IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
“Paul Babeu is supposed to enforce the law, not break it,” said DCCC Spokesman Tyler Law. “Make no mistake about it: we will work tirelessly to ensure that Arizonans know just how unethical and dangerous this man is.”
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More information on FBI subpoenas surrounding Babeu’s alleged misuse of RICO fundsCase Grande Dispatch
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AZPSF was founded under former Pinal County Sheriff Chris Vasquez, who told the Maricopa Monitor last year it was created as a way to give local donors a tax ID number for write-off purposes. It was to remain separate from PCSO with its board of community members and zero oversight from Vasquez.
“There was not supposed to be any public money into that foundation, meaning tax dollars, grant money or RICO money,” he told the Monitor at the time. “It was created solely to receive donations from outside sources.”
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Perhaps most significantly, his sentiment that it was not intended to receive RICO funds, or seized criminal money, is no more.
Ambiguous lending, ambiguous spending
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Hundreds of thousands of dollars have passed from RICO coffers to AZPSF for what has largely been characterized broadly as “community outreach” or “anti-drug/anti-gang” activity. Yet equally general descriptions of where that money goes makes it difficult to track how the funds are ultimately used.
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A lawsuit filed in July 2015, however, specifically focused on the county. In doing so, it questioned the extent of the relationship between AZPSF and PCSO, especially in relation to the sheriff himself.
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At the heart of the issue is the idea that RICO monies given to AZPSF have been used to fund Babeu’s campaign for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District seat. He won the Republican nomination in the August primary and will face former state Sen. Tom O’Halleran on the Democratic side of the ticket in November.
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