Word: mecham
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Arizona Governor Evan Mecham has faced charges of incompetence, racism and impropriety since he took office in 1987. Last week he faced more serious allegations of criminality. A grand jury indicted him on two counts of fraud and one count of filing a false report about a $350,000 loan to his 1986 < election campaign from a Tempe real estate developer. The Governor also faces three counts of perjury for not listing the loan on financial disclosure statements...
...Mecham's brother Willard, who served as treasurer in his campaign, was indicted on three separate counts in the alleged scheme. Mecham reported the loan to the state last November, only after it was disclosed by reporters. The indictment was but the latest in a series of woes for the Governor, who faces possible impeachment proceedings in the Arizona legislature as well as an impending recall election...
...Phoenix-area convention bureau reports that because of Mecham's policies, 45 conventions have been canceled, costing some $25 million in lost revenue. "I think he's had a really adverse effect on the business climate," complains J. Fife Symington III, a major Phoenix developer. "You'd have to live here to appreciate this comedy of errors...
More serious is a state attorney general's probe of a previously undisclosed $350,000 loan to the Mecham campaign from a local developer, and questions about whether the loan influenced two Mecham appointments. While the Governor denies any wrongdoing, the legislature has hired a special counsel to investigate, and Mecham has been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury this week...
Despite the growing tempest, Mecham continues to blame a hostile press and left-wing radicals for most of his problems. Few expect him to return to selling cars without a fight. "He will quit the day hell freezes over," says Udall. Adds Jane Hull: "There will be fistfights in the street." Or more likely, a second volume of Mecham jokes...