Former Apache County Attorney, wife ask judge to dismiss some felony charges
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The former Apache County Attorney Michael Whiting and his wife, Joy, the School Superintendent appeared in Maricopa County Court where they asked a judge to dismiss some of the most serious charges they face.
Michael, Joy, and Michael’s lead investigator Daryl Greer were charged with misusing taxpayer money and threatening a political opponent back in August.
For nearly three hours Friday, Judge Daniel Martin heard arguments from the Whiting’s attorneys and from the state. They argued that the evidence prosecutors presented to the grand jury to get that indictment was misleading.
It all started back in June when investigators with the State Attorney General’s Office raided Michael’s office and home.
Michael, the longtime county attorney, is accused of buying gym equipment and t-shirts for a kid’s event along with threatening his wife’s political opponent. After receiving a 190-page letter in the mail, that opponent dropped out of the race for School Superintendent.
Joy is accused of using nearly a quarter of her budget ($80,000) on an SUV that Michael used.
Their attorneys argued that the AG’s Office doesn’t understand how Apache County works. They said it’s a small county and that departments share things like vehicles.
“It’s not just an isolated problem, it’s a systemic problem and that’s really unfortunate here because when you combine all this together the grand jury doesn’t get a fair appreciation of not just one account, but they all don’t pass the smell test,” Bruce Griffen, Michael’s attorney said.
“This is not personal. The state is simply doing its job. Just like the defense is doing its job. I’m not sure why he would come up here and say the state is just doing this for gamesmanship, again this is not personal,” Catherine Ferguson-Gilbert, one of the prosecutors said.
Ferguson-Gilbert said the evidence they presented to the grand jury was the latest and best information they had.
She explained they also had a forensic accountant go through the books.
Greer took a plea deal back in February. As part of that, he admitted to threatening and harassing a political candidate at the direction of his boss. That included “conducting surveillance” on the candidate and helping Michael send that letter urging him to drop out of the race. He was sentenced to one year of probation.
As part of an agreement with the State Bar, Michael’s law license was suspended. In Arizona, you must have a license in good standing to be a county attorney. The County Board of Supervisors voted to vacate the position late last year.
Judge Martin said he’d take all the information into account in issuing his decision.
The next court date is scheduled for March 28. That’s when a trial date could be decided.
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