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Apache County District Attorney Michael Whiting, re-elected, is ineligible for office

Online Niel November 12, 2024

Indicted Apache County District Attorney Michael Whiting was re-elected Tuesday to the position he legally cannot hold.

Whiting, who is running unopposed, easily defeated a pair of candidates who tried to challenge him.

His victory came a week later the county officials fired him and voted to stop paying his salary because he no longer has a valid law license.

On Oct. 31, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes told the county Board of Supervisors that she was taking control of the office until further notice and encouraged them to help her appoint a temporary replacement.

Former Apache County Prosecutor Criss Candelaria, who led one of the write-in campaigns against Whiting, said he wasn’t disappointed by his loss — he wanted to make sure voters had a choice.

“I think a lot of people didn’t vote for Whiting because of popularity,” he said Friday. “I think they voted for him because they didn’t know what was going on.”

Candelaria said no one from the Attorney General’s Office has contacted them about Whiting’s replacement. During a recent public hearing, he expressed interest in leading the criminal division, he said.

“People need to have someone they can trust,” he said. “I don’t remember ever being accused of being a thief or a liar while I was there. But I’m happy to take on the task of fixing the mess that’s been left there.”

Whiting did not respond to a request for an interview Friday.

Instead of answering questions about the election, he emailed a copy of a local news story about his former deputy chief and potential conflicts of interest related to a $600,000 no-bid contract her company was awarded to provide Apache County Legal Services.

Whiting offered no further explanation.

Michael Whiting sends a message to his idol Norwegian pop star Dagny

Apache County District Attorney Michael Whiting sings “Happy Birthday” to Norwegian pop star Dagny from his office in a social media post.

Whiting’s 16-year term ends with license suspension

Whiting, 51, was first elected to the office in 2008. He is a Democrat and has never faced a Republican challenger.

Whiting’s 16 years as the county’s top prosecutor ended Nov. 1 when a temporary suspension of his law license took effect. State law prohibits Whiting — or anyone — from serving as county attorney without a license in good standing.

Whiting agreed to give up his law license as part of a plea deal with the Arizona State Bar until the corruption charges against him go to trial.

Instead, the State Bar put it on hold disciplinary procedures against Whiting, which effectively prevented any potential regulatory findings from being used as evidence against him in the criminal case.

Whiting stated that “there is probable cause” that he engaged in conduct that violated an Arizona Supreme Court ethics rule. The rule covers “conduct that has caused or is likely to cause immediate and substantial harm to clients, the public, or the administration of justice.”

A grand jury in August indicted Whiting and Daryl Greer, the county attorney’s lead investigator, on multiple charges, including misuse of public funds. He also accused Whiting’s wife, Joyclynn “Joy” Whiting, who is the county school superintendent. All pleaded not guilty.

The grand jury indicted Michael Whiting on charges of misuse of public funds, theft, conflict of interest, harassment, sending a threatening letter and stealing, destroying, altering or withholding public records.

It accused Joy Whiting of using county school money to buy an $80,000 Ford Expedition that was later assigned to the County Attorney’s Office and used primarily by her husband.

Joy Whiting won her re-election bid on Tuesday. And she ran unopposed. Nothing prevents her from continuing her duties.

The indictments allege illegal spending

According to the indictment, Whiting illegally accessed the county attorney’s coffers to purchase campaign materials for his wife, including T-shirts and other materials related to a spelling bee.

He also claimed he used public funds to pay for gym equipment and illegally used asset forfeiture funds to buy two vehicles for his office. Asset forfeiture funds are accumulated through money and property seized from individuals by authorities during criminal investigations.

An Arizona Republic investigation found that Whiting spent tens of thousands of tax dollars on lunches and dinners, vehicles and promotional items that kept his name in the spotlight.

Expense reports obtained through the Arizona Public Records Act detail nearly $200,000 in reimbursements to Whiting since 2019. They appear to show Whiting routinely violated Apache County policies that restrict reimbursement for items such as airfare, hotels, meals , mileage and consumables, often hiding the expenses with a description of “legal issues”.

A separate investigation by the Republic discovered that Whiting had taken taxpayer-funded material on trips abroad to further his relationship with a Norwegian pop star named Dagny. He gave out shirts and gift bags with his name and title to the singer and her fans.

The charges make no mention of Whiting’s general spending patterns and do not address specific trips, meals or many other purchases made with public money. It also does not address his travel abroad.

Whiting claimed he followed all Apache County spending procedures.

Claims of stalking, spying, harassment

Whiting has been barred from the District Attorney’s Office since June when state investigators raided his office and home.

Four of his top employees obtained restraining orders against Whiting. They charged Whiting, Greer and another councilman spying, stalking and harassment.

Arizona Attorney General’s Office assumed supervisory control of his agencybanned them from making large purchases and put them in charge of the office of Chief Deputy District Attorney Celeste Robertson.

Robertson declined to comment on Whiting’s removal.

Robertson and two of the employees who accused Whiting of harassment created a nonprofit organization to handle criminal prosecutions in rural counties, including Apache County. The Apache County Board of Supervisors voted October 1 to contract with Robertson’s firmThe Arizona Center for Rural Justice will begin work on November 1.

Apache County Supervisor Alton Joe Shepherd has publicly expressed concern about the contract and whether county employees should be able to immediately transition from their jobs to contract work.

A representative of the Attorney General’s Office told the supervisors that the costs of the contract will be more than offset by the savings in staff salaries.

In her Oct. 31 letter to the supervisors, Mayes said she “offered to meet with each of you individually to discuss the Apache County Prosecutor’s Office, two of which you have accepted.” She didn’t say who.

Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter for The Republic. Get to him at [email protected]. Follow X @robertanglen.

Elena Santa Cruz is a criminal justice reporter for The Republic. Get to her at [email protected]. Follow X @ecsantacruz3.