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State lawmaker Arredondo of Tempe expected to plead guilty

State lawmaker Arredondo of Tempe expected to plead guilty

Oct. 4, 2012 03:19 PM

The Republic | azcentral.com

Longtime Tempe politician Ben Arredondo is expected to plead guilty to federal charges Friday morning.

Arredondo, a Democrat, currently serves in the state House of Representatives and is a former Tempe City Council member. He was indicted May 16 and later pleaded not guilty to bribery, mail-fraud, lying and extortion charges stemming from an FBI sting that took place between February 2009, when Arredondo was a Tempe councilman, and November 2010, shortly after he won the House seat. The longtime GOP politico switched parties prior to winning the legislative seat.

The indictment alleges that Arredondo accepted about $6,000 in tickets to sporting and charity events in exchange for giving undercover agents posing as developers the inside track on a Tempe land deal.

According to court records, a change of plea hearing is scheduled for Friday morning in federal court. No information was available about what charges he may plea to, or whether they will be felonies or misdemeanors.

Change-of-plea hearing set for Tempe legislator

Change-of-plea hearing set for Tempe legislator

Posted: Thursday, October 4, 2012 5:00 pm

Associated Press

A change-of-plea hearing is scheduled Friday for an Arizona legislator charged in a corruption case.

Rep. Ben Arredondo previously pleaded not guilty to federal charges of bribery and other crimes.

The Tempe Democrat's lawyer did not immediately return a call for comment, but a federal court docket entry says a magistrate will hold the change-of-plea hearing Friday morning.

An indictment charged Arredondo with soliciting and accepting sports and charity event tickets from FBI undercover agents and with disclosing confidential information while he was a Tempe City Council member.

The scheduling of the change-of-plea hearing was reported first by the Arizona Capitol Times.

Arredondo is not running for re-election.

State lawmaker Ben Arredondo pleads guilty to two felonies

State lawmaker Ben Arredondo pleads guilty to two felonies

by Dianna M. Náñez - Oct. 5, 2012 11:06 AM

The Republic | azcentral.com

Longtime Tempe politician Ben Arredondo pleaded guilty to two felonies in federal court Friday morning - honest services mail fraud and mail fraud.

Honest services fraud is a federal charge often used in cases related to public corrupution. Each felony comes with a maximum prison sentence of up to 20 years and $250,000 in fines. Restitution could be up to $50,000.

As part of the plea, Arredondo has agreed to resign from the Arizona Legislature. He's expected to deliver his letter of resignation to House Speaker Andy Tobin once the hearing concludes.

Judge Lawrence Anderson in court said Arredondo accepted bribes in exchange for services and defrauded the residents of Tempe and Arizona.

According to federal investigators during court, Arredondo solicited donations for a college scholarship he had set up for needy students and then gave nearly $50,000 from it to help his relatives attend Arizona colleges.

Arredondo will be sentenced on Jan. 22. He declined to comment to the media.

Arredondo, a Democrat, currently serves in the state House of Representatives and is a former Tempe City Council member. He was indicted May 16 and later pleaded not guilty to bribery, mail-fraud, lying and extortion charges stemming from an FBI sting that took place between February 2009, when Arredondo was a Tempe councilman, and November 2010, shortly after he won the House seat. The longtime GOP politico switched parties prior to winning the legislative seat.

The indictment alleges that Arredondo accepted about $6,000 in tickets to sporting and charity events in exchange for giving undercover agents posing as developers the inside track on a Tempe land deal.

Once Tobin receives Arredondo's resignation letter, he will notify the Secretary of State and the governor. The Democratic precinct committee members for the old Legislative District 17 will then nominate three possible Democratic replacements. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will make the final choice.

Arredondo is the second Democratic state lawmaker to plead guilty to federal felony charges this year. Rep. Richard Miranda resigned from the Legislature in February and pleaded guilty to felony wire fraud and attempted tax evasion for selling a Surprise building owned by a non-profit he ran and pocketing the money.

Miranda was sentenced in June to a 27-month federal prison sentence, which began July 11, and must pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The now-defunct Centro Adelante Campesino provided services to farmworkers and their families, including GEDs and job assistance. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Miranda's crimes arose as he took steps to close down the charity.

Miranda told U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver that he falsified documents to indicate that he had authorization to sell a building the non-profit owned.

"I did not have the authority to sell the building, to acquire the monies," he said. "The board never authorized the sale."

He then illegally had one bank wire the money from the sale to an Arizona account. That account belonged to the group, but Miranda had given himself sole control.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Miranda told Centro's volunteer accountant that the revenue from the building would be used for scholarships.

Instead, Miranda used the money from the sale on "personal debt," said his attorney, Jose Montano.

The Department of Justice said Miranda paid off personal credit-card debts totaling more than $60,000 and spent money on travel, clothing, food and household items.

"He was in debt. It was a crime of opportunity," Montano said. "He needed the money, and he took it from the wrong place."

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne leader goes down in disgrace

Yet another Arizona leader goes down in disgrace

By LAURIE ROBERTS

Fri, Oct 05 2012

We started the week with Attorney General Tom Horne being accused of violating campaign-finance laws. Basically, that he cheated and thus won the prize of becoming the top law enforcement official in the state.

We end the week with Rep. Ben Arredondo pleading guilty to a pair of felonies. Basically, that he accepted bribes in exchange for favors and donations for a college scholarship he had set up for needy students – read: his relatives.

Horne and Arredondo join what’s becoming quite the parade of shady or otherwise sad-sack public officials in this state.

There is Lester Pearce, recently accused of ethics violations when he was a justice of peace, for politicking for his brother, Russell – a no-no for judges.

There is his brother, Russell, whose pals planted Olivia Cortes in last year’s recall election, hoping to split the vote and allow Pearce back into office.

There is Darin Mitchell, the legislative candidate who a judge has ruled doesn’t live in his district as the law requires – and yet he remains on the ballot.

There is the tag team of Scott Bundgaard and Daniel Patterson, both of whom resigned from the Legislature this year before they could be thrown out, for their various domestic issues.

There is Joe Arpaio, who allowed his longtime right-hand man, Dave Hendershot, to basically run the sheriff’s office into the ground.

There is ex-Rep. Richard Miranda, who stole from a charity he ran and is now a guest in a federal coorectional institution. (Maybe Arredondo will be his roomie?)

I am reminded of the legendary words of Arredondo, while campaigning for the Legislature in 2010 (and at the same time channeling his inner Don Corleone). According to the federal indictment, while waiting to introduce undercover agents posing as developers to his replacement on the Tempe City Council, Arredondo assured them of his continued support.

"You guys will ask, you guys will have," the indictment quotes him as saying. "I don't know how else to say it. We'll be just fine because not only we're covered at the city, we're covered now at the state."

We're covered all right, in disgust at the state of elected leadership in Arizona.

State lawmaker Ben Arredondo pleads guilty to two felonies

State lawmaker Ben Arredondo pleads guilty to two felonies

Will resign his position in Arizona Legislature as part of the plea deal

by Dianna M. Náñez - Oct. 5, 2012 10:46 PM

The Republic | azcentral.com

Tempe politician Ben Arredondo pleaded guilty to two felonies and agreed to resign his legislative seat Friday, becoming the latest in a string of Arizona politicians to face criminal and ethics charges.

Trembling as he addressed the court, Arredondo pleaded guilty in federal court to honest services fraud and mail fraud. Honest services fraud is a federal charge often used in cases related to public corruption. Each felony comes with a maximum prison sentence of up to 20 years and $250,000 in fines. Restitution could be up to $50,000.

He was indicted May 16 on charges of bribery, mail fraud, lying and extortion stemming from an FBI sting that took place between February 2009, when Arredondo was a Tempe City Council member, and November 2010, shortly after he won the House seat. The longtime GOP politico switched parties prior to winning the legislative seat.

As part of the plea, Arredondo agreed to resign from the Legislature.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors now has about three weeks to appoint a Democratic replacement. The supervisors will make the appointment from among three nominees selected by precinct committee members from Legislative District 17, which Arredondo represented.

He will be sentenced Jan. 22. He declined to comment.

Arredondo is the second Democratic state lawmaker to plead guilty to federal felony charges this year and the third person in the state Capitol arena to be snared by an FBI corruption investigation.

Last week, former Republican House staffer John Mills was indicted on 15 counts of mail fraud after an investigation said he was using state Rep. Jim Weiers' campaign account as a sort of revolving fund for personal purchases, mortgage payments and stock purchases. He paid the money back, records show. He has pleaded not guilty.

In February, Rep. Richard Miranda abruptly resigned from the Legislature and in June pleaded guilty to felony wire fraud and attempted tax evasion for selling a Surprise building owned by a non-profit he ran and pocketing the money. Miranda was sentenced to a 27-month federal prison sentence and must pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A legacy unraveled

Arredondo's 40-year legacy as an educator and public servant came to an end Friday in the courtroom where he was flanked by his attorneys and small group of relatives, including wife Ruth Ann.

The former high-school coach known for his blunt, tough-talking style has been publicly silent since the federal charges were filed. The native Arizonan's high-profile career spanned decades working for Valley schools and serving in city, county and state government posts.

A Tempe park and public school bear his family's last name as a tribute to his public service.

Arredondo worked 28 years for Mesa Public Schools and served on the Tempe Elementary School District board for a decade. In 1991, Arredondo was appointed to serve two years on the county Board of Supervisors when Ed Pastor resigned to run for Congress. Three years later, he won a seat on the Tempe City Council, becoming the second Hispanic elected to the council since the city was established in 1894.

Arredondo's ethics came into question in 2007, when allegations surfaced that he violated county policies by hiring friends and relatives to work for the Maricopa County Regional School District, where he served as deputy schools superintendent. He had retired a year earlier, a few months prior to district Superintendent Sandra Dowling's indictment on 25 felony charges.

Arredondo was never charged with wrongdoing as the district audit focused on Dowling, who eventually pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor in what she alleged was a politically motivated case.

In 2009, after serving 16 years on the Tempe council, Arredondo switched parties to run for the Legislature.

Less than a year after winning the District 17 House seat, Arredondo was named in the Fiesta Bowl scandal. He accepted tickets to sporting events from bowl executives after helping the bowl secure a $6.45million subsidy from Tempe in 2005.

County Attorney Bill Montgomery's investigation of the 31 elected officials who took gifts from the bowl concluded that charges were not warranted because the rules related to accepting gifts were unclear.

The federal investigation was viewed by some Valley residents as an overdue reckoning for Arredondo. But his longtime supporters hoped it was an opportunity to clear his name.

Tempe Councilman Joel Navarro said Friday that Arredondo has taken responsibility and that the wrongdoing should not negate the good he did for his constituents.

"If Ben feels comfortable that's what he felt was the right thing to do, then I applaud him for standing up for that," he said. "He still has done some great things for the community. It is a shame that (there's) an outcome like this, that it has come down to this."

As part of the plea, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss all other charges against Arredondo.

And if the former lawmaker fulfills the terms of the agreement, federal prosecutors agreed in court that they will not prosecute Arredondo's wife for any crimes related to the U.S. Department of Justice's case against Arredondo.

Arredondo broke down in court, wiping his face and choking back emotion as he faced Judge Lawrence Anderson. Anderson said Arredondo accepted a bribe in exchange for services and defrauded the residents of Tempe and Arizona of their right to honest services.

Federal prosecutors in court said Arredondo accepted about $6,000 in tickets to charity events and college and professional sporting events. The tickets were bribes in exchange for giving undercover FBI agents posing as developers the inside track on a Tempe land deal, prosecutors said.

Federal prosecutor Monique Abrishami said that after Arredondo's election to the state House, he reassured the agents that he and an incoming Tempe council member would support their development project. ''

"'You guys will ask, you guys will have. I don't know how else to say it,'" Abrishami reported Arredondo had told the agents. " 'We'll be just fine because not only we're covered at the city, we're covered now at the state.'"

Information presented in court showed that, in 2001, Arredondo established the Arredondo Scholarship Fund for "average" students needing financial support and operated it through at least 2011. Prosecutors said Arredondo solicited donations for the fund, never telling donors that a portion of the money would go to scholarships for his own relatives.

Seven of Arredondo's relatives received a total of nearly $50,000 to attend Arizona educational institutions.

Widening scope

Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe, said Arredondo is among a growing number of Arizona politicians who have violated their duty to uphold the law. Ableser successfully ran as a team with Arredondo for their district's two House seats, calling themselves the "A Team."

Voters have every right to be angry with Arizona politicians, Ableser said, "given the amount of unethical behaviors by lobbyist and legislators over the past year that have destroyed the public's trust in their elected officials."

Earlier this week, County Attorney Montgomery announced that a 14-month investigation had concluded that Republican Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, the state's top law-enforcement official, deliberately broke campaign-finance laws during his 2010 bid for office by coordinating with an independent expenditure committee. Horne has said he did nothing wrong.

Navarro said constituents have approached him at grocery stores and ball games asking about the worrisome state of Tempe and Arizona politics.

"It seems like politics in every form has been at the forefront of the community's mind," he said. "Ever since this whole thing with the state and the Fiesta Bowl outbreak, we've been taking a hard look at whether we are doing everything we can."

Last week's federal indictment of Mills, the GOP aide charged with using campaign donations to help pay for various mortgages and investments, could signal that the FBI investigation of Arredondo may still extend to more Valley politicians.

Legal experts have said that the delay in the time between investigating and charging Arredondo indicates that the FBI may be investigating others.

Following Arredondo's indictment, Kenneth Fields, a retired Maricopa County Superior Court judge, told The Republic that in his experience as a federal prosecutor, it is uncommon for federal officials to investigate issues such as Arredondo's crimes as a councilman unless there is a wider scope of wrongdoing suspected.

He said prosecutors may see Arredondo as the "low-hanging fruit" that they hope to turn as a witness against bigger players.

Reporter Mary Jo Pitzl contributed to this article.

Tempe's Arredondo pleads guilty to bribes, mail fraud

Tempe's Arredondo pleads guilty to bribes, mail fraud (updated)

Posted: Friday, October 5, 2012 5:04 pm

By Michelle Reese, Tribune

Longtime East Valley lawmaker Ben Arredondo will be sentenced in January after pleading guilty Friday to two felony charges in federal court.

State Rep. Arredondo, D-Tempe, who was indicted in May, was caught in a sting involving FBI undercover agents who said they represented a company that wanted to develop real estate projects in Tempe, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice. The department reports Arredondo’s actions took place while he was first a city councilman in Tempe and then a state representative.

On Friday, Arredondo, 65, pleaded guilty to one count each of honest services mail fraud and mail fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison with each charge and could be fined. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 22.

The release states that Arredondo accepted tickets to sporting events, and tables at charity events, with tickets sent to his home. In exchange, Arredondo agreed to use his influence to gain support for the fictitious company and its project.

“Arredondo took the bribe with the intent to be influenced in the performance of his official duties, first as a councilmember and later as an elected member of the Arizona House of Representatives,” the U.S. Justice of Department release said. “During his plea, Arredondo admitted that from February 2009 to November 2010, he solicited and accepted things of value, collectively a bribe, from representatives of ‘Company A.’”

During his plea, Arredondo also revealed that some monies given to a scholarship fund he set up were used by family members, which was not revealed to donors.

A call to Arredondo’s attorney was not immediately returned.

Arredondo was elected to District 17 in November 2010 following about 16 years as a Tempe councilman.

Sen. David Schapira, D-Tempe, told the Tribune that he expected Arredondo to “no longer be a state representative” by the end of Friday.

Several officials at the state House of Representatives said they expected his resignation as well.

At that point, Schapira said, precinct members will sit down to discuss who could fill Arredondo’s seat for the next three months. Their nominations will go before the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors for final decision.

“The important thing to highlight is our district has been represented by somebody who has been distracted by a serious court case for some time. I called on him to resign when the indictments first came out. Sadly, our constituents in District 17 have been shortchanged,” Schapira said.

Contact writer: (480) 898-6549 or mreese@evtrib.com

Arredondo left giant black mark on Tempe

Richardson: Arredondo left giant black mark on Tempe

Posted: Friday, October 19, 2012 8:12 am

Guest Commentary by Bill Richardson

Ex-Tempe City Council member Ben Arredondo is nothing more than a crooked politician who took advantage of his position of power for personal gain.

On Oct. 5, Arredondo, a member of the Tempe City Council from 1994 to 2010 and at that time a member of the State Leglislature since 2010, pled guilty in U. S. District Court in Phoenix to felony charges involving bribery and misappropriating scholarship funds. A plea agreement made with the U.S. Attorney’s Office recommends he serve 27 to 51 months in prison, and Arredondo subsequently gave up his senate seat.

Arredondo reportedly took $6,000 worth of bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as developers who wanted to do business in Tempe and diverted $50,000 in scholarship funds to family members.

The story continues to make headlines.

The Arizona Republic reported on July 14 Tempe Vice Mayor Joel Navarro, Council members Corey Woods and Robin Arredondo-Savage — Ben Arredondo’s niece — also met with Arredondo and undercover FBI agents and that longtime City of Tempe lobbyist Mike Williams could be tied to the FBI probe. Navarro, Woods, Arredondo-Savage and Williams have not been charged criminally.

A May 16 story reported Arredondo “accepted expensive tickets to sporting events from Fiesta Bowl executives after helping the bowl secure a $6.45 million subsidy from Tempe in 2005.” No charges were filed in this case against Arredondo or a host of other elected officials who were playing patty-cake with the Fiesta Bowl.

Several Fiesta Bowl officials have pled guilty to crimes. And a story from May 2011 said “Arredondo was intimately involved with ASU, Insight and the Fiesta Bowl, he was continually involved in negotiations. Arredondo also was close to Gary Husk, who, in addition to lobbying for the Fiesta Bowl, had been a paid consultant for Tempe.”

According to the December 2002 Los Vecinos Newsletter (download a PDF copy at evtnow.com/4f1 http://www.asu.edu/copp/urban/reports/files/Vecinos1202.pdf ), a Feb 24, 2005 East Valley Tribune story and Tempe records, Husk was paid a total of nearly $500,000 for consulting work at the police department and the city’s diversity office from 2002 to 2007.

Husk is reportedly under criminal investigation.

Besides being a crook, Arredondo was a Godfather-like figure in Tempe who used his political power to dictate as much city policy as possible. He also used his power to promote those in his camp of followers. His tentacles reached far and had a powerful grip. He pretty much got what he wanted most of the time.

An Oct. 5 Arizona Republic story quoted Arredondo as telling undercover FBI agents, “You guys will ask, you guys will have. I don’t know how else to say it. We’ll be just fine because not only we’re covered at the city, we’re covered now at the state.” His statement tells me he was confident the fake developers were going to get what they needed in Tempe even with his new presence at the legislature.

I have to wonder if the behind the scenes meeting between Arredondo, council members, purported developers and maybe even city staff is how Tempe does the people’s business on a regular basis? It’s obvious someone involved in the Arredondo meetings with undercover FBI agents knew a payoff was necessary to get the Tempe project done.

Is this is how Arredondo always did the people’s business?

Arredondo joins a growing list of corrupt Arizona officials. He’s the second Tempe official convicted of corruption charges. In 1994, City Magistrate Stephen Mirretti pled guilty to bribery and fraud. Mirretti’s circle of powerful friends included officials at city hall and the police department, just like Arredondo’s.

As best I can tell, Tempe could hold the record for city officials going to prison. It may also hold the record for the highest crime rate around. Corruption and crime usually go hand in hand.

Ben Arredondo the crook has left a giant black mark on Tempe. A black mark city officials have yet to show it doesn’t deserve.

Retired Mesa master police officer Bill Richardson lives in the East Valley and can be reached at bill.richardson@cox.net.

Ben Arredondo wants leniency because he was an elected official???

It's like a purchasing agent who works at Motorola and gets caught taking kick backs and then demands leniency because he was a purchasing agent at Motorola. Source

Ben Arredondo’s public service marred by crimes, prosecutors say

Republic staff, wire reports Wed Jan 16, 2013 6:29 AM

Former state Rep. Ben Arredondo’s record of public service was marred by his crimes and can’t be a basis for leniency, federal prosecutors say.

Arredondo faces a Jan. 23 sentencing. He pleaded guilty to fraud charges that he solicited and accepted a bribe while he was a Tempe city councilman and misled donors about a scholarship fund to benefit his relatives.

A plea agreement recommends between 27 months and 51 months in prison.

Prosecutors have objected to a draft presentence report’s assertion that Arredondo’s history of public service as a teacher, coach and public official could help justify a lower sentence.

The prosecutors say Arredondo doesn’t deserve any such leniency. They say he sought and accepted bribes as part of a pattern of conduct that abused the public trust.

Arredondo pleaded guilty to two felonies and agreed to resign his legislative seat on Oct. 5, 2012, becoming the latest in a string of Arizona politicians to face criminal and ethics charges.

Trembling as he addressed the court, Arredondo pleaded guilty in federal court to honest services fraud and mail fraud. Honest services fraud is a federal charge often used in cases related to public corruption. Each felony comes with a maximum prison sentence of up to 20 years and $250,000 in fines. Restitution could be up to $50,000.

He was indicted May 16 on charges of bribery, mail fraud, lying and extortion stemming from an FBI sting that took place between February 2009, when Arredondo was a Tempe City Council member, and November 2010, shortly after he won the House seat. The longtime GOP politico switched parties prior to winning the legislative seat.

As part of the plea, Arredondo agreed to resign from the Legislature.

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