The Brief

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - A new court-ordered independent audit is accusing the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) of wrongly attributing $160 million in taxpayer money to expenses related to its federal court oversight.

The backstory:

MCSO has been under federal oversight since 2013 due to a racial profiling lawsuit filed during the tenure of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The Sheriff’s Office has billed Maricopa County $160 million for expenses related to the massive overhaul required by the court. However, the independent analysis claims that more than 70% of those expenses were improperly attributed to the federal compliance efforts.

The report specifically highlights spending on items such as office renovations, the relocation of Internal Affairs offices, the purc

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