Attorney General Kris Mayes has quite the slate of talent on her executive floor say Capitol insiders.
Mayes’ state government division chief, Vanessa Hickman, was hit with two felony charges of controlling and trafficking stolen property this week. Hickman was arrested by U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) agents on Wednesday.
Hickman oversaw state agencies as division chief of state government.
Mayes’ office placed Hickman on administrative leave last Thursday following notification of the allegations against Hickman by USPIS.
Hickman resigned on Monday amid the investigation by USPIS.
USPIS accused Hickman of stealing and selling around $2,400 in jewelry over the summer after a package containing $40,000 worth of jewelry was misdelivered to her home, according to court records.
USPS attempted to retrieve the misdelivered jewelry from Hickman’s home nine times without success. After USPS inspectors finally made contact with Hickman and secured the package, the owner reported the package as tampered and a diamond bracelet missing.
Hickman’s claims of the package having come to her without a label and remaining unopened in her possession were disputed by a USPS image of the package’s initial delivery.
Mail theft carries punishments of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Stealing, appropriating, or conveying USPS property may incur a punishment of up to three years in prison. Shipping stolen goods through USPS can incur fines of up to $250,000 per count.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office received the case for prosecution.
Mayes retained Hickman despite ongoing allegations of wrongdoing by the city of Peoria. The city sued Hickman last year for a wrongful taking of $139,000 as a severance package when she resigned in Jan. 2023 to join Mayes’ office. City officials maintain Hickman engaged in unjust enrichment, fraud, conversion, civil conspiracy to commit fraud and conversion, and breach of fiduciary duty.
Former Peoria Mayor Cathy Carlat, who was also sued, defended the disputed six-figure payout and denied the city’s claim that she coordinated with Hickman to secure increased payments.
Peoria Mayor Jason Beck sent a letter to Mayes in March advising of Hickman’s refusal to return the alleged excess payout.
“Public officials are entrusted with the responsibility to serve their communities with integrity and honesty, and when they violate the very foundation of this sacred trust, the public rightfully looks to the Attorney General’s Office to pursue justice for the people who have been victimized by the public official,” wrote Beck.
Mayes rejected Beck’s request for her to investigate Hickman. Mayes said the letter was a political stunt. It seems Mayes couldn’t see past political party when it came to members of her own team, or assigning any merit to complaints like Beck’s.
Hickman countersued the city for defamation after they contacted Mayes’ office about the disputed six-figure payout. The Maricopa County Superior Court rejected Hickman’s case in January.
Hickman hasn’t been the only one stirring up controversy in the attorney general’s office.
It appears Mayes’ deputy communications director spreads misinformation on the taxpayer’s dime.
Mayes’ deputy communications director, Delaney Corcoran, posted a false claim about Congressman Abe Hamadeh’s office apparently an hour before clocking out for the work day on Wednesday.
Corcoran claimed Hamadeh’s press secretary is the same individual who is FBI Director Kash Patel’s girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins. Public records reflect Hamadeh’s press secretary is currently Olivia Stone, not Wilkins. These records are easily retrievable through a simple search on any search engine platform.
“I’m begging someone to get Abe Hamadeh on the record about the fact that his press sec is Kash Patel’s gf,” said Corcoran. “How does the congressman feel about FBI agents arming his comms staffer? Is it awkward because he doesn’t have his own detail?”
https://x.com/del_corcoran/status/1991282365260525741?s=46
Wilkins did hold a job as Hamadeh’s press secretary — but only during the first month of his taking office. Wilkins is currently a writer and political commentator for The American Border Story.
Despite other users pointing out to Corcoran that her statements were false, Corcoran kept the post up and issued no correction of her narrative.
Corcoran joined Mayes’ office in January. She transitioned from former Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign in November, a role she held for less than a year. Corcoran was Harris’ deputy communications director for Arizona.
One of Corcoran’s most top-performing posts on X occurred last year. She was the one to break the news of the Republicans for Harris coalition in Arizona.
https://x.com/del_corcoran/status/1853836110549401715
Such fine upstanding people we have running AZ…NOT!!!!!
Whomever voted for this POS should have their heads examined!