Taxpayer tab up to $70M in Joe Arpaio racial-profiling case

Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio may soon be pardoned for a criminal-contempt conviction stemming from a long-running racial-profiling case, but county taxpayers are still on the hook, now to the tune of nearly $70 million.

About $24 million has been funneled to case-related expenses this year alone, adding to the $46 million incurred since 2008. Costs will continue to mount for the foreseeable future.

In 2013, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow found that Arpaio’s deputies had singled out Latinos during his signature immigration patrols, often holding them for longer than counterparts of different ethnicities. He later ordered broad reforms to rid the agency of discriminatory policing, demanding millions to be spent on new technology, training and a monitor to oversee the compliance efforts.

The bulk of this year’s expenses are earmarked for staffing. About $17 million will pay the salaries of employees devoted full time to bringing the office into compliance. This includes 87 sworn officers, 36 civilian employees and five detention officers.

Other big-ticket items include $3.7 million for monitor costs, $1.5 million for attorneys' fees and $1.1 million for non-recurring costs.

In a Thursday meeting with the editorial board of The Arizona Republic, Arpaio's successor, Sheriff Paul Penzone, said the lawsuit's costs will only continue to mount. The tab is expected to grow by $26 million in 2018.

"We understand that we have certain costs that we will not be able to get away from," Penzone said.

To balance these expenses, Penzone said he's been focusing on trimming the fat in small areas he can control. The office cut $2 million in services from private attorneys, and is in the process of shutting down Tent City to consolidate the jails.

“Waste is having services that truly don’t benefit the overall mission, but keeping them open for a personal or political factor — that’s what Tent City became," he said. "If we are able to save $2 to $4 million because of that, then those little pieces begin to add up."

The underlying lawsuit, Melendres vs. Arpaio, is the same one that continues to haunt Arpaio personally, though perhaps not for long.

Last month a federal judge found him guilty of criminal contempt for defying a court order from the case. Though he technically still faces up to six months in jail, President Trump this week signaled that the scheduled Oct. 5 sentencing will never come to pass.

Trump said he is "seriously considering" a pardon for Arpaio, who has been a loyal supporter since the early days of Trump's campaign. Political commentators are speculating the pardon could come as early Tuesday, when Trump is in Phoenix for a political rally.