Although Joe Arpaio has been pardoned by President Trump, we can still file civil charges against him to make him repay the over $100 million which has accrued to the county’s taxpayers as the result of lawsuits related to his unconstitutional policing and the inappropriate use of sheriff deputies as his promoters, personal chauffeurs and errand boys/girls.

Liquidation of his assets (including his Fountain Hills home) and changing the laws to take his social security, pensions and retirement accounts to reimburse the taxpayers would be a good start.

Some members of the Fountain Hills’ political structure have tried to push through a lagoon yet have no funds to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. Usually, when things are done in secret or with little or no public oversight, criminal conduct could be involved.

According to the FBI’s website, “public corruption, the FBI’s top criminal investigative priority, poses a fundamental threat to our national security and way of life. It can affect everything from how well our borders are secured and our neighborhoods protected to how verdicts are handed down in courts to how public infrastructure such as roads and schools are built. It also takes a significant toll on the public’s pocketbooks by siphoning off tax dollars – it is estimated that public corruption costs the U.S. government and the public billions of dollars each year. The FBI is uniquely situated to combat corruption, with the skills and capabilities to run complex undercover operations and surveillance.”