On November 23, 2016, the day before Thanksgiving, four of my respected and beloved DES team members and I were unceremoniously ousted from the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), the largest State social services agency that we still pray for and love.
Whereas I was provided the opportunity to resign, the four other high integrity public servants were abruptly terminated right after my exit. In my ardent opinion, these great public servants were harshly treated only because they were full-fledged supporters of my transformative leadership at DES. They endeavored tirelessly in a values-based way to make my vision of “The New DES,” intended to be the best State agency in Arizona and a model for social services agencies in our country, a working reality. Clark Collier was our outstanding Deputy Director of Programs, a 20-year veteran of the Peoria Police Department. The Honorable Juan “Jay” Arcellana, our intrepid Inspector General, was a former judge. Charlies “Charlie” Loftus, our respected Chief Law Enforcement Officer, was a career law enforcement professional. Morris Greenidge, our people-focused Chief Human Resources Officer, was a multi-decade State employee of the highest regard. Marie Barker, my extraordinary assistant, was an inexhaustible public servant and wonderful advocate of goodness. Each of them was summarily terminated because they like so many others fully supported “Government at the Speed of Business” with a true employee-focused “Conservative Heart.”
As for me, I always understood I served at the pleasure of the Governor. Unfortunately, at that epic juncture, it was no longer Governor Ducey’s pleasure that I serve in his cabinet. It was no longer his pleasure that I continue to transform the calcified, broken agency despite the significant progress we were making attacking and rooting out inefficiencies, malaise, waste, abuse and fraud. It is a shame our efforts were crushed. Thousands of wonderful DES colleagues still disagree with the Governor’s political decision.
Related:
https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2016/12/19/arizonas-poor-lost-when-jeffries-was-axed/
https://townhall.com/columnists/rachelalexander/2016/12/20/death-of-a-reformer-n2261813
https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2017/01/02/the-destruction-of-des-and-good-men/
None of us hired lawyers and launched legal action in the aftermath of this bitter treatment and heartbreaking tragedy. We had given our very (albeit imperfect) best to DES in the face of the long odds of righting a multi-decade broken ship. The record shows we were righting the DES ship in a big and beautiful way. Over the past three years, the persistent challenges and scandals surrounding DES continue to exonerate us. But, as a Roman Catholic man, I am always open to God’s Holy Mystery. God was mysterious when I was ousted. God has often been mysterious during my long, expensive, righteous and just legal battle with the State.
One week after our ousters, Charlie and I still did not launch legal action when the Governor’s team led by his former chief of Staff Kirk Adams maliciously released and encouraged the fake news and defaming smears regarding “DES Guns and Ammo.” Despite the facts surrounding our efforts via DES Protective Services to protect our amazing social services workers at 77 centers throughout Arizona, sensational headline grabbing news throughout Arizona and nationally e.g. USA TODAY ruled the days and months thereafter.
Further highlighting our restraint and bona fide desire to move on, Charlie and I also relented from launching legal action four to six months later even as numerous details leaked out of DES regarding an alleged Department of Public Safety (DPS) audit of DES Protective Services firearms and ammunition.
Related:
https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2017/04/10/ducey-admin-delays-delivery-of-des-dps-report/
“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!”
However, things significantly changed when the highly awaited, broadly distributed and widely covered “DPS DES Firearms Program Audit” was released in July 2017. The “sham of an Audit,” as I have often called it, restoked the raging, malicious and defamatory media flames we had suffered for months after our highly publicized ousters. As a result, a full 8 months after our exits, Charlie and I declared, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.” We finally hired lawyers and launched individual legal actions. A couple months later, we joined our lawsuits to fight for the justice we are still owed and claw back at least a portion of our good names.
Related:
DPS Audit Of DES Raises Questions, Provides Few Answers
Jeffries Files Notice Of Claim Against State For False DPS Statements In DES Audit
DES Details Drip Out To Contradict DPS Audit
Loftus Files Notice Of Claim For False Statements In DPS DES Audit
On August 22, 2017, Charlie (Loftus), then and still a highly respected member of the Arizona law enforcement community offered this humble statement regarding the DPS DES Firearms Program Audit.
“I’m very disappointed in the accuracy of the investigation, it seems that the conclusion was established before the interviews were started. There are some extraordinary claims that are contradicted by facts. I’m sorry to see what appears to be an investigation directed by the Governor’s office for political sensationalism.”
“Interviews of witnesses and a review of the facts will demonstrate either the investigation was horribly flawed or perhaps something more sinister was at play. Either way we were smeared to take the attention away from the real reason we were fired which was having a criminal investigation opened on a friend and political donor of the Governor for $1.4 million in Medicaid/AHCCCS fraud.”
As for me, I have shared the following comments with the Arizona press in various statements and interviews over the years because I will not relent from telling the truth nor cower in this fight:
“The Thanksgiving weekend DPS assessment of DES ammunition levels classified our law enforcement ammunition as being “normal, if not on the light side.” This consequential fact was never disclosed to Craig Harris at the Arizona Republic. This exculpatory evidence was also never shared with other media sources in Arizona and the USA. Furthermore, and quite egregiously so, this significant fact was also never disclosed in the sham of the DPS DES Firearms Program Audit, a multi-month $100K bureaucratic charade designed solely to further paper the radioactivity intended for Charlie and me.”
Related:
https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2017/10/25/loftus-jeffries-sue-state-for-libel/
https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2018/02/22/1482Judge+Allows+Loftus%2C+Jeffri62/
https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2018/06/10/public-corruption-claims-jeffries-loftus-suit/
Close to Three Years Later, Charlie and I Are Still Battling Injustice
The high-priced external lawyers that the Governor and his Administration hired to quickly dispense with Charlie and me have failed each time they have attempted to dismiss our defamation lawsuit. These Cadillac-priced lawyers have fought Charlie and me at every turn as we seek evidentiary discovery regarding the waste and corruption surrounding Hacienda Healthcare and the HEAPlus IT social services eligibility system. This information is foundational to our legal efforts to show some of the public corruption that we were fighting and why the Governor’s former chief of staff Kirk Adams maliciously orchestrated our public radioactivity.
Related:
Timmons Resigns From Hacienda, Previous Cover-Ups Alleged
Why did the state ignore warnings leading to rape of unconscious Hacienda patient?
Jeffries Details Failures Of HEA Plus, Arizonans Wrongly Denied Medicaid Benefits
Failures Of AZDES System HEA Plus Leads To $142 Million Wasted Taxpayer Funds
Ducey Shuts Down Testimony By Jeffries, Loftus On DES Debacle
At least two DES law enforcement veterans interviewed for the DPS Audit have soundly disavowed numerous direct quotes attributed to them. Quite conveniently, though no one should be surprised, none of the DPS Audit interviews were recorded. In addition, the notes from the four central interviews of the DPS Audit have never been produced for our evidentiary review. Adding to this corrupt and pathetic charade, neither my highly respected DES Inspector General, the Honorable Juan “Jay” Arcellana, Esq. (who hired, supervised and directed Charlie Loftus), nor I were interviewed for the DPS Audit. Among the many tragic, ridiculous and suspect things, these are examples of the very things that make citizens skeptical, cynical and loathsome of government power, deceit and lies, particularly when it is brought to bear to crush her citizens.
I will not speak to Charlie’s personal finances. However, the Ducey Administration has consistently spent 9 to 10 dollars on external lawyers to my one dollar in legal fees. So, based on my personal cash burn and the State’s significant level of legal activity, it is fair to estimate that the Governor has spent approximately ONE MILLION DOLLARS trying to vanquish our lawsuit and crush us again in the process.
Despite all of this, Charlie and I made two earnest settlement offers last year. Each offer was swiftly rejected. There was zero interest on the State’s part to commence settlement discussions. Furthermore, over the years, I have made several direct and indirect private offers to meet with Governor Ducey and settle this as gentlemen. Sadly, these serious informal offers have also gone unheeded. Unfortunately, it is abundantly clear the Governor’s Administration will spend anything to secure total victory and their Quixotesque view of political exoneration despite the facts we know and deserve to know as plaintiffs and Arizonans.
So, Where Is Our Lawsuit Now?
As a result of the State’s ongoing legal maneuvers to block us from the evidentiary discovery we need to prove there was underlying malice to the DPS DES Firearms Program Audit, Charlie and I via our lawyers submitted a Petition for Review to the Arizona Supreme Court on April 8, 2020.
Jeffries Loftus Petition for Review of the AZ Supreme Court
Section from Our Petition to Review Before the Arizona Supreme Court
- Facts.
In an amended complaint (Appendix 4), Petitioners have alleged that they discovered corruption on the part of certain government officials in the Governor’s office, the facts of which are set forth in extreme detail. Amended Complaint, Appendix 4, pp. 4-15) Rather than correct the corruption, the decision was made by Defendants to engage in well-orchestrated defamation of Petitioners to destroy their credibility, so no one would believe there was corruption. The Complaint sets forth specific lies that were told and how they were false. (Id.)
In the Issues section above, we suggested that the two possibly contradictory parts of the Chamberlain decision could be reconciled by applying footnote 6 only if there was actual evidence that a defendant deliberately lied.
The Motion, Response, and Reply, regarding refused discovery pertaining to corruption as a motive, are attached as Appendices 5, 6, and 7. In Defendant’s Response, Appendix 6, Defendant made an important admission:
“And the State does not dispute that evidence regarding a speaker’s actual knowledge of the falsity of his or her statement concerning firearms ammunition would be relevant if any such evidence existed.” (P. 7, emphasis added.)
“Any such evidence” does exist. Part of it is set forth in the Declaration of Charles Loftus, attached to Appendices 5 and 7, as follows:
- I have personal knowledge that Mr. Chris Luebkin, who prepared the published report that defamed me and Timothy Jeffries, knew that he was lying, and that the Governor’s office deliberately covered up exculpatory information regarding these lies. Here are four examples:
2.(1) Luebkin quoted Carlos Contreras as saying the following; “A/C Contreras stated he and Mr. Loftus convinced Jeffries that arming every DES employee was ill-advised and, after careful and gentle persuasion (fearing they would be fired if they argued to vehemently with him)” [not to arm everyone]; 3. Shortly after the published report was released Carlos Contreras told me that he did not say this, and this statement by Luebkin is false.
Therefore, Luebkin must have known he was lying when he attributed quoted material from Carlos Contreras which Contreras never said to Luebkin. I confirmed this information with Carlos Contreras on Jan 7, 2020 at around 10:30 AM.
4.(2) Luebkin also says in the report: “A/C Contreras stated Jeffries and Loftus had different reasons for their desires to expand the amount of armed personnel assigned to DES/OIG security services. A/C Contreras stated Jeffries wanted to create his own police force that he would control.”
- Shortly after the published report was released Carlos Contreras told me that he did not say this, and this statement by Luebkin is false. Therefore, Luebkin must have known he was lying when he attributed quoted material from Carlos Contreras which Contreras never said to Luebkin. I confirmed this information with Carlos Contreras on Jan 7, 2020 at around 1030 AM.
6.(3) Craig Harris from the Arizona Republic submitted a public records request to the Department of Public Safety the week following our dismissal. He asked for DPS to provide an estimate of the appropriate level of ammunition for training DES officers. DPS completed an analysis and forwarded it to DPS General Counsel Annie Foster. Annie Foster emailed it to Daniel Scarpinato, PR Manager for the Governor. Annie Foster asked him how much of this information should be released to Craig Harris. This was in an email. However, when I presented this email to Craig Harris asking if he was aware of it, he indicated that he was not. The DPS report indicated the ammunition level that DES had was insufficient. The Luebkin report falsely stated that we had excess. This was exculpatory information which was covered up by the Governor’s office. This shows that the Governor’s office knew that the report contained false accusations against me and Timothy Jeffries.
- (4) On December 12, 2016, I sent an email with my own needs assessment that we were short on ammunition to Luebkin. This is before I knew about the study referred to above. This is six months before Luebkin’s report. Yet, Luebkin stated in his report that we had too much ammunition.
- Therefore, Luebkin must have known he was lying because he had an analysis contradicting his lie 6 months before he published the lie.
Therefore, there was evidence in the record indicating actual knowledge of falsity. Defendant admits that this makes actual knowledge relevant. (Appendix 6, p. 7, quoted above.)
20 04 08 Jeffries Loftus Petition for Review of the AZ Supreme Court.pdf
Some Final Thoughts on the Eve of the Arizona Supreme Court Decision
While Charlie and I wait for the Arizona Supreme Court to decide if they will hear our Petition for Review, the fraud, waste and abuse at DES that we targeted continues. The Hacienda Healthcare Rape Scandal and other related matters have been an abject tragedy for the most vulnerable the State must serve and protect. Not surprisingly, the family of the dear defenseless San Carlos Apache woman who suffered unspeakable sexual assaults filed a $40 million to $50 million lawsuit against the State several months ago. And, quite unfortunately, no media other than the Arizona Daily Independent and the James T. Harris Show on 550 AM KFYI have expressed any interest in the $250 million plus debacle of the HEAPlus IT social services eligibility system that’s bleeding American taxpayers and is a key source of plummeting DES employee morale.
If Charlie and I lose at the Arizona Supreme Court, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to fully prosecute our defamation case. As former public officials, we must show cause for our just claims of malice and defamation. We need access to the information regarding Hacienda Healthcare and the HEAPlus IT social services eligibility system to fully demonstrate the fraud and corruption that we know was, and perhaps still is, there. While we wait and pray, at least the Arizona Republic has recently caught a whiff of the unethical and corrupt stench that Charlie and I have smelled for years.
THANKFULLY, the Arizona Daily Independent has reported on this stench for several years.
Related:
https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2020/04/27/the-more-things-change-the-more-they-stay-the-same/
https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2017/04/25/audit-finds-des-it-security-anything-but-secure/
https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2017/03/08/public-corruption-in-arizona-takes-all-forms/