AZG&F in the news-2

[elkaholic]

• By Dennis WagnerThe Republic | azcentralMon May 27, 2013 10:36 PM

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  The alleged embezzlement of public funds by Arizona Game and Fish Department Officer John Romero is among several controversies to plague the agency in recent years:

  In 2009, Game and Fish employees were intimately involved in the trapping and subsequent death of Macho B, Arizona’s only wild jaguar. The depth of the department’s involvement and its attempts to cover its tracks only became more widely known over the last 18 months.

  Last month, Game and Fish Commission Chairman Jack Husted resigned amid allegations that he sexually harassed female employees in the agency. His resignation statement said he was sorry that some people misinterpreted a “personal style of communication” that included hugging and joking.

  It was not Husted’s first taste of controversy. He previously was criticized for encouraging a juvenile hunter to shoot and kill a prairie dog out of season.

  Nonetheless, remaining Game and Fish commissioners honored Husted two weeks ago after their meeting in Kingman, giving him a lifetime hunting license.

  John “J.W.” Harris, the new chairman, said the lifetime hunting license was a personal gift bought by commissioners and presented at a private party.

  Harris said the harassment allegations never resulted in a formal complaint or investigation, and there was no reason for further inquiry because, “It’s over and done with. He’s resigned and is moving on with his life.”

   

  Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Crane McClennen awarded Pinetop-area game Warden Shawn Wagner $100,000 in damages, plus attorney fees and back pay, in December after he was suspended in connection with an elk hunt. The judge ruled the department trampled Wagner’s rights and retaliated against him for pointing out “mismanagement and abuse of authority, and potentially a gross waste of monies.”

  While off-duty in September 2010, court records show, Wagner went bow-hunting with several other current or former wildlife officers and a local judge. Minutes before sunset, Wagner shot and wounded a bull elk, but the animal ran off, leaving a blood trail that hunters could not follow after dark.

  Considering the wound to be fatal, they agreed to return at dawn to find it. Wagner was scheduled for surgery the next day, so he left his game tag behind for placement on the carcass. But the elk was still standing when located by his companions the next morning, so one of Wagner’s companions finished it off.

  According to court records, “All the persons there agreed Wagner had inflicted the mortal wound and thus they considered it to be Wagner’s elk, so they decided to put Wagner’s tag on it.”

  Three Game and Fish law-enforcement supervisors agreed that his tag was used appropriately. But Romero, then head of Operation Game Thief, concluded there were two potential violations regarding the tagging of the kill with a game tag issued to someone who was not present. Game and Fish administrators, concerned about possible headlines, did preliminary interviews to determine if a full investigation was warranted.

  Wagner balked, arguing that informal questions violated his rights under state law and department policies. He requested intervention from Game and Fish Department Director Larry Voyles.

  Voyles asked the state Department of Juvenile Corrections to assign an independent investigator. Wagner was interrogated and given a two-day suspension. He appealed to Voyles, who rescinded the suspension but ordered a new probe by the Arizona Department of Corrections. It resulted in reinstatement of the suspension.

  After exhausting his appeals, Wagner sued Game and Fish for retaliation and won a $100,000 judgment now under challenge.

   

   

  In 2007, Michael Malik Sr., a multimillionaire Michigan developer and casino entrepreneur, paid $135,000 at auction for a year-round permit to hunt elk anywhere in Arizona. Bidding for the so-called “Governor’s Tag” is conducted as an annual Game and Fish fundraiser.

  Malik reportedly paid thousands of dollars to a Lakeside man who directed him to a trophy elk in a private meadow just outside of town. Shortly after jetting to Arizona, Malik wounded the large bull, which ran to a nearby housing tract and fell to its knees.

  Members of the hunting party told Wagner, who was patrolling the area, that they had permission to shoot near the homes. Wagner authorized Malik to put the elk out of its misery, according to Malik’s attorney, Bruce Griffen.

  Griffen said two shots were required. The rifle reports attracted local residents who loved the elk and were horrified at the spectacle.

  “Women and children were screaming and yelling,” Griffen noted. “The whole thing was horrible.”

  Wagner confiscated the elk and issued two citations to Malik for shooting unlawfully within a quarter-mile of an occupied residence. At trial in Pinetop-Lakeside Justice Court, Malik was acquitted on one charge but found guilty on another.

  Griffen said the conviction was overturned on appeal, but reinstated by a higher court.

  Malik was sentenced to community service and ordered to write an apology letter to the resident on whose land the elk died. The Game and Fish Commission fined Malik nearly $15,000 and banned him from hunting in Arizona and 32 other states for five years.

  The elk’s head with velveteen antlers, valued at $27,000, now greets visitors at Game and Fish headquarters.

[BASS]

Just curious, why was the Dept. of Corrections involved as the investigating party? Is that in state constitution or???

[trophyhnter]

The bad and the ugly! The tag prices have to go up to pay the $100,000 judgement and attorneys fees!

[reganranch]

Wagner and Husted Weekend plans in the fall consist of poaching Elk, and Praiedogs and exploiting women on the side haha what a joke!

[MRL1984]

DOC investigators are full on AZPOST certified law enforcement if memory serves me right. Had someone on that path in my academy class. That said, they are just like DPS or any county or city detectives doing investigations and arrests. Someone has to solve prison crimes and they don't call the local PD.

 

Criminal investigations have to be done by an outside agency and that's who they chose.