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More of the old "Do as I say, not as I do" from our government masters.
Parks chief Bryan Martyn convicted in March fight By Craig Harris The Republic | azcentral.com Thu Nov 15, 2012 10:45 PM FLORENCE -- Bryan Martyn felt he was defending his honor when he lost his cool and pushed another man at a community festival earlier this year. Now, the Arizona State Parks director is a convicted criminal. Martyn, who became parks director May1, was found guilty Thursday of one count of disorderly conduct, a Class1 misdemeanor, following a 21/2 hour bench trial before Magistrate Katherine Kaiser in Florence Municipal Court. Kaiser imposed an $813 fine. Martyn faced up to six months in jail and fines of up to $2,500. The judge did not say how she arrived at the amount of the fine. She declined to answer questions from a reporter after the hearing. “I’m disappointed in the outcome,” Martyn said after sentencing. “But I’m anxious to move forward with Arizona State Parks.” Martyn said he does not expect the conviction to have any influence on his job. He said he notified his bosses, Gov. Jan Brewer and Arizona State Parks Board Chairman Walter Armer. Brewer could not be reached for comment. Armer downplayed the incident and said he supports Martyn. “I think he’s doing a great job,” Armer said in a telephone interview. “In my estimation, it was a relatively minor incident. My feeling is, we will keep moving forward. He has some great ideas and a heck of a lot of enthusiasm for state parks.” Martyn said in an interview that he didn’t believe his offense rose to the level of a crime. “I got into an argument with a guy, and all of a sudden it becomes criminal,” Martyn said. Martyn was convicted of pushing Christopher White on March10 at Anthem Community Park near Florence after the two got into a brief dispute after shaking hands. Martyn, during the trial, said he politely confronted White for calling him a “liar” on a website that White had operated and that he pushed White away while they were shaking hands. But witnesses said Martyn was aggressive toward White, and one said she was afraid because Martyn would not back down and there were children present. At the time of the fight, Martyn was a member of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors and was actively promoting a controversial mine in Florence as head of the Pinal Truth Squad. The proposed mine has divided the town, with some residents concerned that the mine would pollute the groundwater. Those favoring the mine say it would create jobs. White did not testify Thursday. During the trial, it was disclosed that White had called Martyn a “liar” after attending a Pinal Truth Squad meeting a few days before the festival in the park where the shove occurred. White also called Martyn a “liar” when they got into a dispute at the park. For months, Martyn and Florence Mayor Tom Rankin engaged in a dispute over Curis Resources’ attempt to develop an underground mine in the town. Curis also partially funded the Pinal Truth Squad, which attacked Rankin in the past mayoral race. Rankin and the Florence Town Council oppose the mine. Martyn said before the trial that he believed the only reason it was going forward was because of his support for the mine. He raised the issue of the Town Council’s influence with the court system, pointing out in a change-of-venue request this summer that the council had the power to hire and fire the town attorney who prosecuted him and the magistrate presiding over his case. Martyn has said that created a conflict for the court. Though White also was charged in the case, Kaiser granted a change of venue for him in May. She sent White’s disorderly-conduct case to Casa Grande Municipal Court, where it was dismissed. At Thursday’s trial, Kaiser rejected objections by Martyn’s attorney, Gary Husk, that Town Attorney James Mannato was using hearsay evidence to build the case against Martyn. When Mannato objected to Husk’s attempts to use hearsay evidence to support Martyn, however, the judge ruled in favor of the town prosecutor and disallowed some of Husk’s questions for a witness. Mannato and Husk verbally sparred with one another throughout the trial, resulting in Husk saying in his closing argument that the two attorneys had more heated conversations than what occurred between Martyn and White. Mannato, in his closing argument, said that Martyn was to blame for his behavior and that elected officials should react more professionally to public criticism. “If you can’t take the heat, then you need to get out of the kitchen,” Mannato said. Martyn would not comment on the fairness of the court hearing. He said that he paid the fine and that it’s unlikely he will appeal. |