Hounshell probe will cost $100K

By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The Apache County Attorney's Office is going to pay up to $100,000 to a former Arizona Attorney General to conduct up to a year-long investigation into whether Apache County Sheriff Brian Hounshell misused $8,000 of taxpayers' money.

A press release issued Wednesday from Apache County Attorney Criss Candelaria's office said an 18-month investigation by Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard's office "revealed some troubling financial inconsistencies and administrative problems in Sheriff Brian Hounshell's office."

The Independent obtained a copy of the press release, which apparently was not sent to the newspaper.

According to the press release, "The Apache County Attorney's Office has retained the services of former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods as a Special Deputy Apache County Attorney for the purpose of conducting an independent and unbiased investigation into allegations of misconduct by Sheriff Brian Hounshell and other individuals in the Sheriff's office, and to pursue any criminal or civil proceedings that are appropriate."

Hounshell said, "I guess this new investigation into my office reveals the weakness of the Attorney General's 18-month initial investigation. I question this new independent unbiased investigation mainly due to the fact of Criss Candelaria's involvement.

"First an 18-month investigation by the Attorney General has stalled because it was dismissed, then a three-month hostile work environment investigation that revealed no wrongdoing, then an overtime investigation that has strayed away from the initial focus of overtime," the sheriff said.

"Now the County Attorney is prepared to spend an additional $100,000 to start the process all over again. This will be the fourth review of the AG's investigative material. How many times do they have to look at it? Answer: Until they can put me out of office," Hounshell said.

"This should paint a clear picture of Candelaria's intent to remove me from my elected office. We continue to be harassed by county government on a daily basis, as I have stated on several occasions," he said.

Terms of contract
The Special Prosecutor Contract signed Feb. 15 between Candelaria and Grant Woods states that expenditures under the initial term of the contract, which continues through Feb. 14, 2007, are not to exceed $100,000 without a formal written amendment by the parties stating the specific amount by which the contract is to be increased.

Under terms of payment, Woods is to be paid $200 per hour; associated attorneys, $175 per hour; investigators, $75 per hour. The county will pick up the tab on out-of-pocket expenses such as long distance calls, Federal Express postage costs, and service of subpoenas.

Woods also will be paid 37.5 cents per mile for use of his personal vehicle, and will be reimbursed for coach airfare, lodging up to $107 per day, and meals up to $28 per day, all payable with appropriate receipts.

Hounshell said, "There is no question in my mind that this battle will continue for quite some time. As one high government official has remarked, 'this is an unfortunate local political issue.' This is affecting the morale in my agency as well as the perception of our county government by other county officials."

It took a year and a half of surveillance and snooping through desk drawers to come up with more than 70 allegations against the sheriff, some dating back 19 years, before Hounshell was ever elected sheriff. Those 11 allegations were boiled down to four charges. Hounshell was indicted in late May 2005 on charges of misusing public funds amounting to $8,087, fraudulent schemes and theft.

He was not given a copy of the documentation supporting the allegations until nearly two month's later.

Power play
Of the more than $8,000 Hounshell is accused of misusing, is $4,054 for an enclosed trailer that is used for crime scenes, the Fourth of July Window Rock parade, Grandma Thomas Walk and other activities. "They just charged me like I had it at my house," Hounshell said previously.

Last August, the sheriff lost an intergovernmental relations liaison position and $50,000 to Candelaria's office after Apache County Board of Supervisors voted 2-1 to make a lateral transfer of Johnny Guthrie, Intergovernmental Relations Liaison at the sheriff's office, to Deputy County Attorney III in the county attorney's office.

Guthrie had filed a claim in April against Sheriff Hounshell and Chief Deputy Brian Hough alleging a hostile work environment. An independent investigation did not bear out those claims, but that did not stop supervisors from leaving Hounshell with half the salary in his budget that they refused to let him spend to hire someone to take Guthrie's place.

During a Nov. 15 meeting, Apache County Manager Delwin Wengert recommended Hounshell post a $100,000 performance bond to cover a gap in insurance coverage after the county insurance pool ceased liability coverage. The gap in coverage resulted after they were made aware of the indictment and subsequent dismissal of charges against the sheriff.

Chief Deputy County Attorney Brad Carlyon told Hounshell that the $100,000 cash bond was necessary to protect the county against any potential civil claims of misuse of monies; however, at a February supervisors' meeting, concerns expressed by the Arizona Counties Insurance Pool focused on services more than misuse of public funds.

ACIP cited the accidental motorcycle death of an Apache County officer during the annual Navajo/Hopi Veterans Honor Run and the money the insurance pool is paying to the widow, parade and funeral escorts, and other services the sheriff's office provides on the Navajo Nation.

While ACIP recommended those services be discontinued in the northern portion of the county until a new memorandum of agreement could be worked out between the county and the Navajo Nation, there was no mention of reduction in services in the south end of the county.

Supervisors also recently voted to take away from the sheriff's office oversight of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.