In the annals of criminal genius, there’s a special category reserved for individuals who manage to compound their initial poor judgment with decisions so spectacularly misguided that they deserve academic study. This week, Scottsdale provided us with a textbook example of how to transform simple vehicle theft into a master class in escalating stupidity. Lyle Dennis Harmon Jr. was arrested … Read More
Why Scottsdale’s Crime Ring Problem Persists: When Warning After Warning Falls on Deaf Ears
Here we are again. Another Facebook post highlighting arrests of South American theft group members in Scottsdale, and once again, the Arizona Progress & Gazette finds itself in the unfortunate position of saying “it happened again.” We’ve covered this story repeatedly—from our February 2024 piece examining whether organized crime played a role in Scottsdale burglaries to our ongoing coverage of … Read More
Compounded Stupidity: When “Hold My Beer” Meets Flashing Police Lights
We prefer to stay on the positive side of things and highlight the best and brightest of Scottsdale, but every once in a while the exact opposite of that is compelling enough to turn our heads and get us tapping away on our keyboard in equal parts disgust and awe. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jensen Borkowski, a 28-year-old who just … Read More
More Organized Theft in Scottsdale: Why is This Problem Persisting?
While Scottsdale may be known as a world-class city best known for high end shops and restaurants, recently there has been a darker side to it. Along with being the launch point for numerous scam artists and fraudsters, it has been the target of organized theft rings quite frequently recently (read our coverage here). And a recent development demonstrates that … Read More
Scandal in Paradise: Paradise Valley Crime an Unfortunate Lesson
When you think of Paradise Valley, you probably don’t think about its government or municipal functions, and that’s generally a good thing. You’d much rather think about the amazing estates and resorts, or just the incredibly high quality of life in general. And being a limited government town without much reason for a significant government presence, government functions simply aren’t … Read More
Yet Another Fraud in Scottsdale…Are We Officially Fraud Central in Arizona?
It was only weeks ago that we had written about yet another fraud cause born out of Scottsdale was that had been prosecuted. And was had thought, perhaps naively, that it would be months and months before another similar case came to our attention…but we were wrong. Recently Christopher Galvin was convicted of defrauding an investor out of $100,000 as part of … Read More
Recovering from a Ruff Day: Scottsdale K-9 on the Mend
We’ve all had bad days on the job, but how bad that day is often depends on your line of work. With most of our jobs, a bad day doesn’t mean being physically or even mortally injured, but that is the reality for law enforcement officers all around this country. But that doesn’t just mean it’s human beings in the … Read More
Another Sex Trafficking Sting in Scottsdale: Is This a Problem?
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: there was another sex trafficking sting in Scottsdale recently, this time with a stunning 200 arrests, with 53 of those being felonies. Charges of child sex trafficking, prostitution, pandering, luring a minor for sexual exploitation, attempted sexual conduct with a minor, possession of narcotic drugs, and felony flight were levied in this particular … Read More
Another Scottsdale Fraud Case Being Prosecuted: Is the City a Hotspot for Financial Malfeasance?
The actions to mitigate the financial stress caused by our nation’s COVID-19 response were swift and significant; the federal government was throwing checks to every citizen, giving loans with extremely favorable payback requirements or total forgiveness to nearly anyone who asked, and many people received massive amounts of money that they had no real business receiving and with essentially no … Read More
Scottsdale’s Law Enforcement is Racking Up Overtime Costs: What Should We Do About It?
Scottsdale is a city that prides itself on low taxes and small government; it’s a big reason why companies routinely move their headquarters here and new residents continue to flock here. So when unexpected costs hop into the budget it tends to raise a few eyebrows, as a recent development did. Scottsdale’s employees racked up $25 million in overtime costs … Read More