were indicted on charges of mortgage fraud.

The charges stem from the purchase of a home in Mesa four years ago, authorities have stated.

Blanca Escarcega allegedly claimed she separated from her husband and received a mortgage loan modification from Bank of America stating the separation created a financial hardship, according to the Associated Press.

However, the couple never separated, and they purchased a new home and rented out the old one, court documents state.

Word of the Escarcegas' housing deal reached the department and, sensing a crime had been committed, the FBI was contacted, Mesa police spokesman Sgt. Ed Wessing said.

The Escarcegas have also pleaded not guilty.

Wessing said the department is trying to remain as transparent as possible with officer misconduct cases.

"The public doesn't need to worry that we have a corruption or misconduct issue. As an agency, we take these types of violation very seriously," he said.

Wessing added that Milstead was furious when he learned of the initial internal investigation into Duthie's activities.

"He was outraged that a member of our agency would conduct himself in that manner," Wessing said. "When an officer engages in misconduct like this, it impacts all of us. We are as outraged as the community is."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/04/28/20110428mesa-police-officer-indicted-charges-harrassing-women0428.html

Phoenix police: DNA yields no leads in officer's fatal shooting

Forensic efforts to link DNA evidence collected at the scene of Phoenix police Sgt. Sean Drenth's fatal shooting have yielded no results, according to investigators who believe additional analyses could take several more months.

More than 10 weeks ago Drenth was found dead Oct. 18 alongside his patrol vehicle in a line-of-duty tragedy that has baffled detectives who have yet to confirm if Drenth was murder or if he committed suicide.

As the investigation continued earlier this month, Drenth was implicated in an off-duty work scandal reviewed by the Arizona Attorney General's Office. The case led to felony charges against three current Phoenix police officers and a former officer.

Phoenix police leaders said Drenth could have also faced felony charges because the sergeant's alleged misconduct would have met the criteria for grand-jury consideration. He was among the officers accused of receiving money for off-duty security work they didn't perform.

Drenth, a longtime south Phoenix patrolman, was found dead around the time Phoenix learned about the Attorney General's Office investigation.

Officers investigated as part of the Attorney General's Office probe were required to submit DNA samples for the Drenth homicide investigation.

On Tuesday, Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump announced that investigators have failed to make a link between DNA samples and evidence collected from the scene of Drenth's death.

"The overall processing of the evidence and comparative analysis is not complete and is expected to take several months," Crump wrote in an e-mail. "We will continue working on the case until all leads have been exhausted."

The Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office has not yet released Drenth's completed death investigation. Reports take as long as three months, meaning that an official record would likely be released by Jan. 18.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/12/28/20101228phoenix-police-dna-drenth-fatal-shooting-brk.html

Phoenix police officers indicted on fraud, theft charges. All four were ordered to submit DNA in the death investigation of officer Sean Drenth

Dirty Phoenix cops: Sgt. Benjamin Sywarungsymun (from top left, clockwise), George Contreras, Officer Steven Peck and Officer Aaron Lentz

Three current and one former member of the Phoenix Police Department indicted on felony theft charges pleaded not guilty Wednesday to taking money for off-duty security work that allegedly was never performed.

The charges against former Officer George Contreras and current Officers Benjamin Swarungsymun, Steven Peck and Aaron Lentz cap a three-year state investigation into the officers' involvement in an off duty security job.

Meanwhile, KTAR Radio reports all four men were ordered by the court to submit DNA samples in the death investigation of Phoenix police Officer Sean Drenth. Contreras' attorney Cary Lackey says there's no connection between the security case and Drenth's death.

Police Chief Jack Harris says Drenth's alleged misconduct involving off-duty work would have been taken to the grand jury for consideration of charges.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/12/01/20101201phoenix-officers-theft-case-pleas.html

3 Officers Indicted in Overtime Investigation: Sgt. Drenth, Ofc. Chrisman were involved, Police Chief says

PHOENIX - A jury has indicted three current and one former member of the Phoenix Police Department on felony theft charges -- and had Sgt. Sean Drenth still lived -- he would be indicted too.

According to the indictment, officers in the South Mountain Precinct billed businesses for off-duty work they allegedly did not do.

This is a story we've been following for weeks now.

It involves a troubled apartment complex in south Phoenix. One of the alleged businesses, Cotton Center Townhomes, suffered the largest hit -- involving a security job contracted with the Phoenix Police Department by three homeowners associations to help reduce crime in the area.

The officers allegedly billed the business for off-duty security work that was never performed. All of the officers work or worked at the South Mountain precinct.

Former Officer George Emil Contreras was indicted on four felony counts, including fraud and theft. Current Officers, Steven Peck, Aaron Lentz and Sgt. Benjamin Sywarungsymun were also indicted on theft charges related to off-duty work. Contreras resigned shortly after the investigation started, just two years away from being able to retire with his full pension.

Contreras is alleged to have committed thefts in excess of $9,000, Lentz $2,000, Sywarungsymun $1,800 and Peck $1,700. According to the indictment, total losses are in excess of $16,000.

During a 3:30 p.m. press conference, Public Safety Manager Jack Harris said that an additional 25 officers were investigated. Those officers did not rise to the level of charging by the Attorney General's Office, but will be turned over the Professional Standards Bureau for a misconduct review. The officers' future with the department will be decided once their investigation concludes.

Sgt. Sean Drenth was part of the investigation and would've met the AG's office's criteria for a criminal charge, Public Safety Manager Jack Harris said. He said that if Drenth had not been deceased, he would be facing a felony indictment.

Sgt. Drenth was killed one month ago and no arrests have been made in the case -- his death is being investigated as a homicide but suicide has not been ruled out.

"I don't know if he knew he was facing indictment, but he knew that he was part of the investigation because all of the employees had been interviewed."

Harris also added that Officer Richard Chrisman is one of the 25 officers being investigated for misconduct -- but the AG's office determined his actions did not rise to the level of a crime. Chrisman has been charged with murder in the death of a suspect.

In spite of the announcement, Harris defended his department largely, saying these bad apples do not represent his department as a whole.

"It's criminal in some cases, it's misconduct, but it's not corruption in the traditional sense... so painting the Phoenix Police department as a corrupt agency is not fair," Harris said. "If we were a corrupt organization I wouldn't be telling you what's going on. I wouldn't be standing up here and explaining to you our position on what has occurred."

Since this came to light, there's been a big shake-up at the precinct with a group of officers being reassigned. Harris also said he will be reviewing the off-duty police officer security work program. The involved employees are suspended from performing off-duty work as of now.

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/local/phoenix/officers-indicted-overtime-investigation-11182010