Phoenix New Times Case Files Unsealed
By AAN Staff
october 25, 2007 08:40 am
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge yesterday unsealed the grand jury records of the county's investigation of the alt-weekly, which was
dropped last Friday. "Not a shred of evidence was ever presented to a single juror, and not a charge was filed," according to the
Arizona Republic. The transcripts mirror the story
laid out by New Times last week, but there was at least one new detail: After an Oct. 11 hearing, special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik and
New Times reporter Paul Rubin nearly came to blows during a recess.
New Times also reports the documents show the county made payments of nearly $2 million to Wilenchik's firm for handling the case.
In another story, Wilenchik tells the
Republic that while he didn't personally order
the arrest of Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin, he had no regrets about it. "They deserved to be arrested," he says. "I don't have a problem with their arrest."