The listing price on Paul Petersen’s Mesa?law office was slashed by $24,000 Monday. But there is a snag to a quick deal: The property is embroiled in a criminal case.? The price cut came hours before the Arizona Attorney General’s Office confirmed Petersen’s office was one of several assets listed in a $1.5 million seizure […]
Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen pleaded not guilty in the Arizona adoption scandal Tuesday morning.? The arraignment hearing at the Maricopa County Superior Court was Petersen?s first court appearance after being indicted in early Oct. 2019. Lynwood Jennet was also indicted along with Petersen.? According to his Initial Release document, Petersen faces 32 charges: one […]
An Arizona lawyer accused of illegally enticing women to give up their babies was released from custody Tuesday on $100,000 bond after pleading not guilty, a federal magistrate ruled. Paul D. Petersen, 44, of Mesa, Ariz., posted the bond on a 19-count federal indictment and was required to both submit to GPS monitoring and pay […]
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has just voted unanimously to suspend County Assessor Paul Petersen for 120 days without pay. The decision comes following Petersen’s arrest earlier this month for allegedly running an international adoption ring. Arizona’s Family on Monday obtained the results of an audit of Petersen’s county office that was completed by the Maricopa County […]
Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen, who’s facing possible prison time for an adoption scheme involving pregnant Marshallese women, helped facilitate at least one planned placement of a Native American baby, according to documents obtained by Phoenix New Times. Emails to the adoptive family from the director of Bright Star Adoptions, an adoption firm for which Petersen […]
Despite having cast a?historical vote?to expel Yuma Republican Don Shooter on February 1, some lawmakers in the Arizona House of Representatives tried to put one of his victims ? a colleague of theirs ? on trial. Shooter was?expelled by a vote of 56-3, including his own no vote, making him one of only three lawmakers […]
A House investigation confirmed today that there is ?credible evidence? Republican Rep. Don Shooter violated a sexual harassment policy and created a hostile working environment at the Capitol. After the allegations against Shooter surfaced, House Speaker J.D. Mesnard suspended Shooter from his powerful position as the chairman of the House Appropriations committee. Mesnard?said today?Shooter will […]
Scottsdale’s ordinance restricting “sign-walkers” to private property could be coming to an end with the likely passage of an amendment by the Arizona Legislature. A 2008 state law requires all municipalities to allow sign-walkers, such as those dressed like the Statue of Liberty outside tax-filing offices or those who spin signs in a showman-like fashion […]
Supervisor Don Stapley, one of two Maricopa County supes under criminal indictment, has hired a new defense attorney to defend him against the latest set of charges he faces from County Attorney Andrew Thomas. His name is Kurt Altman (pictured), and he earned his stripes as a feisty and successful major-felony prosecutor for about 14 years before switching to criminal-defense work […]