Paul Ben Arredondo, Bribery and Mail Fraud, Arizona 2009

WASHINGTON – In a shocking turn of events, Arizona State Representative Paul Ben Arredondo pleaded guilty today in Phoenix federal court, admitting that he solicited and took a bribe in exchange for promises of official action both as a city councilmember and a state representative.

Arredondo’s guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge James L. Turgal of the FBI’s Phoenix Field Office. He pleaded guilty to depriving the citizens of the city of Tempe, Ariz., and the state of Arizona of his honest services as an elected official, and to committing mail fraud.

The 65-year-old Tempe resident was a Tempe city councilmember for approximately 16 years, until July 2010. In November 2010, Arredondo was elected to the House of Representatives of the Arizona State Legislature.

During his plea, Arredondo admitted that from February 2009 to November 2010, he solicited and accepted things of value, collectively a bribe, from representatives of “Company A,” a fictitious company operated by FBI undercover agents that was purportedly seeking to develop real estate projects in Tempe. The things he took included tickets to college and professional sporting events, some of which he caused to be mailed to his home, and tables at charity events with his choice of guests.

In exchange for the bribe, Arredondo agreed to take a number of official actions, including revealing confidential information to Company A – such as the price Tempe would be willing to accept for property and the best way to present a purchase proposal. He also agreed to use his position as a councilmember to influence the decisions of other Tempe officials in ways that were favorable to Company A; to contact various Tempe officials to facilitate and promote the company’s efforts to win support for its real estate project; and, following his election to the Arizona House of Representatives, to assure representatives of Company A that he would continue to support Company A’s project.

Arredondo’s actions were not limited to bribery. He also admitted during his plea that he fraudulently used the Arredondo Scholarship Fund – which he established in 2001 and operated through at least 2011 – to benefit his own relatives without informing donors. Through 2011, Arredondo caused the scholarship fund to pay approximately $49,750 to three different educational institutions in Arizona on behalf of seven of his relatives. Arredondo pleaded guilty to one count each of honest services mail fraud and mail fraud.

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