http://fwix.com/phoenix/share/8eba3a482e/arpaio_ordered_to_appear_at_hearing_on_records?referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2FMaricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio gestures at a news conference as he orders approximately 200 convicted illegal immigrants handcuffed together at Tent City in Phoenix, for incarceration until their sentences are served and they are deported to their home countries. Arizona's sweeping new law mirrors many of the policies Arpaio has put into place in the greater Phoenix area, where he set up a hot line for the public to report immigration violations, conducts crime and immigration sweeps in heavily Latino neighborhoods and frequently raids workplaces for people in the U.S. illegally. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday ordered Sheriff Joe Arpaio to attend a hearing this month to explain why his office hasn’t handed over records that the board had subpoenaed in an attempt to see whether he has misused taxpayer money.
County spokeswoman Cari Gerchick said the board can hold Arpaio in civil contempt and impose fines if he or a sheriff’s representative doesn’t show up at the hearing on May 24. It was not immediately known how much the board would seek if it decides to fine the sheriff.
The board, which voted 5-0 to order the sheriff to the hearing, believes Arpaio used an unspecified amount of sales-tax money that was dedicated to jail operations to cover the salaries of some employees who didn’t work in jails. Last year, the sheriff’s office received $109 million from the tax, county officials said.