Goldwater Institute

The man accused of initiating the drug buy that led to the 2010 death of a Chandler, Ariz., police officer made a plea bargain with federal prosecutors four months earlier to avoid a long prison term, and worked as an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration at some time prior to the deal erupting in gunfire.

Glendale officials insist it’s time to end the debate over a $197 million incentive package the city is offering to a Chicago investor who wants to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and keep the struggling hockey team playing at the Jobing.com arena. But beyond words of assurance from the city, scant information has been provided about how much financial exposure the city’s taxpayers will face if the optimistic projections of a successful team do not pan out.

Chandler police Detective Carlos Ledesma was sitting at a card table when the drug bust went sour. He did not even have time to stand before being cut down by four rifle shots to the chest, and he died a short time later.

A financial consultant used by Glendale, Ariz., to justify the city’s $197 million plan to keep the Phoenix Coyotes is accused of helping to defraud investors in a separate deal by producing overly optimistic revenue projections for a hockey arena in Prescott Valley, Ariz., according to a federal lawsuit.

When Kimberly de los Santos took on additional duties in her role as associate vice president of Arizona State University’s Office of University Initiatives, the promotion came with a hefty increase in pay. Her salary jumped from $130,000 in 2008 to $195,000 in 2009.