Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or currency is more often called counterfeiting. But consumer goods may also be counterfeits if they are not manufactured or produced by the designated manufacture or producer given on the label or flagged by the trademark symbol. When the object forged is a record or document it is often called a false document.

This usage of "forgery" does not derive from metalwork done at a forge, but it has a parallel history. A sense of "to counterfeit" is already in the Anglo-French verb forger, meaning "falsify."

A forgery is essentially concerned with a produced or altered object. Where the prime concern of a forgery is less focused on the object itself – what it is worth or what it "proves" – than on a tacit statement of criticism that is revealed by the reactions the object provokes in others, then the larger process is a hoax. In a hoax, a rumor or a genuine object planted in a concocted situation, may substitute for a forged physical object.

The similar crime of fraud is the crime of deceiving another, including through the use of objects obtained through forgery. Forgery is one of the techniques of fraud, including identity theft. Forgery is one of the threats addressed by security engineering.

In the 16th century imitators of Albrecht Dürer's style of printmaking improved the market for their own prints by signing them "AD", making them forgeries. In the 20th century the art market made forgeries highly profitable. There are widespread forgeries of especially valued artists, such as drawings originally by Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, and Henri Matisse.

A special case of double forgery is the forging of Vermeer's paintings by Han van Meegeren, and in its turn the forging of Van Meegeren's work by his son Jacques van Meegeren.

England and Wales[link]

See English criminal law#Forgery, personation and cheating

Documentary art[link]

Before the invention of photography, people commonly hired painters and engravers to "re-create" an event or a scene. Artists had to imagine what to illustrate based on the information available to them about the subject. Some artists added elements to make the scene more exotic, while others removed elements out of modesty. In the 18th century, for example, Europeans were curious about what North America looked like and were ready to pay to see illustrations depicting this faraway place. Some of these artists produced prints depicting North America, despite many having never left Europe.

In popular culture[link]

• The 1839 novel by Honoré de Balzac, Pierre Grassou, concerns an artist who lives off forgeries.
• The Orson Welles documentary F for Fake concerns both art and literary forgery. For the movie Welles intercut footage of Elmyr de Hory, an art forger, and Clifford Irving, who wrote an "authorized" autobiography of Howard Hughes that had been revealed to be a hoax. While forgery is the ostensible subject of the film, it also concerns art, film making, storytelling and the creative process.
• The 1966 heist comedy film How to Steal a Million centers around Nicole Bonnet (Audrey Hepburn) attempting to steal a fake Cellini made by her grandfather.
• The 1972 novel by Irving Wallace, The Word concerns archaeological forgery, the finding and translation of a supposed lost gospel by James the Just, close relative of Jesus Christ, as part of a large project to be published as a new Bible that would inspire a Christian revival, but which is possibly a forged document.
• In the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can, directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the real story of Frank Abagnale, a con man who stole over $2.5 million through forgery, imposture and other frauds, which are dramatized in the film. His career in crime lasted six years from 1963 to 1969.
• In the Graphic Art Novel The Last Coiner, authored by Peter M. Kershaw in prelude to The Yorkshire Coiners film aka The Last Coiner, and the interactive game Coins and Nooses, were produced with their basis taken from the exploits of the prolific maestros of 18th Century milling, the Cragg Vale Coiners who smelted King George III's currency which ultimately lead to the Monarch ordering their execution by hanging at Tyburn.

Topics in forgery[link]

• Archaeological forgery
  • Archaeoraptor
  • Discoveries of Shinichi Fujimura
  • James Ossuary
  • Piltdown Man
  • Moses Shapira
  • Tiara of Saitapharne, Louvre
  • Shepton Mallet, Chi-Rho amulet
  • The Lady of Elx saw a controversy circa 1995 regarding its authenticity. Recently (2005), the Spanish National Research Council concluded in a research that the pigmentation was, in fact, from ancient times.
  • See also Kensington Runestone controversy
  • Drake's Plate of Brass
  • Sinaia lead plates
• Art forgery
  • Tom Keating
  • Eric Hebborn
  • Elmyr de Hory
  • Zhang Daqian
  • Dürer's imitators
  • Camille Corot's imitators
  • Han van Meegeren's Vermeers
  • Jacques van Meegeren's fakes of Han van Meegeren's work
  • Michelangelo's Cupid
  • Etruscan terracotta warriors, Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • The Rospigliosi Cup or The 'Cellini Cup'
  • Samson Ceramics forgeries/reproductions
  • Black Admiral
  • Mark A. Landis
• Currency Forgery
  • Counterfeit money
  • Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group
  • Counterfeit Coin Bulletin
  • Counterfeit United States currency
  • Fake denominations of United States currency
  • William Chaloner (died 1699 at Tyburn), forger, coiner, coin clipper and counterfeiter,
  • Catherine Murphy (counterfeiter) (died 1789) the last woman to be executed by burning.
• Literary forgery - these literary forgeries all had some effect on the course of cultural history. Other literary forgeries, such as the Hitler diaries, briefly achieve wide notoriety, without affecting subsequent history; they are brought together as literary hoaxes.
  • Epistle to the Laodiceans
  • Theology of Aristotle
  • Ademar of Chabannes' forged Life of St. Martial
  • Thomas Chatterton's pseudo-medieval poetry
  • Ossianic poems
  • The Book of the Zohar, a primary text of medieval Kabbalah, was written by a 16th century Spanish Rabbi but attributed to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, an ancient sage of the Second Temple period. It was widely accepted as genuine until the advent of modern scholarship.
  • The Salamander Letter, which offered an alternative account of Joseph Smith's finding of the Book of Mormon, written by master forger Mark Hofmann.
  • Jack the Ripper's Diary
  • Clifford Irving's Howard Hughes autobiography
  • Charles Weisberg
• False documents
  • Yellowcake Forgery
  • Mark Hofmann
  • James Maybrick
  • Donation of Constantine
  • Vinland map
  • Dossiers Secrets, the document forgeries planted in the Bibliothèque nationale de France that were developed into Holy Blood, Holy Grail etc.
  • Identity document forgery
• Musical Forgery (Music allegedly written by composers of past eras, but actually composed later by someone else)
  • W. A. Mozart, "Adélaïde" concerto for violin (by Marius Casadesus)
  • G. F. Handel, Viola Concerto (by Henri Casadesus)
  • J. C. Bach, Cello Concerto in C minor (by Henri Casadesus)
  • Valentin Strobel, Concerto (by François-Joseph Fétis)
  • Works for lute by Sautscheck (by Roman Turovsky-Savchuk)
  • Works for lute by Ioannes Leopolita (by Roman Turovsky-Savchuk)
  • Works for baroque guitar by Antonio da Costa (by Paulo Galvao)
  • "Kanzona" for lute by Francesco da Milano (by Vladimir Vavilov)
  • A.Sychra, Elegy for guitar (by Vladimir Vavilov)
  • Fritz Kreisler's works for violin attributed to other composers
  • Joseph Haydn, 6 Keyboard Sonatas (by Winfried Michel)
  • Joseph Haydn, Cello Concerto 'No 5' in C major, Hob VIIb:5 (by David Popper)
• Philatelic fakes and forgeries
• Relic forgery - It is not the efficacy of a relic that is in question, but only its provenance.
  • cf True Cross
  • cf Shroud of Turin
• Biblical archaeology - Ancient artifacts
  • Moses Shapira
• Political forgery - false documents used for purposes of black propaganda.
  • The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
  • Zinoviev Letter
  • Tanaka Memorial
  • Ems Dispatch (actually more of a document altered by Otto von Bismarck in order to incite a war response from France against Germany)
  • Killian documents (Memos critical of the United States National Guard service of President George W. Bush, now widely considered to be forgeries. See also Killian documents authenticity issues.)

See also[link]

References[link]

Sources

• Cohon, Robert. Discovery & Deceit: archaeology & the forger's craft Kansas: Nelson-Atkins Museum, 1996
• Muscarella, Oscar. The Lie Became Great: the forgery of Ancient Near Eastern cultures, 2000
• "Imaginary Images" in Detecting the Truth: Fakes, Forgeries and Trickery at Library and Archives Canada

External links[link]

Look up forgery in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Bibliographies of archaeological forgeries, art forgeries etc
• Museum security mnetwork: sources of information on art forgery; with encyclopedic links

v t e English criminal law Part of the common law series Classes of crimes Common law Indictable Either way Summary Regulatory Lesser included Elements of crimes Actus reus Causation Mens rea Intention (criminal law) Intention in English law Recklessness Criminal negligence Corporate / Vicarious / Strict liability Omissions Concurrence Ignorantia juris non excusat Inchoate offences Encouraging or assisting crime Conspiracy Accessory Attempt Common purpose Defences Self-defence Duress Necessity Marital coercion Consent Insanity Diminished responsibility Intoxication Category:Criminal defences Offences against the person Homicide (Murder / Manslaughter / Corporate manslaughter / Infanticide) Child destruction Wounding or causing grievous bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm Common assault Battery Kidnapping False imprisonment Harassment Offences against the Person Act 1861 Sexual offences Rape Sexual assault Sexual Offences Act 2003 Public order offences Riot Violent disorder Affray Fear or provocation of violence Intentional harassment, alarm or distress Harassment, alarm or distress Public Order Act 1986 Nuisance Public nuisance Offences against property Dishonesty Burglary Robbery Theft Taken Without Owner's Consent (TWOC) Deception Handling stolen goods Blackmail Computer crime Theft Act 1968 Theft Act 1978 Fraud Act 2006 Criminal damage Conspiracy to defraud Forgery, personation and cheating Forgery Cheating the public revenue Offences against justice Bribery Perjury Perverting the course of justice Other common law areas Contract Tort Property Wills Trusts and estates Evidence See also Criminal procedure History Law of England and Wales portal Criminal justice portal

Joe Arpaio
Arpaio speaking in Phoenix on February 26, 2011
Maricopa County Sheriff
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 1993
Preceded by	Tom Agnos
Personal details
Born	Joseph M. Arpaio (1932-06-14) June 14, 1932 (age 80) Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Ava Arpaio
Occupation	Sheriff

Joseph M. "Joe" Arpaio (born June 14, 1932) is the elected Sheriff of Maricopa County in the U.S. state of Arizona. First voted into office in 1992, Arpaio is responsible for law enforcement in Maricopa County. This includes management of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, county jail, courtroom security, prisoner transport, service of warrants, and service of process. Arpaio styles himself as "America's Toughest Sheriff."^[1][2] He is well known for his outspoken stance against illegal immigration.^[3] Arpaio has become a flashpoint for controversy surrounding Arizona's SB1070 anti-illegal immigration act.^[4] He is also known for his investigation of President Barack Obama's citizenship.^[5][6][7]

Arpaio was once widely popular among voters in Arizona.^[8] His popularity has waned since 2007, notably by independent and Republican voters but still has a 57% positive job rating among Republicans; he has been re-elected five times.^[9][10]

History and law enforcement background[link]

Arpaio was born Joseph M. Arpaio in Springfield, Massachusetts on June 14, 1932, to Italian parents both from Lacedonia, Italy.^[11] Arpaio's mother died while giving birth to him, and Arpaio was raised by his father, a grocery store owner. Arpaio completed high school and worked in his father's business until age 18 when he enlisted in the United States Army.^[12]

Arpaio served in the Army from 1950 to 1954 in the Medical Detachment Division and was stationed in France for part of the time as a military policeman.^[13]

Following his discharge in 1954, Arpaio moved to Washington, D.C. and became a police officer, moving in 1957 to Las Vegas, Nevada. He served as a police officer in Las Vegas for six months before being appointed as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, which later became part of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).^[14] During his 25-year tenure with the DEA, he was stationed in Argentina, Turkey and Mexico, and advanced through the ranks to the position of head of the DEA's Arizona branch.^[15]

In 1992, Arpaio successfully campaigned for the office of Maricopa County Sheriff. The voters of Maricopa County re-elected him in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008.^[16]

Arpaio married his wife Ava in 1958. Together, they have two children and four grandchildren.^[17] They currently reside in Fountain Hills, Arizona.^[18]

Actions as Maricopa County Sheriff[link]

Arpaio at the 2011 Veterans Day parade in Phoenix, Arizona, along with his wife Ava

Television[link]

In late 2008 and early 2009, Arpaio came out in Smile...You're Under Arrest!, a three-episode Fox Reality Channel series in which persons with outstanding warrants were tricked into presenting themselves for arrest.^[19]

On June 9, 2011, Arpaio was interviewed on Fox News on KSAZ-TV about a song on iTunes called "F#@K Sheriff Joe" by Contraband, describing him on his deathbed battling his own mortality.^[20]

Jails[link]

Arpaio's practices include serving inmates surplus food^[21] and limiting meals to twice daily.^[22] He has also banned inmates from possessing "sexually explicit material" including Playboy magazine after female officers complained that inmates openly masturbated while viewing them or harassed the officers by comparing their anatomy to that of the nude models in the publications. The ban was challenged on First Amendment grounds but upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.^[23]

In February 2007, Arpaio instituted an in-house radio station he calls KJOE.^[24] Arpaio's radio station broadcasts classical music, opera, Frank Sinatra hits, patriotic music and educational programming. It operates from the basement of the county jail for five days a week, four hours each day.

In an ongoing case, federal judge Neil V. Wake ruled in 2008 and 2010 that the Maricopa County jails violated the constitutional rights of inmates in medical and other care related issues.^[25][26]

Tent City[link]

Arpaio set up a "Tent City" as an extension of the Maricopa County Jail.^[27] Arpaio has described Tent City as a concentration camp.^[28] Tent City is located in a yard next to a more permanent structure containing toilets, showers, and an area for meals.^[29] It has become notable particularly because of Phoenix's extreme temperatures.

On July 2, 2011, when the temperature in Phoenix hit 118 °F (48 °C), Arpaio measured the temperature inside Tent City at 145 °F (63 °C). Some inmates complained that fans near their beds were not working, and that their shoes were melting from the heat.^[30] During the summer of 2003, when outside temperatures exceeded 110 °F (43 °C), Arpaio said to complaining inmates, "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and the soldiers are living in tents, have to wear full body armor, and they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths."^[31] In 1997, Amnesty International published a report on Arpaio's jails which found that Tent City is not an "adequate or humane alternative to housing inmates in suitable ... jail facilities."^[32] Tent City is criticized by groups contending that there are violations of human and constitutional rights.^[33] Those critical of Arpaio also point out that the vast majority of inmates within Tent City have not been convicted; rather, they are merely awaiting trial.^[34]

Volunteer chain gangs[link]

In 1995, Arpaio reinstituted chain gangs. In 1996, he expanded the chain gang concept by instituting female volunteer chain gangs.^[35] Female inmates work seven hours a day (7 a.m. to 2 p.m.), six days a week. He has also instituted the world's first all-juvenile volunteer chain gang; volunteers earn high school credit toward a diploma.^[36]

Pink underwear[link]

One of his most visible public-relations actions was the introduction of pink underwear, which the Maricopa County Sheriff's website cites as being, "world-famous."^{[citation needed]} Arpaio subsequently started to sell customized pink boxers (with the Maricopa County Sheriff's logo and "Go Joe") as a fund-raiser for Sheriff's Posse Association. Despite allegations of misuse of funds received from these sales, Arpaio declined to provide an accounting for the money.^[37]

Arpaio's success in gaining press coverage with the pink underwear resulted in his extending the use of the color. He introduced pink handcuffs, using the event to promote his book, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, America's Toughest Sheriff.^[38]

Selective Service registration and organ donors[link]

In 2001, he was the first sheriff to require all inmates aged 18 and over to register for the Selective Service System. (Registration is required by federal law for all U.S. males between 18 and 26 years of age, as well as for resident aliens of the same age, regardless of their immigration status.) Since 2001, a total of 28,000 inmates (including 9,000 aliens) have registered for Selective Service.^[39][40]

Arpaio also started the "Have a Heart" program in which inmates may volunteer to be organ donors.^[40]

Sheriff's posse[link]

Building upon Maricopa County's 50-year-old program, Arpaio expanded the all-volunteer citizen posse through heavy recruiting. The volunteers perform many duties for the sheriff's office:

• Search and rescue
• Emergency communications
• Prisoner transport
• Traffic control
• Backup for sworn deputies
• Office administrative duties
• Holiday Mall Patrol (which provides motorist assistance and security for shoppers during the holiday shopping season)
• Deadbeat parent details targeting men and women with outstanding arrest warrants for failure to pay child support
• Assisting in immigration sweeps
• Current investigation of President Barack Obama's birth certificate

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. standing in the blue suit behind Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce

In November 2010, Arpaio created an armed illegal immigration operations posse, to help his deputies enforce immigration law. Members of this posse include celebrity actors Steven Seagal, Lou Ferrigno, and Peter Lupus.^[41]

Controversies[link]

Arpaio has been a controversial sheriff. His practices have been criticized by government agencies such as the United States Department of Justice, United States District Courts, and organizations such as Amnesty International,^[42] the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Arizona Ecumenical Council, the American Jewish Committee,^[43] and the Arizona chapter of the Anti-Defamation League.^[44] The editorial board of The New York Times called Arpaio "America's Worst Sheriff".^[45] Controversial issues surrounding Arpaio have included allegations of racial profiling, in which the ACLU has sued the sheriff.^[46][47]

Unconstitutional jail conditions[link]

Federal Judge Neil V. Wake ruled in 2008, and again in 2010, that the Maricopa County jails violated the constitutional rights of inmates in medical and other care related issues.^[25][26] This ruling was a result of a lawsuit brought by the ACLU, which alleged that "Arpaio routinely abused pre-trial detainees at Maricopa County Jail by feeding them moldy bread, rotten fruit and other contaminated food, housing them in cells so hot as to endanger their health, denying them care for serious medical and mental health needs and keeping them packed as tightly as sardines in holding cells for days at a time during intake."^[48]

In a ruling issued in October 2010, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Arpaio to follow Judge Wake's 2008 ruling, which required Arpaio to end severe overcrowding and ensure all detainees receive necessary medical and mental health care, be given uninterrupted access to all medications prescribed by correctional medical staff, be given access to exercise and to sinks, toilets, toilet paper and soap and be served food that meets or exceeds the U.S. Department of Agriculture's dietary guidelines.^{[49][50][51][52]}

Lack of cooperation with Department of Justice[link]

In June 2008,^[53] the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division began an investigation of Arpaio amid accusations of discrimination and unconstitutional searches and seizures. The investigation was conducted under the authority of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids discrimination related to programs that receive federal funds. On July 7, 2009, Arpaio held a press conference, and announced that he would not cooperate with the investigation, either by providing documents, or permitting interviews with personnel. On September 2, 2010, the Department of Justice filed suit against Arpaio,^[54] to compel his cooperation with the investigation. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department stated that it was unprecedented for an agency to refuse to cooperate with a Title VI investigation, and that this is the first time the Justice Department has sued to compel access to documents and facilities.^[55][56][57] The suit was settled in June 2011, after Arpaio allowed federal officials to interview Sheriff's office employees, and review hundreds of thousands of documents for the investigation.^{[58] [59]}

Racial profiling[link]

On December 15, 2011, the Justice Department released their findings after a 3-year investigation of Arpaio's office amid complaints of racial profiling and a culture of bias at the agency's top level. The report stated that under Arpaio, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has "a pervasive culture of discriminatory bias against Latinos" that "reaches the highest levels of the agency."^[60]

The Justice Department accused Arpaio of engaging in "unconstitutional policing" by unfairly targeting Latinos for detention and arrest, and retaliating against critics.^[61] In the report, a Justice Department expert concluded that Arpaio oversaw the worst pattern of racial profiling in U.S. history.^[62]

Loss of authority to identify illegal immigrants[link]

Based on the Justice Department report on discriminatory policing practices within the MCSO, on December 15, 2011, the United States Department of Homeland Security revoked the MCSO's federal authority to identify and detain illegal immigrants.^[63]

In a separate action on December 23, 2011, U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow enjoined Arpaio and the MCSO from "detaining any person based only on knowledge or reasonable belief, without more, that the person is unlawfully present within the United States," halting anti-illegal immigration enforcement by MCSO in its current form.^[64]

Federal grand jury inquiry[link]

As of December 2011, a federal grand jury had been investigating Arpaio's office on criminal abuse-of-power allegations since at least December 2009 and was specifically examining the investigative work of the sheriff's anti-public corruption squad.^[65]

Abuse of power[link]

In February 2010, Judge John Leonardo found that Arpaio "misused the power of his office to target members of the (Board of Supervisors) for criminal investigation".^[66]

In 2008, a federal grand jury began an inquiry of Arpaio for abuse of power, in connection with an FBI investigation.^[67][68] Arpaio is being investigated for politically motivated and "bogus" prosecutions, which a former US Attorney called "utterly unacceptable".^[67][68] Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has called Arpaio's "long list" of questionable prosecutions "a reign of terror".^[68]

The targets of Arpaio's alleged abuse of power have included:

• Phil Gordon, Phoenix Mayor^[67]
• Dan Saban, Arpaio's 2004 and 2008 opponent for the office of Sheriff of Maricopa County^[67]
• Terry Goddard, Arizona Attorney General^[67]
• David Smith, Maricopa County Manager^[67]
• The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors^[67]
• Barbara Mundell, Maricopa Superior Court Presiding Judge^[67]
• Anna Baca, former Maricopa Superior Court Presiding Judge^[69]
• Gary Donahoe, Maricopa Superior Court Criminal Presiding Judge^[67]
• Daniel Pochoda, ACLU attorney^[67]
• Sandra Dowling, former Maricopa County School Superintendent^[68]
• Mike Lacy, Editor, Phoenix New Times^[68]

As of July 2010, only Sandra Dowling has been successfully prosecuted.^[68] Indicted on 25 felony counts, Dowling eventually pled guilty to patronage for giving a summer job to her daughter, a single class-2 misdemeanor which was not among the original counts, although as part of the plea bargain she also agreed to recuse herself from the Maricopa County Regional School District. Dowling has since filed suit, alleging negligence, malicious prosecution, abuse of process and several constitutional violations.^[70]

Feud with Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Maricopa Superior Court[link]

Over the two years prior to September 2010, feuding between Arpaio and former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas on one side, and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on the other side cost at least $5.6 million, most of which was paid to private attorneys. Arpaio and Thomas filed several lawsuits against the Board of Supervisors, including a federal civil-racketeering suit against the supervisors, four judges and attorneys who work with the county. Arpaio and Thomas lost every case, either by ruling of the courts, or by dropping the case.^[71]

In early 2010, Arpaio and Thomas sought to have a grand jury indict a number of Maricopa County Judges, Maricopa County Supervisors, and employees of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The grand jury, in an unusual rebuke, ordered the investigation ended. This action has been described as meaning that "...the case is so bad, there's no further evidence that could be brought [to substantiate it]". Legal experts agree this is a rare move.^[72] Thomas and a subordinate attorney on his County Attorney staff faced a hearing later in 2011 before the Ethics Committee of the Arizona Bar, the result of which was a number of possible sanctions up to permanent loss of their law licenses.

In November and December 2010, lawsuits naming Arpaio were filed by Judge Gary Donahoe, retired Maricopa County Superior Court judges Barbara Mundell, Anna Baca, and Kenneth Fields, County Supervisor Don Stapley, Deputy County Manager Sandi Wilson, and Susan Schuerman, executive assistant to Supervisor Don Stapley.^{[73][74][75][76][77][78]} Conley Wolfswinkel (a business associate of Stapley) filed suit in January, 2011.^[79][80] Other targets of Arpaio's investigations, including Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox,^[69] and Maricopa Deputy County Manager Sandi Wilson^[72] have filed notices of claims (the precursor to filing suit) totalling about $56 million dollars.^[72]

Election law violation[link]

During the month of July 2010, a committee established by Arpaio, the Campaign to Re-Elect Joe Arpaio 2012, funded advertisements critical of Rick Romley, a candidate in the Republican Primary for Maricopa County Attorney and Arizona Attorney General candidate Tom Horne, despite the fact that Arpaio is not currently running for re-election (his term does not expire until the end of 2012).^[81]

An order issued on the behalf of the Maricopa Elections Department on August 24, 2010, found that one of the advertisements, a direct mailer, advocated the defeat of Romley, and was an in-kind contribution to Bill Montgomery (Romley's primary election opponent), in violation of Arizona election law. The order stated that the Campaign to Re-Elect Joe Arpaio 2012 will be fined three times the amount of money that was spent on the mailer.^[82] In September, 2010, Arpaio's campaign was fined $153,978 in this matter.^[83] Montgomery ultimately defeated Romley in the primary election, with Romley stating Arpaio's ads "hurt" his results.^[84]

Misuse of funds[link]

An analysis by the Maricopa County Office of Management and Budget, completed in April 2011, found Arpaio had misspent almost $100 million over the previous 5 years.^[85][86][87]

The analysis showed that money from a restricted detention fund which could only legally be used to pay for jail items, such as food, detention officers' salaries and equipment, was used to pay employees to patrol Maricopa County.^[85] The analysis also showed that many Sheriff's Office employees, whose salaries were paid from the restricted detention fund, were working job assignments different from those recorded in their personnel records. Arpaio's office kept a separate set of personnel books detailing actual work assignments, different from information kept on the county's official human-resources records.^[86]

Arpaio used the detention fund to pay for investigations of political rivals, and activities involving his human-smuggling unit.^[85][86]

The analysis also showed a number of inappropriate spending items, including a trip to Alaska where deputies stayed at a fishing resort, and trips to Disneyland.^[86][88]

Separate investigations by The Arizona Republic uncovered widespread abuse of public funds and county policies by Arpaio's office, including high-ranking employees routinely charging expensive meals and stays at luxury hotels on their county credit cards.^[89]

The Republic also found that a restricted jail enhancement fund was improperly used to pay for out-of-state training, a staff party at a local amusement park, and a $456,000 bus, which was purchased by Arpaio in violation of county procurement rules.^[85][90]

Munnell memo[link]

In September 2010, a 63 page internal memo, written by Maricopa Deputy Chief Frank Munnell, was made public. The memo alleged years of misconduct and mismanagement by Arpaio's second in command and other top MCSO officers, including the use of a public-corruption task force to conduct politically motivated probes into political opponents. The memo alleged that top officials in the MCSO "willfully and intentionally committed criminal acts by attempting to obstruct justice, tamper with witnesses, and destroy evidence."^[91] Arpaio forwarded the memo to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, requesting they conduct an administrative investigation. Former top MCSO staffers claimed that Arpaio knew of the acts alleged in the Munnell memo, but took no action to stop them.^[92] Arpaio has not commented publicly on the allegations.

In October 2010, the US Attorney for Arizona confirmed that the FBI and Department of Justice had received copies of the Munnell memo, and were conducting criminal investigations into its allegations.^[93]

Adam Cox[link]

Adam Eugene Cox was arrested in Knoxville, Tennessee in January 2012 for making death threats against Arpaio. In October 2011, Cox posted the Internet message "I plan to kill Arpaio first. He will be filled with a thousand bullet holes before the year is out. He won't (expletive removed) with Obama." On March 14, 2012, he was convicted^[94] of harassment and sentenced to a "bootcamp" probation^[95] and ordered to pay court costs. He was also ordered to attend anger management counseling and maintain no contact with the sheriff.

Investigation of President Obama’s birth certificate[link]

On March 1, 2012, Arpaio and members of his Cold Case Posse held a news conference announcing their belief that President Barack Obama’s long-form birth certificate, released by the White House on April 27, 2011,^[96] is a computer-generated forgery. Additionally, the Posse’s six-month-long investigation included an examination of President Obama’s Selective Service card and contended that it, also, is a forgery. Much of the evidence supporting their claims was presented at that press conference and at a second press conference held on March 31, 2012.^{[citation needed]}

Department of Justice Racial Profiling Lawsuit[link]

On May 10, 2012, the United States Department of Justice filed suit against Arpaio, the MCSO, and Maricopa County, alleging that "The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and Sheriff Joseph M. Arpaio have engaged and continue to engage in a pattern or practice of unlawful discriminatory police conduct directed at Latinos in Maricopa County and jail practices that unlawfully discriminate against Latino prisoners with limited English language skills."^[97] A DOJ representative said that the agency was left with no choice but to file suit after Arpaio's attorneys balked at a demand for a court-appointed monitor to ensure the Sheriff's Office complies with any settlement terms. Arpaio has rejected the notion of a court-appointed monitor, and denied that the MCSO engages in racial profiling.^[98][99]

Election results[link]

2000 election results[link]

2004 election results[link]

2007 failed recall petition[link]

In November 2007, a group calling itself Arizonans for the U.S. Constitution and Recall of Joe Arpaio filed the paperwork to begin an effort to recall Arpaio and County Prosecutor Thomas from office for allegedly disobeying and violating the United States Constitution and abuse of power.^[101] Their petition to get a recall question for the two officials onto the next general election ballot failed when the group was unable to collect the more than 200,000 registered voter signatures required.^[102] In a survey taken by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, while the petition was in circulation, nearly three out of four respondents opposed the recall, and 65 percent of the respondents held a positive opinion of Arpaio.^[103]

2008 election results[link]

Books[link]

• Joe Arpaio and Len Sherman, America's Toughest Sheriff: How We Can Win the War Against Crime, (1996). Summit Publishing Group, ISBN 1-56530-202-8
• Joe Arpaio and Len Sherman, Joe's Law: America's Toughest Sheriff Takes on Illegal Immigration, Drugs, and Everything Else that Threatens America, (2008). AMACOM, ISBN 0-8144-0199-6

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joe Arpaio

	Arizona portal
	Biography portal
	Law enforcement/Law enforcement topics portal

• Official Bio
• Official Election Website
• Local News Coverage of Arpaio from KPHO.com and CBS 5 News (KPHO-TV)
• Local News Coverage of Arpaio from azfamily.com and KTVK-3TV

Josh Hutcherson
Hutcherson at the Sydney premiere of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island in 2012.
Born	Joshua Ryan Hutcherson (1992-10-12) October 12, 1992 (age 19) Union, Kentucky, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2002–present
Website
www.joshhutcherson.com

Joshua Ryan "Josh" Hutcherson^[1] (born October 12, 1992) is an American film and television actor. He began working in the early 2000s, appearing in several minor film and television roles. He gained wider exposure with major roles in the 2005 films Little Manhattan and Zathura, the 2006 comedy RV, the 2007 family adventure film Firehouse Dog, and the film adaptations of Bridge to Terabithia, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. On March 30, 2008, Hutcherson won a Young Artist Award (for Leading Young Actor). Hutcherson was also featured on a Celebrity Teens edition of the hit show MTV Cribs, and portrayed Peeta Mellark in the 2012 film The Hunger Games. He will appear in the Red Dawn remake.

Early life[link]

Josh Hutcherson was born in Union, Kentucky. His mother, Michelle, is a former Delta Air Lines employee who now assists Josh, and his father, Chris Hutcherson, is an analyst for the EPA.^[2] He has a younger brother, Connor, as well as many pets, including two dogs, Diesel and Nixon (a boxer).^[3] He has wanted to be an actor since he was four years old,^[4] but had only begun auditioning for roles in 2002, at the age of 9.^[5] He moved from Union to California, due to limited acting opportunities.^[6]

Career[link]

Hutcherson at the premiere of Cirque du Freak in 2009.

Hutcherson's first role was in the 2002 pilot episode, House Blend; in the same year, he appeared in an episode of ER. In 2003, he played the lead role in the comedy Miracle Dogs (which was released on Animal Planet), starred opposite Peter Falk and Timothy Daly in the made-for-television film, Wilder Days, and had a minor role in the well-reviewed independent film, American Splendor. He performed for the motion-capture imagery in 2004's The Polar Express.

In 2005, Hutcherson appeared in several Hollywood films: he had a minor role in the Will Ferrell comedy Kicking & Screaming, voiced Markl in the animated film Howl's Moving Castle (June), and played the lead roles in Little Manhattan (September) and Zathura, which was released in November to positive reviews. The following year, Hutcherson appeared in the comedy RV, playing the son of Robin Williams's character, and subsequently played Jesse Aarons in the drama Bridge to Terabithia, which was filmed in New Zealand^[7] and released on February 16, 2007, performing well critically and commercially. He had not read the novel that the film is based on before being cast in the role.^[7][8]

Hutcherson's next role was in Firehouse Dog (released on April 4, 2007), in which he played Shane Fahey, a firefighter's son who befriends a dog.^[9] Hutcherson filmed Firehouse Dog before Bridge to Terabithia, though the latter film was released first.^[10] His next roles were in the "very dark"^[9] independent film drama Winged Creatures,^[11] and playing the nephew of Brendan Fraser's character in Journey to the Center of the Earth,^[7] a new 3-D film version of the novel of the same name; filming on Journey, which was released on July 11, 2008, began in Montreal in June 2006 and ended in October of that year.^[7][9] Hutcherson also appeared in a film adaptation of the book Cirque Du Freak.

Hutcherson and Vanessa Hudgens, his co-star in the film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, in January 2012.

In 2010, he had a supporting role in the critically acclaimed movie The Kids Are All Right, playing Laser. Hutcherson has said that he would like to appear in every type of film genre.^[9] On April 4, 2011, Lionsgate announced that Hutcherson had been cast as Peeta Mellark in the 2012 film, The Hunger Games.^[12]

Personal life[link]

Hutcherson briefly dated his Journey 2 co-star Vanessa Hudgens but the two are now "good friends".^[13]

Hutcherson has cited actor Jake Gyllenhaal as an inspiration.^[8] On August 11, 2007, Hutcherson served as the Grand Marshal at the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway.^[14] In September 2008, he went to Italy for the first time. He visited Rome and Milan, and participated in a local event about kids and cinema.^[15] Hutcherson recorded a video for the "Straight but not narrow" campaign, designed to encourage young, straight men to come out in support of their gay peers.^[16] On Saturday, April 21, 2012, Josh received the Vanguard Award from GLAAD. The Vanguard Award is awarded to one who incases the visibilty and understanding of LGBT folks.^[17]

Growing up near Cincinnati, Ohio, Hutcherson is a lifelong fan of the city's Major League Baseball team, the Reds; and got to throw the first pitch before their April 7, 2012 game against the Miami Marlins at Great American Ball Park.^[18]

In April 2012, Josh adopted a pit bull named Driver from the Hands, Paws, & Hearts rescue organization in Lancaster, CA.^[19]

Being from Kentucky, Hutcherson has been a lifelong Kentucky Wildcats fan. While he was on Conan he admitted to painting his face at a Kentucky Wildcats Basketball game and being a lifelong season ticket holder.^[20]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

Producer[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Josh Hutcherson at the Internet Movie Database
• Josh Hutcherson on Twitter
• People in Film: Josh Hutcherson - Focus Features
• Josh Hutcherson on Myspace
• Josh Hutcherson's channel on YouTube
• Josh Hutcherson on Facebook

Jerome Robert Corsi (born August 31, 1946) is an American author, political commentator and conspiracy theorist^[1][2] best known for his two New York Times bestselling books: The Obama Nation and Unfit for Command (with co-author John O'Neill). Both books, the former written in 2008 and the latter in 2004, attacked Democratic presidential candidates and were criticized for including numerous inaccuracies.^[3][4][5]

In other books and columns for conservative websites such as WorldNetDaily and Human Events, Corsi has discussed topics that are considered conspiracy theories in some circles, such as the alleged plans for a North American Government, the theory that President Barack Obama is not an American citizen;^[6] criticism of the United States government for allegedly covering up information about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,^[7] promoting the Abiogenic hypothesis of the origin of oil (arguing that oil is produced from chemical reactions in the Earth, in contrast to the general consensus of the scientific community that oil is produced from organic materials, such as zooplankton and algae), and alleged United States support of Iran in its attempts to develop nuclear weapons.^[8][9][10]

Early life[link]

Jerome Corsi was born in East Cleveland, Ohio^{[citation needed]}, to Louis E. Corsi, a union public relations director, and Alice Corsi, née Hanlon. He married Joy Dugan on May 8, 1970. The marriage ended in divorce. He married Monica Corsi in 1991.^[11]

He graduated from St. Ignatius High School in 1964. He earned a B.A. from Case Western Reserve University in 1968, and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He earned a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University in 1972.^[12]

Career[link]

In 1972 Corsi researched the political protests around the 1972 Democratic and Republican National Conventions in Miami Beach, and the involvement of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War.^[13] His research was then published by the Lemberg Center for the Study of Violence (Brandeis University, 1974).

Corsi went into banking and finance in 1981.^[14] In 1995 Corsi helped launch a mutual fund to invest in formerly Communist Poland after the fall of the Soviet Union, which eventually lost $1.2 million, much of it from a group of about 20 Minnesota investors.^[15][16] Some of the investors blamed the organizers, including Corsi, for their investment in the former Communist country. Two investors sued Corsi and his partners on the basis that the organizers had given their personal guarantee backing up the investment, and won judgments against them.^[15] They did not collect from Corsi because, as one investor claimed, the money "had been moved into his wife's name ... There was nothing to get out of him."^[15] The FBI found no basis for bringing criminal charges.^[15] Until his 2004 book, Corsi was a financial services marketing specialist.^[17]

In January 2005, Corsi told the Boston Herald that he planned to bid for John Kerry's Senate seat in Massachusetts in 2008 as a Republican or Independent candidate.^{[citation needed]} He later said his wife had "vetoed" this plan. Then Corsi stated "Howard Phillips of the Constitution Party asked me to consider seriously running for president in 2008 and I am doing so."^[18] He then agreed to be nominated at the Constitution Party National Convention,^[19][20] but he dropped out in July 2007.^[21]

Writings and conspiracy theories[link]

Corsi has written about a variety of subjects, including Democratic politicians and conspiracy theories.^[22] According to The Guardian, Corsi — who is Catholic — has been accused by the American press "of being anti-Islamic, anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic and homophobic, and of exploiting racial prejudices in an attempt to 'scare white America'."^[23] In 2004, Corsi wrote a critical biography of then Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry called Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry. In 2005 he published Atomic Iran: How the Terrorist Regime Bought the Bomb and American Politicians, which claimed Democratic politicians are corrupted by Iranian money and are helping the Ulemas, who seek nuclear weapons, in Tehran.^[24] That same year he co-authored Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil (2005) with Craig R. Smith.

In 2006, he co-authored Showdown with Nuclear Iran: Radical Islam's Messianic Mission to Destroy Israel and Cripple the United States with Michael D. Evans. In August 2006 he published Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America's Borders with Minutemen founder Jim Gilchrist. This book criticized President George W. Bush's border protection policies, accusing him of furthering plans to create a North American Union.^[25] In May 2006, Corsi co-wrote the book Rebuilding America with Kenneth Blackwell, then Ohio secretary of state and a Republican candidate for Governor of Ohio.^[26]

In March 2008 Corsi reported in WorldNetDaily that a "Muslim terrorist group with ties to criminal drug networks and al-Qaida" has given "strong support" to John McCain.^[27]

In 2007 Corsi wrote that he himself is not a Republican and complained that "the Republican Party is controlled by what used to be called the 'Rockefeller Wing'."^[28] In addition, Corsi called for the impeachment of George W. Bush."^[29][30] On August 15th, 2008, Corsi endorsed Constitution Party presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin, who had campaigned to reopen the investigation into the September 11, 2001 attacks in support of the 9/11 Truth Movement.^[31]

Corsi has also referred to Martin Luther King, Jr. as a "shakedown artist".^[32][33][34]

Factcheck.org called Corsi's The Obama Nation "a mishmash of unsupported conjecture, half-truths, logical fallacies and outright falsehoods."^[35] Obama's campaign has criticized Corsi as a "bigoted fringe author" for these claims, as well as "the bizarre, conspiratorial views that Jerome Corsi has advocated in his broader work."^{[9][10][36][37]} Corsi has also appeared on INN World Report, a news program on Free Speech TV, to advance his claims.

[edit] Unfit for Command

In August 2004, Corsi's Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, with attributed coauthor John O'Neill, was published by Regnery Publishing. The book sold more than 1.2 million copies.

The main theme of Corsi's portion of the book was to criticize Kerry's antiwar activities after returning from Vietnam, and to dispute many of his and other antiwar activists' assertions that U.S. soldiers had committed war crimes and atrocities, burned down villages, and murdered innocent civilians in Vietnam. Kerry gained notoriety, the book argues, by bringing to light such horrific events as the My Lai Massacre, thus damaging the image of the U.S. Military in the Winter Soldier hearings.

The other theme of the book was that Kerry's four month tour in Vietnam had been marked by cowardice under fire and fraudulently obtaining medals. In that regard, the book contained statements by some veterans of the Vietnam War who served with John Kerry on Swift Boats, several of whom executed affidavits in support of their claims; these claims were repudiated by other veterans who served with Kerry and often were disproven by outside sources, including the Navy's official records.^[38]

After controversial comments Corsi had made at the Free Republic website were publicized by the Media Matters for America website, John O'Neill claimed that Corsi was not actually a co-author of the book Unfit for Command, but rather was "simply an editor."^[39][40] Nevertheless, O'Neill described Corsi as the book's "coauthor" in a 2007 letter to the New York Times.^[41] Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler describe Corsi's efforts in writing the book, referring to him as one of its "authors," in their book To Set the Record Straight.^[42]

In 2007 Corsi, along with Bill Gertz, Lt. Col. Robert (Buzz) Patterson, Joel Mowbray and Richard Miniter, sued Regnery's parent company, Eagle Publishing, claiming the company "orchestrate[d] and participate[d] in a fraudulent, deceptively concealed and self-dealing scheme to divert book sales away from retail outlets and to wholly owned subsidiary organizations within the Eagle conglomerate."^[43] The suit was dismissed on June 30, 2008.^[44]

[edit] The Obama Nation

Corsi's book The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality was released on August 1, 2008, and is critical of Barack Obama and his candidacy for President. In response, the Obama campaign issued a 40 page rebuttal called "Unfit for Publication" on his website FightTheSmears.com, alleging factual errors.^[45] Corsi proclaimed the Obama report a confession that the most serious charges against Obama were true, because (he said) the campaign report cited minor issues, responded to charges different from those that Corsi had made, and implicitly confirmed many of Corsi's allegations.^[46][47]

According to various American news sources, many of the accusations made in the book are unsubstantiated, misleading or inaccurate.^{[48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55]}

According to The New York Times, "Significant parts of the book, whose subtitle is 'Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality,' have been challenged in the days since its debut on Aug. 1."^[53] The book made its first appearance on The Times' best-sellers list for nonfiction hardcovers at No. 1.^[56] Corsi conducted over 100 interviews promoting the book,^[53] including a scheduled appearance^[57][58] on The Political Cesspool, a white supremacist^[59][60] radio talk show. He previously appeared on the show on July 20,^[61] but he canceled his August 17 appearance because of a change in "travel plans".^[62] In August 2008, Corsi appeared on Alex Jones' radio show and promoted The Obama Nation.^[63]

Paul Waldman criticized The Obama Nation as "filled with falsehoods."^[64] In a debate with Corsi on Larry King Live, Waldman accused him of using baseless innuendo as a tactic to 'smear' Obama.^[65]

On October 7, 2008, Corsi and his media consultant Tim Bueler were detained by immigration authorities in Kenya while doing further research related to the book, allegedly for failure to have a work permit. Corsi had scheduled a press conference to announce new research proving that Obama had raised a million dollars for the election campaign of Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga, and had helped run Odinga's campaign as a strategist, including setting the stage for the campaign of violence and bloodshed that had brought Odinga to power after a disputed election. The meeting was interrupted by Kenyan immigration officials when they detained Corsi.^[66][67] Corsi was eventually deported.^[68][69]

[edit] Black Gold Stranglehold

Corsi has also promoted the concept of abiotic oil production (as opposed to the theory for formation of petroleum from biological matter);^[70] the idea that oil is naturally produced underground through chemical processes under extreme heat and pressure, rather than by the conversion of biological material.^[71] In his book Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil, Corsi questions the "truism that oil is fossil fuel."^[72] As oil wells have drilled ever deeper, and discovered oil at 30,000 feet beneath the surface (5½ miles) it becomes clear, Corsi argues, that no dinosaur remains were buried 30,000 feet under ground.^[73] Corsi argues that oil men have long noticed that oil wells pumped dry sometimes "refill" with oil, suggesting a much deeper source for the oil, rising up under pressure to refill oil wells. Meanwhile, scientists have detected the presence of "fossil fuels" or hydrocarbons on Saturn's moon Titan.^[74] Furthermore, Corsi argues, science has never put forward a satisfactory explanation for how a dinosaur can turn into oil. Oil is not, in fact, formed from dinosaurs, but from fossilized plant remains.^[75]

Corsi suggests that the world buys into scientific views of petroleum formation because it would be "disastrous — both to oil companies and to politicians in office" in terms of pricing to admit that oil is not a scarce commodity.^[76] The abiotic oil theory is in conflict with scientific consensus.^[77]

On the inside flap of the book:

Jerome R. Corsi and Craig R. Smith expose the fraudulent science that has been sold to the American people in order to enslave them — the belief that oil is a fossil fuel and a finite resource. On the contrary, this book presents authoritative research, currently known mostly in the scientific community, that oil is not a product of decaying dinosaurs and prehistoric forests. Rather, it is a natural product of the Earth. The scientific evidence cited by Corsi and Smith suggests that oil is constantly being produced by the Earth, far below the planet's surface, and that it is brought to attainable depths by the centrifugal forces of the Earth's rotation.^[78]

[edit] Atomic Iran

In 2005 Corsi's Atomic Iran: How the Terrorist Regime Bought the Bomb and American Politicians was published by WND Books with an introduction by Craig R. Smith. In the book he claims Democratic politicians are corrupted by Iranian money and are helping the mullahs, who seek nuclear weapons, in Tehran.^[24] Corsi accused an aide for John Kerry of helping the mullahs, who strongly rejected the claim.^[24] To promote the book, Corsi appeared in conservative venues such as on Hannity & Colmes on April 8, 2005, at the Heritage Foundation,^[79] and on WEJEW Radio.^[80]

On the topic in April 2005, Corsi wrote "An atomic Iran is imminent ... mullahs may have bomb by June."^[81] One year after the publication, Corsi wrote in his WorldNetDaily column, "I told you so", and claimed his book was right about failed talks.^[82] The book was taken as highly controversial, generating opposing views.

[edit] Where's the Birth Certificate?

Corsi wrote Where's the Birth Certificate?, a book that questions Obama's American citizenship. Prior to its May 2011 release, the book enjoyed a buzz-building teaser article in the heavily-trafficked Drudge Report website, but Obama released his long-form birth certificate three weeks before the book was published. Shortly after the book's publication, Esquire issued a satirical report that the book had been recalled,^[83] which prompted Corsi to sue Esquire for damages of over $285 million.^[84]

North American Union conspiracy theories[link]

Corsi claims that "President Bush is pursuing a globalist agenda to create a North American Union" a theoretical continental union of Canada, Mexico and the United States, that will supplant the United States.^[85] In 2007 he predicted an amero currency to replace dollar for this union will happen within 10 years.^[86] The "Union" is a theme in two of his books The Late Great U.S.A.: The Coming Merger With Mexico and Canada^[28][87] (2007) and Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America's Borders (2006) as he explained on The Conservative Caucus's TV show.^[25] On December 15, 2006 Corsi reported for the first time he "had found a major intellectual leader behind the push to integrate North America suggesting that a crisis of 9-11 proportions might be just what was needed to advance the process toward establishing a North American Union and the amero."^[88]

In 2007 he claimed a North American Union driver's license was created^[89] and that the U.S. State Department was in talks to "move toward a transatlantic union."^[90] That same year he claimed, "Virgil Goode, R-Va., has introduced a House of Representatives resolution expressing congressional opposition to construction of a NAFTA Super Highway System or entry into a North American Union with Mexico and Canada."^[91] The validity of those claims was criticized in Newsweek and the author noted: "Corsi offered a warning: President Bush's supposed determination to force North American integration, he told the audience, could cost the GOP the 2008 presidential election. Corsi may have a conspiratorial bent. But he sure knows how to spin stories that shake up an election — and at least one candidate seems happy to help him."^[92]