I'm getting tired of readying all these goddamn PDF reports this week documenting sleaze, political corruption, and financial shenanigans in Arizona. First we had the 700-page report of the investigation into Sheriff Joe Arpaio's slush fund that hit the headlines Sunday. Not only does the report document how Arpaio's staff established and then conspired to cover up an illegal fund that smeared the Sheriff's 2008 opponent, but it includes a verbatim account of a secretly-taped 2009 staff meeting, during which Joe and the gang diss political friends and enemies, with descriptions like "dickhead," "idiot," "piece of shit," and "nutcase." And lots of belly laughs in between. Yuck yuck. We've always known Arpaio and his goons are bigoted blowhards, and now we have their own words confirming the corruption, intimidation, and outright nastiness.
I barely finished wading through that phonebook-size account when another huge PDF dropped in our computer laps this afternoon. It's a 276-page report that exposes the ugly financial and political underbelly of something that has been a "source of national pride for all Arizonans": The Fiesta Bowl.
Heck, we know there's money in college sports; in fact, tonight's Frontline was an investigation of financial improprieties in the NCAA's March Madness. But news websites, radio shows, and TV screens exploded this afternoon with the findings of a report that outlines some extremely nasty shit -- shit so nasty it may set the sun on the Valley's premiere sporting event:
Fiesta Bowl investigators have found evidence of potentially illegal employee conduct and spending irregularities that could jeopardize the bowl's non-profit status and prestigious role in college football's national-championship series.
As a result of the five-month internal probe released today, the bowl fired its longtime public face, Chief Executive John Junker, and accepted the resignations of two other top bowl officers. Arizona Republic
Anyone who's lived in Arizona for any length of time knows Junker's face and familiar yellow jacket. Heck, he took the job out of college in 1990 and built the Fiesta Bowl into one of the foremost college bowls in the nation. The Fiesta has only been around since 1971; it's relatively young compared to the Peach, Bluebonnet, Liberty, and others that we only know today by their corporate name. Yet in that short time the Fiesta has wedged its way into the Bowl Championship Series as one of the four major bowls -- hosting not only the annual game but the Championship Game every four years. Compared to the other BCS bowls -- Rose, Sugar and Orange -- the Fiesta is a young pup. (I've been to several, and liked the old ASU stadium a lot more. Just sayin'.)
For his work, John Junker has been rewarded nicely. He makes more than $670,000 annually. Think of that: your job is to put on one football game a year, and you make nearly three-quarters of a million dollars. Nice gig. Well, it turns out old John couldn't live on that measly amount, and that's one of the report's most damning findings:
A review by investigators showed Junker was reimbursed $4.85 million for expenses over the past decade, of which more than half could not be verified as legitimate. Items expensed by Junker and other executives, the report says, included a $1,200 night at a strip club; $13,000 in travel to an employee's wedding in Missouri; a $30,000-plus birthday party for Junker in Pebble Beach, Calif.; and thousands of dollars in golf-club memberships.
I couldn't not look into the strip club expense, and what I found was that in September 2008, Junker escorted a bowl executive and lieutenant in Sheriff Arpaio's office to Phoenix's Bourbon Street Club, where Junker dropped $1,241 -- and was reimbursed. On his invoice Junker wrote that it was for "security site planning."
Junker told investigators he visited the strip joint with Brown, whose private company provided security for the bowl, and Schoeffler to check out a venue that might appeal to college football players. "We are in the business where big strong athletes are known to attend these types of establishments," he noted. "It was important for us to visit and we certainly conducted business."
Oh, that's rich: "conducted business." I'm not sure what a lap dance goes for, but that's a lot of "important" business being conducted there.
However, what's more troubling is the political dimension of this story. At least 11 bowl employees told investigators that they were reimbursed for making more than $40,000 in campaign donations to candidates who might introduce or otherwise support legislation that helped the Fiesta Bowl maintain its status. The contributions and reimbursements were not reported as such.
This investigation got underway, in fact, when in 2009 the Arizona Republic reported that Fiesta Bowl employees had been making political contributions since 2000, and then being reimbursed for them -- something Junker denied at the time. In the report investigators include a statement Junker made after the 2009 article appeared: "I have never made a campaign contribution reimbursement, never" (p. 69).
Over the past decade as the Fiesta Bowl worked to maintain its elite position as one of the top postseason college-football games, employees made contributions to politicians friendly to the bowl, including some donations that may violate campaign-finance laws. Arizona Republic
That 2009 article spurred then-AG Terry Goddard to begin an inquiry, which was eventually turned over to private, out-of-state investigators -- the group that released the report today after a five-month probe. The bottom line is that the Fiesta Bowl operates as a nonprofit enterprise, and four other nonprofit agencies benefit from the game and associated community events. As a nonprofit, the Bowl is prohibited from making political donations or attempting to influence legislation. Not only weren't the contributions reported, but the investigators describe a conspiracy to cover them up:
The report, commissioned by a Fiesta Bowl Special Committee, quotes employees as saying that they lied about their roles in hiding political contributions. The report also alleges that some people falsified documents and took other steps to conceal a culture of excess that permeated the tax-exempt agency. Arizona Republic
In addition to political donations, the Fiesta Bowl allegedly hosted fundraisers for friendly elected officials. And who do you think received the majority of this largesse? Can you say Republicans? Of the 24 recipients listed in the report (pp. 32-33), I noted only 4 Democrats: Congressman Harry Mitchell, County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, State Senator Pete Rios, and Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross (a couple names weren't familiar).
The remaining donations went to the GOP, including the Arizona Republican Party itself and some well-known names: Governor Jan Brewer, Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl, Congressmen JD Hayworth and John Shadegg, and State Senator Russell Pearce, who, the Arizona Republic reports, has sponsored legislation "to help the bowl in legal tussles with the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority." One of Governor Brewer's advisors, Chuck Coughlin, received more than $550,000 from the Fiesta Bowl between 2005 and 2010 for "consulting" fees.
There are a lot of other turdbombs in the report: outrageous bonuses, contractor irregularities, interference with investigations, huge lobbying fees, limited oversight, conflicts of interest, game tickets and junkets for politicians and other friends, conspiracies to conceal records, and a shit load of freebies for staff and directors. "Everybody had a good time, and it was a hell of a party," said former director Bill Peltier.
The upshot is that 21-year CEO John Junker has been canned, as have two other employees who earned $391,000 and $219,000 respectively. Whew, nice office parties I guess. The AG has started an investigation, but more importantly, the BCS announced it is evaluating whether the Fiesta Bowl should remain a top-tier BCS game, or whether it should even be moved out of Arizona. Keep in mind, this event contributes roughly $230 million annually to the local economy, and the four charities that benefit from the Fiesta Bowl net more than $22 million.
WTF were these assholes thinking?! More than $670,000 a year is not enough for Junker to live on, so he had to bill his organization for lap dances and birthday parties? Does this state have to screw up everything?