Stanton: DiCiccio meddled in AG’s probe
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton on Monday accused Councilman Sal DiCiccio of attempting to interfere with the Arizona attorney general’s investigation of a fellow City Council member.
Stanton blasted DiCiccio after the councilman requested the names and disciplinary records of city employees who, according to the city, were interviewed as part of the attorney general’s investigation of Councilman Michael Nowakowski.
The accusation came as city officials revealed that an additional city employee was interviewed by the Attorney General’s Office and acknowledged that more documents were given to investigators than what they previously
told The Arizona Republic.
On Friday, The Republic reported that the Attorney General’s Office has conducted an investigation of Councilman Michael Nowakowski since at least last spring. New records released Monday indicate the probe includes a review of a sale of city-owned land downtown, in which Nowakowski was accused of misconduct.
The Republic reported that, according to City Attorney Brad Holm, city employees were interviewed by the Attorney General’s Office regarding the land sale. Holm said two employees were interviewed and would not release their names. Documents released by the city Monday show three employees were actually interviewed.
On Saturday, after the story was published, DiCiccio contacted City Manager Ed Zuercher and demanded the names of the three employees. DiCiccio also sought to have the employees’ disciplinary records made public, and aired his demands repeatedly on social media throughout the weekend.
“The type of things and the type of corruption that was outlined in the (story) cannot be done by one elected official on their own,” DiCiccio said in a text message to The Republic. “It requires complicity with city staff.”
DiCiccio, a longtime ally of Nowakowski, has previously defended him against allegations of impropriety related to the land sale. Stanton, who has often clashed with both Nowakowski and DiCiccio, said DiCiccio’s demand for the disciplinary records of employees interviewed as witnesses was an attempt to “strike fear” in Zuercher and discourage those city employees from talking to the Attorney General’s Office.
“It’s a blatantly obvious attempt to intimidate witnesses, make them fearful that their names will be dragged through the mud if they participate in this investigation,” Stanton said of DiCiccio. “It’s critically important that the attorney general be able to complete his investigation without interference from members of the council.”
The three employees interviewed by attorney general Special Agent Don Carroll “are not under investigation” and “were interviewed as witnesses to the investigation” involving the land sale, according to a city spokeswoman and documents released by the city.
The three employees interviewed are Deputy City Manager Paul Blue, Community and Economic Development Director Christine Mackay and procurement officer Gretchen Wolfe.
All three were involved in the land deal. The sale was first considered in 2015 and was shut down after an October 2015 report by The Republic on Nowakowski’s possible conflict of interest.
Nowakowski, whose private-sector employer — the Cesar Chavez Foundation — was a co-bidder for the land, denies any wrongdoing. Phoenix ultimately canceled the sale of the $8.5 million property, a highly coveted piece of land in the downtown core.
Nowakowski’s lawyer, Kory Langhofer, did not comment when contacted Monday by The Republic.
DiCiccio stood by his demand for the disciplinary records of Blue, Mackay and Wolfe. Blue and Mackay have been disciplined for matters unrelated to the land sale. Zuercher’s letter said Wolfe had no suspensions.
DiCiccio fired back at Stanton’s accusation. He said the mayor is “upset because his former chief of staff (Paul Blue) has been disciplined in the past and is one of the three individuals named by the city manager. That’s why he’s making these types of outlandish claims.”
Blue and Mackay were disciplined by the city and briefly suspended over an error related to an attempt to create a downtown improvement district for Roosevelt Row. “The disciplines occurred more than a year ago and they are completely unrelated to the AG Office investigation,” city spokeswoman Julie Watters said in an email.