AP Newsbreak: Key document missing in corruption case

Source: Associated Press

AP Newsbreak: Key document missing in corruption case
By JACQUES BILLEAUD, Associated Press | December 10, 2014 | Updated: December 10, 2014 4:06pm

PHOENIX (AP) — A key document is missing in the corruption case against three former sheriff's office employees accused of helping drug smugglers.

The three former officers for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office are accused of helping smuggle heroin from Mexico into metro Phoenix and launder its illegal proceeds through the bank accounts of two companies. One of the suspects was once a member of Arpaio's elite immigration squad.

The case relied heavily on a wiretap, but a document completed by investigators to secure the court-ordered surveillance has vanished, Herman Alcantar, an attorney for one of the former officers, told The Associated Press. In response, Alcantar has asked a judge to toss key evidence, and prosecutor Lindsey Coates told the defense attorney last month in an email that "the plan is to potentially dismiss this case entirely."

The key suspect, former Deputy Alfredo Aguirre Navarrette, could still face charges of insurance fraud and arson for allegedly causing a fire to a car in 2010.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/AP-Newsbreak-Key-document-missing-in-corruption-5948268.php