Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Dennis Wagner

USA TODAY

Records indicate probable cause found for felony charges

Prosecutors cited lack of evidence%2C insurmountable burden of proof

Heavily redacted records released after FOIA request

PHOENIX -- Federal investigators concluded there was sufficient evidence to bring charges against public officials during their years-long abuse-of-power investigation targeting Maricopa County law-enforcement agencies, according to heavily redacted records obtained by The Arizona Republic.

The records indicate that FBI agents found probable cause to recommend felony counts of obstructing criminal investigations of prosecutions, theft by threats, tampering with witnesses, perjury and theft by extortion.

Ultimately, federal prosecutors in August 2012 closed the three-year FBI criminal investigation and grand-jury probe into Sheriff Joe Arpaio, former County Attorney Andrew Thomas and their top deputies, saying there would be no indictments due to a lack of evidence or an insurmountable burden of proof.

Days later, The Republic submitted requests under the federal Freedom of Information Act, asking for all investigative records related to the probe. The newspaper later amended the scope of its request to seek prosecutorial reports after a federal official said it would take years for the U.S. Department of Justice to comply with the initial request.

This week — 17 months after The Republic's September 2012 requests — the U.S. Department of Justice produced 93 pages of records dating as far back as 2008. Federal officials obscured two-thirds of the pages nearly in their entirety, citing privacy rights and the protection of law-enforcement methods. The names of investigative targets, their accusers and FBI agents were redacted, along with details of the alleged crimes, witness statements and supporting evidence.

Nevertheless, the abuse-of-authority probe at least partially targeted the Maricopa Anti-Corruption Effort, a unit of sheriff's deputies and county prosecutors who in 2006 were assigned by Arpaio and Thomas to investigate government officials suspected of violating the public trust. That unit was eventually disbanded.

The report makes clear that FBI agents believed evidence was strong enough to prosecute some of those under investigation.

Arpaio could not be reached for comment, but he has said in the past that the federal probe was politically motivated.

Thomas responded to a request for comment by issuing a Facebook post alleging that a year ago, when an associate sought a copy of the investigation, the FBI issued a "full denial," yet now the bureau has released those records to the media.

Due to redactions, it is impossible to ascertain from the FBI records how many county law-enforcement officials were referred for criminal charges, who they were, or what conduct was considered unlawful.

"They should've indicted them all," said former Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley, who was among the public officials accused of illegal conduct by Arpaio and Thomas. "I had no way of knowing why they (federal officials) chose not to prosecute. But I think they ... didn't want to expend the resources and they were afraid they'd lose it because of the popularity of the sheriff."

The FBI's abuse-of-power investigation was launched in 2008 at the outset of a vitriolic political war pitting Arpaio and Thomas against the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and the county judiciary.

County officials swept their offices, suspecting illegal wiretaps. Some said they were followed by sheriff's deputies. Others refused to talk on their phones, fearing they were bugged. After county law enforcement's first case against Stapley fell apart, he was arrested without a warrant based on allegations he committed mortgage and campaign fraud. The case eventually was tossed.

Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox was indicted on charges alleging conflict of interest, while Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe was accused of bribery. Thomas and Arpaio filed a federal racketeering charge against them and other county officials. All those cases were dismissed by March 2010.

Even as the federal investigation was underway, Arpaio, Thomas and their representatives defended their actions, saying they were fighting government corruption.

Eventually, Arpaio's top aide was fired. Thomas resigned to pursue an unsuccessful bid for attorney general and was later disbarred from practicing law. The sheriff backed off his corruption crusade and focused on repairing relations with the Board of Supervisors.

As of January, the conflicts and legal battles had cost taxpayers at least $44.4 million.

The federal investigation into county law enforcement began in 2008. Nearly two years later, the probe expanded when federal agents were cross-deputized to investigate potential state crimes.

On Aug. 31, 2012, Ann Birmingham Scheel of the U.S. Attorney's Office for Arizona announced there would be no indictments. Scheel said investigators had probed possible misuse of county purchasing cards, jail funds, perjury by Thomas and former Deputy County Attorney Lisa Aubuchon, as well as civil-rights violations. She concluded that the "comprehensive investigation" failed to uncover sufficient evidence for criminal charges, which require a judge or jury to find defendants guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

In the newly released FBI referrals, agents said there was evidence to prosecute at least two Maricopa County officials for conspiracy and obstruction. In other segments of the report, agents recommended criminal charges against several unnamed officials for theft by extortion, improperly influencing a public official, perjury and conspiracy.

Paul Charlton, who once served as a U.S. attorney for Arizona, reviewed the documents Thursday but said "it's impossible to know anything of substance" because of the redactions.

Charlton, who defended Stapley, said it can be difficult to reconcile investigators' conclusions with prosecutors' decisions.

"You necessarily rely on the agents for their sense of what happened and for their findings and facts," Charlton said. "It's the agent's role to say, 'I think I've identified a crime.' It's the prosecutor's role to say whether that crime can be proven."

Aubuchon, who was disbarred for her part in pressing the corruption cases, said the Justice Department appropriately declined to charge her with any crimes. "I did nothing wrong," she added, "and I'm still working to expose the corruption that continues to exist in Maricopa County."

Jack MacIntyre, deputy chief at the Sheriff's Office, said he had not seen the FBI report until Thursday. "It's real hard to comment on something we were never given the courtesy of receiving even though we requested it," he added.

Stapley, who was indicted and arrested during those probes, sued the county and settled in December 2013 for $3.5 million. "The settlement vindicated me to some degree," Stapley said Thursday. "But it would've been much better had they (federal authorities) done their job."

Wingett Sanchez and Wagner also report for The Arizona Republic