2023 December InMaricopa Magazine

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December 2023

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Bullseye! Ancient sport gets modern Maricopa makeover

GOVERNMENT • COMMUNITY • SPORTS • BUSINESS • HOME

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CONTENTS

LEADING OFF Editor’s letter 4 Contributors 4 HISTORY A sign that served as a landmark 6

This month in history 6 GOVERNMENT City unsure if music festival made money 8 Sex offenders in your neighborhood 12 Permitting 14 COMMUNITY Fake war hero leaves a trail of devastation 18 Winter is a perfect time for treatments 24 Kenyans find ‘harambee’ spirit 26 Documentary draws Snoop Dogg to Maricopa 32 In 2024, take time to focus on you 34 SPORTS Archers reach for their quivers, take aim 36 Gallery: As seasons change, so do sports 40 BUSINESS InBrief 42 Vitiello Primary Care a fountain of youth for the city 43 Restaurant inspections 44 A new face at Maricopa Foot and Ankle 45 HOME All about cacti 46

SENIORS Province band finds joy in entertainment 50

TRENDING A look at what’s hot on InMaricopa.com 63 PARTING SHOT Bristletoe 64

EVENTS Calendar 54

Most, least expensive homes 47 The problem with sulfates 49

ON THE COVER Victor Moreno captured this shot of Jennifer Feickert aiming an arrow at a target. For more on archery, see Monica D. Spencer’s story on page 36.

InMaricopa.com | December 2023

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FROM THE EDITOR

T THE AFTERNOONS REMAIN WARM, BUT THE mornings and evenings are crisping up like well- behaved bacon. That’s how you know the holidays are upon us here in Maricopa. The seasonal songs that croon over department store speakers this time of year are like the first appetizer before a Christmas feast. It always amazed me how that same old family dining table and familiar ingredients could transform into a meal worthy of being fondly remembered for half the year — and then mouth- wateringly anticipated the other half. What dishes grace the table? A stuffed bird, obviously. Roasted potatoes, obviously. Stuffing and cranberry sauce, probably. But creamed spinach? Bourbon balls? A glass of fizz? There’s really no meal more diverse and limitless. Maricopa reminds me of a Christmas dinner. Always a new friend pulling up a chair, a tasty new dish in tow. You’ll see what I mean when our newest reporter, Jeff Chew, introduces you to Maricopa’s burgeoning Kenyan community in this issue. The feast gets larger and the menu more diverse — but it’s still that same table underneath. Whether you’re setting a Christmas buffet or incorporating the time-honored kids table, there’s just no way to get everyone seated at the same time; someone always gets whisked away tending to a tray of parsnips or supervising the pecan pie in the oven. Christmas dinner

Publisher SCOTT BARTLE

Maricopans don’t sit still too well, either. We’re always working on something new and exciting, like starting a band or breathing new life into an ancient sport. Tom Schuman and Monica D. Spender will tell you more about those endeavors.

Managing Editor ELIAS WEISS

Advertising Director VINCENT MANFREDI

At Christmas dinner, there’s probably going to be a luscious cheesecake or a baked stuffed brie that makes everyone swoon. Someone’s got to show up and steal the spotlight — hip-hop icon Snoop Dogg will do just that in Maricopa next month. Conversely, it seems like one of the dishes never pans out. Maybe a burnt roast

Advertising IRENE DITTRICH

VERONICA RODRIGUEZ MICHELLE SORENSEN MERCED VILLALOBOS Writers JEFF CHEW KRISTINA DONNAY JUSTIN GRIFFIN DAYV MORGAN HARRIET PHELPS BRIANNA REINHOLD TOM SCHUMAN MONICA D. SPENCER

or something that fell pudding-side-down on the floor. Whoever is baking the apple pie knows there’s always a bad apple in the bunch. Likewise, not every Maricopan is the hero in their own story. In this edition, I’m busting yet another case of stolen valor. At the end of the day, though, Christmas dinner isn't about the dishes on the table. It’s about the people sitting around it. This holiday season, I’m happy to sit at the InMaricopa table with my readers. ‘Til next year!

Photographers BRYAN MORDT JENECE MORDT VICTOR MORENO

BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR. MONICA D. SPENCER

Designer CARL BEZUIDENHOUT

ELIAS WEISS MANAGING EDITOR

MISSION Inform readers/viewers. Enrich advertisers.

BELIEFS We believe in: • An informed citizenry. • Holding ourselves and others accountable. • The success of deserving businesses.

CONTRIBUTORS

VALUES

• Integrity • Accountability

• Open, honest, real-time communication • Prosperity for clients, community, company

Volume 18, Issue 12 InMaricopa 44400 W. Honeycutt Road, Suite 101 Maricopa, AZ 85138

520-568-0040 Tel 520-568-0050 Fax News@InMaricopa.com Advertising@InMaricopa.com

Published advertisements are not an endorsement of products or advertising claims by InMaricopa . No part of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without the prior written permission of InMaricopa . Copyright 2023.

BRIANNA REINHOLD With Christmas around the corner, it is the season for giving. Brianna reminds us to not forget about ourselves.

JEFF CHEW Jeff, a new reporter at InMaricopa, offers a profile of Maricopans

DAYV MORGAN Dayv, owner of HomeSmart Premier, takes a trip down memory lane to when soil sulfates were all the rage.

who moved from Kenya. Hakuna matata indeed.

InMaricopa.com | December 2023

EXCEPTIONAL IS OUR STANDARD

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HISTORY

Signs of change The O.S. Stapley store opened in 1955 south of the railroad tracks and east of Maricopa High School on Maricopa Road. The store carried farm supplies, hardware, paint, small appliances, sporting goods and housewares, sold International Harvester equipment and repaired and serviced farm equipment. It was managed by Marvin Scott. Before the John Wayne Parkway overpass opened to the public in 2019, the sign remained a storied landmark on Maricopa’s main thoroughfare. A&R Towing now occupies the property, just north of Auntie’s Soul Food & Grill. The sapling saguaro cactus shaded by the sign in the 1950s is now a dominant feature of the landmark today.

THIS MONTH BACK IN... For these and other historical stories, visit InMaricopa.com.

2008 2013

2018

Two Maricopa cops were hospitalized after a motorcycle escort for a toy drive. Officers Pete Torres and Ricky Alvarado crashed on southbound SR 347 during the escort of the W. Steven Martin Toy Run from Chandler to Maricopa. Torres suffered a broken elbow and Alvarado suffered a dislocated shoulder.

Students at Santa Rosa Elementary School’s Honor Society made blankets for their homeless classmates. Each student collected fleece and went to school early for two weeks. Together, they created 18 blankets. “They were quite proud of their accomplishment,” said Santa Rosa Honor Society sponsor Stephanie Rinehart.

Maricopa’s population topped 50,000 people, according to 2018 U.S. Census data released in December, naming it the 18th-largest city in the state. “It’s a great accomplishment for the city to reach this 50,000-resident milestone,” said then-Mayor Christian Price. Just 18 years prior, Maricopa had only about 1,000 residents.

InMaricopa.com | December 2023

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GOVERNMENT

Young MC works the crowd up at the Wild West Music Fest at Copper Sky Park.

Worth it? City unsure if it made or lost money on music festival

BY JUSTIN GRIFFIN

As final details of the festival trickle in, InMaricopa has uncovered some facts through Freedom of Information Act requests that bring some of the inner workings of the festival into focus. The numbers There’s no such thing as a free lunch — or birthday party for that matter. The city of Maricopa agreed to pay SLE $200,000 in the initial contract signed July 10. The first half of that money was supposed to be paid up front and the second half was to be paid within 10 days after the event. The initial amount wasn’t enough, apparently, as about a month later, Maricopa agreed to pay SLE an additional $150,000, bringing the city’s total buy-in to $350,000. In an addendum to the original contract signed Aug. 7, the funds were to be paid upon the confirmation of the artist lineup for the festival. The city, however, may recover some of its upfront costs. The contract stated profits were to be split 50-50 between the city and SLE. How those numbers will work out won’t be available until SLE provides the city with the final accounting statements from the event. The contract listed multiple possible revenue streams, including ticket sales, vendor fees,

Y MANY ACCOUNTS, THE WILD WEST MUSIC FEST was a finely tuned operation. The event, held Oct. 13-15 to celebrate the city’s 20th anniversary, ran on time, traffic issues were nil and police made no arrests.

Official attendance figures are unavailable, but city officials estimated attendance between 17,000 and 20,000 over the course of the three-day event. Despite surpassing a goal of 10,000, the city admittedly may not know if it made or lost money on the event until next year. Apart from the operational success of the event itself, the question of whether the festival made any money remains up in the air as the city awaits a final account of the attendance figures, expenses and revenues from event producer Steve Levine Entertainment. According to the contract between the promoter and the city, SLE has 90 business days from the end of the festival until it is obligated to provide those details, along with the accounting of the event and the details of any profits. To the casual observer, that may sound like three months — but business days exclude weekends and holidays, which means SLE isn’t contractually obligated to supply the information until mid-February.

InMaricopa.com | December 2023

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parking fees, sponsorships and profits from any food and beverages the promoter may sell. SLE and the city already have a feather in their cap in that sponsorship revenues came in higher than expected at more than $88,000. The initial forecast outlined in the contract was for $75,000. However, achieving profitability through ticket sales may prove to be an uphill battle as prices were anywhere between $5 and $300. While an average ticket was supposed to cost $30 for one day, many discounted tickets were sold for the last day, as part of the Community Day promotion. There were also early-bird discounts given as well as last-minute discounts. The attendance goal outlined in a marketing memo shared between SLE and the city was to attract 10,000 attendees over the course of the three-day event, meaning from the outset, the city was willing to pay $35 for each person to attend the festival. The average daily ticket went for no more than $30. Lots of moving parts The Wild West Music Fest featured several musical acts of national and international acclaim, a midway including nine rides and attractions along with all the games and the food you’d expect at such an event. Vice Mayor Rich Vitiello felt it was a coming out party for the city. “These three days were so impressive. We brought people from all over the state,” Vitiello said Nov. 7. “The staff worked day and night for weeks on end to make this happen for our city and to put us on the map.”

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GOVERNMENT

were questions about the community's commitment to the event's entrance fee and concerns about safety and cleanliness,” Konnold said. “However, our investment in an experienced event producer paid off handsomely in putting these concerns to rest.” Mayor Nancy Smith said she heard from quite a few people who didn’t attend. “They said, ‘I just didn’t know that it was for me. After reading the comments online, I feel like I really missed out,’ and I agree. They did miss out,” Smith said. Konnold pointed out that, after the event, the premises were remarkably clean and following the close of the festival, the parking lot was empty in 11 minutes, a statement echoed by Smith and Vitiello at a November city council meeting. Getting the word out An important part of any party is to get invitations out to the attendees. The first line of attack was to come through the city’s communications department, along with its communications channels, which include its social media accounts, email lists, a YouTube channel and official websites. Mara Klein, a spokesperson for SLE, said a major focus was keeping it local. “To appeal to residents and neighboring communities, we prioritized involving and understanding Maricopa on a deep level,”

While the contract was signed July 10, planning for the event started months earlier, according to Quinn Konnold, a spokesperson for the city. “In early 2023, the city council tasked city staff to mark Maricopa's 20th anniversary with a grand celebration reminiscent of Stagecoach Days,” Konnold said. “The goal was first outlined during the city’s annual Futures Planning Meeting in February.” Another challenge faced by the city and SLE might have been the relatively short period of time between the signing of the contract July 10 and the start of the event Oct. 13. The festival was announced July 26 and the partial lineup announcement came just weeks before the event on Aug. 24. In total, there were only 13 weeks to market the event. With a minority population approaching 25%, Maricopa is the most diverse city in Arizona, according to data from the U.S. Census. That means there are many tastes to take into consideration for the musical acts and attractions, along with the logistics of putting on such an event. “Organizing the festival was no small feat,” Konnold said. “Securing a qualified event production partner, enticing performers to captivate Maricopa's diverse population, and navigating regional marketing while prioritizing local engagement presented significant challenges.” Konnold pointed out other hurdles. “With all the unknowns of a first-time event of this scale, there

ADVERTISING EXPENSE

Social Media

Online (non-social media)

Television Radio

Outdoor

Direct

$750 PRINT

FLYERS

93%

SOCIAL MEDIA

$2,362

$6,876

$5,349 OUTDOOR

ONLINE (NON-SOCIAL MEDIA)

$6,518

RADIO

$5,635

TELEVISION

$5,167

OUTSIDE CITY

MARICOPA BUSINESSES

Source: City of Maricopa

Table 1

InMaricopa.com | December 2023

Total

An encore? The Wild West Music Fest was marketed this year as the first of what may become a yearly event. The website already references the 2024 Wild West Music Fest. The city was remarkably upbeat with its answer as to whether there will be another festival next year. Konnold said the event “paved the way for future spectacular celebrations.” He said he felt the event was an over- whelming success but couldn’t answer if the city got any return on investment of taxpayers’ money. Based on the contract and conversations with city officials, it’s unclear yet what the city’s objective returns were — financial or otherwise. “The Wild West Music Fest surpassed expectations, boasting robust security measures, efficient traffic plans, top-notch cleanliness strategies and an unwavering commitment to affordability,” he said. “While final financial reports are pending, our event partner has already expressed interest in extending the celebration into the coming years.”

had been exhausted and referenced a final push to get the word out. As referenced in the initial contract, the city was supposed to sign off on all contracts for musical acts. Yet none of those contracts were available through a FOIA request.

Klein said in a statement. “Intentionally forming partnerships with local businesses and concentrating our marketing efforts in Maricopa, as the event was hosted in honor of the city’s 20th anniversary, was crucial.” However, when SLE executed its marketing plan, which included an advertising budget of more than $30,000, roughly 93% of those funds went to efforts outside of Maricopa. • The top category was social media, which accounted for $6,876. • Online (non-social media) was second at $6,518. • Another notable expenditure was on three television buys for $5,167, including 3TV AZ Family ($1,520), ABC15 ($1,647) and FOX 10 ($2,000.) • An additional $5,635 went into radio, including Audacy 101.5 ($1475), IHeart Radio ($2,660), Sierra H Broadcasting ($1,500) and $500 with Spotify. • Outdoor advertising took up $5,349 of the budget with a notable purchase at the intersection of I-10 and Chandler Boulevard between Sept. 17 and Oct. 15 for $2,660. • Direct advertising, which consisted of door hangers and flyers distributed locally, took up $2,362. • Print media outlets accounted for $750 of the budget, with all of that going to Phoenix New Times . Missing details The contract stipulated SLE to provide the city weekly progress reports that included ticket sales, marketing efforts, sponsorship and vendor reports. A FOIA request revealed there’s no record of those contractually-agreed progress reports as the request only garnered a list of paid sponsorships and a 60-page production packet containing a boilerplate list of standard operating procedures for just about every eventuality, a list of vendors and contact information. It didn't include any updates on ticket sales or any information that would give a greater picture into the inner workings of how the festival was produced. In another request, the city provided an undated marketing plan with a rough accounting of the promoter’s marketing budget, along with some of the deliverables each media outlet provided or were scheduled to provide with a handful of weeks to go. Some of the wording in the report acknowledged the budget

“The Wild West Music Fest surpassed expectations, boasting robust security measures, efficient traffic plans, top-notch cleanliness strategies and an unwavering commitment to affordability.” QUINN KONNOLD, CITY SPOKESPERSON

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GOVERNMENT

Sex offenders in your neighborhood Last month, Maricopa Police Department notified InMaricopa a new sex offender moved to town. In 2003, Alex Melton (a.k.a. Alex Berrera) was convicted of sexually assaulting a girl aged 7 or below. He has since failed to register as a sex offender three times. The 36-year-old recently moved to 21815 N. Bolivia St. in Rancho El Dorado. Melton is a Level 3 sex offender, reserved for the greatest threats to society deemed most likely to reoffend. Level 2 offenders have a moderate risk of reoffending, while Level 1 offenders are deemed unlikely to reoffend. We’ve listed the names and addresses of all Maricopa’s Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders along with their crimes as a public service.

Editor’s note: Sex offenders with Maricopa addresses outside city limits were not included in this map. For the full sex offender data in the 85138 and 85139 zip codes, visit InMaricopa.com.

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InMaricopa.com | December 2023

NAME

AGE ADDRESS

LEVEL OFFENSES

MAP

Daniel James Lantz

42 45992 W. Belle Ave. 69 45084 W. Mescal St. 26 42252 W. Anne Ln. 56 37765 W. Amalfi Ave. 86 41648 W. Corvalis Ln. 34 21773 N. Bolivia St. 26 36561 W. Padilla St.

1 1 1 1

Molestation of a child

2 3 4 5 6

Gregory Jerome Gentry David Ian Woodruff David Franklin Price

Sexual exploitation of a minor

Molestation of a child

Sexual conduct with a minor

Theodore Alan Aird

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Second degree ecouraging child sexual abuse

James Joseph Attebery Alden Pascua Cacpal Troy Austin Copeland Matthew Slade Dodson Zachary Stephen Dowell

Sexual abuse

employment or use of a minor for obscene matter

8 9

56 43863 W. Cahill Dr.

Possession of child porn in sexual performance, failed to register

41041 W. Somers Dr.

1st degree rape by instrumentation Luring a minor for sexual exploitation

26 20620 N. Mac Neil Ct.

William Escobar Jr.

44 40623 W. Helen Ct.

Sex penetration w/foreign obj: victim unaware nature of act

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Robert James Fedd Jr. Richard Juanland Fox Brian Robert Kringer Devan Gaige Lopez Frank Manuel Madrigal Blanca Millimento Propst

18969 N. Cinder Rd.

Sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust — victim is under 15

45 19217 N. San Pablo St.

Attempted second degree sexual assault

36 44728 W. Alamendras St.

Lewd contact with a minor under 16

30 40343 W. Shaver Dr.

Attempted sexual conduct with a minor, attempted molestation of child Sexual penetration with foreign object with force sexual motivation

58 18334 N. Arbor Dr.

59 36400 W. Costa Blanca Dr. 52 38165 W. Santa Barbara Ave.

Third degree rape

Dean Albano Reyes

2 Failure to register address change, lewd or lascivious acts with child under 14, concurrent registrations

Claude William Richards

82 45359 W. Apple Gate Rd.

2 3 2 2 3 2

Attempted molestation of a child

Richard Abraham Rodriguez

45351 W. Lexington Ave.

Not specified

Mehrdad Rowshandel

55 36898 W. Nola Way 30 40099 W. Pryor Ln. 28 42395 W. Michaels Dr.

Attempted sexual assault

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Matthew Sheehy

Attempted molestation of a child

J-Vaughn Alexzander Shrader

Gross sexual imposition

Jamie Andrew Tarver Benjamin Thornton

21424 N. Karsten Dr.

Attempted sexual conduct with a minor, failure to register

46 41857 W. Hillman Dr.

2 Pimping sexual motivation, unlawful sexual Intercourse with a minor where minor is more than three years younger than the perpetrator

Richard Laverne Vanderhyde 51

38191 W. San Alvarez Ave.

Sexual assault and attempted sexual assault

Ricky Esai Villalon

36 46108 W. Guilder Ave.

Sexual abuse, attempted sexual conduct with a minor

Anthony Keith Wallace

45 43224 W. Cowpath Rd.

Lewd or lascivious acts with child under 14

Michael Shawn Wilkins

43 17741 N. Madison Rd.

Sexual assault in the third degree

Donald Woods

20764 N. Carmen Ave.

Attempted sexual assault

Sterling Brasfield

44432 W. Eddie Way

9A.44.130(11)(A) - Sex offender - felony - fail to register (attempted)

32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46

Willard Morris Castaneda

34 43283 W. Wild Horse Trl.

3 Violation of Sex Offender Registration (Failure to Register), Sexual conduct with a minor (attempted)

Frank Albert Lopez

54 45048 W. Miraflores St.

Kidnapping, attempted sexual assault

Shakir Arthur Thomas

29 44153 W. Cydnee Dr.

????

Jefferson Douglas McGee

18832 N. Leland Rd.

First Degree Sexual Assault of a Child, Failure to register

Andre Dean Padilla

63 43223 W. Delia Blvd.

Lewd or lascivious acts with child under 14 years with force

Sean Christopher Jackson

38 42245 W. Lavender Dr.

attempted sexual assault, failure to register

Justin Wyatt

42 44472 W. Copper Trl.

indecent exposure, indecent exposure to a child, attempted indecent exposure to a child

Jeremy Daniel Dial

43 42111 W. Balsa Dr.

Attempted molestation of a child, failure to register

Bennie Lasedrick Harvey

45 41835 W. Rosa Dr.

Sexual assault on a victim under 13

Ulrich Volker Oertel

80 22828 N. Bolivia St.

indecent exposure, notify with new address

Marc Anthoni Stefanson

59 37025 W. Bello Ln.

Annoy/molest children, failure to register

Moises Sandoval

44 40656 W. James Ln.

Sexual misconduct with a minor, child molesting

Robert Michael Suchy

75 40922 W. Thornberry Ln.

lewd acts with a child 14 of 15, indecent exposure

Alex Melton

36 21815 N. Bolivia St.

First Degree Sexual Assault of a Child, Failure to register

Jonathan Jager

35 46136 W. Mountain View Rd.

Attempted molestation of a child

December 2023 | InMaricopa.com

GOVERNMENT

BRIEF

Permits Oct. 9 - Nov. 3

COMMERCIAL Taco Bell to construct a new building at 42080 W. Maricopa-Casa Grande Hwy., valued at nearly $400,000. The contractor is Baldwin Development Group LLC. Molly’s House of Little Feet for a splash pad measuring over 760 square feet. It will cost more than $24,000. Queen Creek Fiesta LLC for interior racking at Petco, valued at $60,000. APEX Landco LLC a major development review permit for its industrial campus. Southwestern Adult Care for a wall sign at 21300 N. John Wayne Pkwy., Suite 112. The contractor is Arizona Sign and Lighting LLC. Masjid Bilal Ibn Rabah for exterior improvements at 44370 W. Cesar Chavez Lane.

RESIDENTIAL D.R. Horton Inc. to build five homes in Sorrento and 15 homes in Tortosa South. K. Hovnanian to build seven homes in Santa Rosa Springs. Lennar Arizona Inc. to build three homes in Anderson Farms. Meritage Homes of Arizona Inc. to build 27 homes in Province and eight homes in Trails at Tortosa. Century Communities of Arizona LLC to build nine homes in Trails at Tortosa.

25 RESIDENTIAL SOLAR PANELS 7 RESIDENTIAL SWIMMING POOLS 74 SINGLE FAMILY DWELLINGS Permits Issued

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December 2023 | InMaricopa.com

GOVERNMENT

City creating jobs, economic prosperity by funding transportation corridor The Pinal County Board of Supervisors established the Pinal Regional Transportation Authority (PRTA) in 2015 as a public improvement and taxing subdivision of the State of Arizona to coordinate multi-jurisdictional transportation planning, improvements and funding. This organization developed a Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) that was taken to the voters in a November 2017 Special Election.

P INAL COUNTY VOTERS APPROVED THE RTP AND A 20-YEAR, half-cent sales tax to fund the transportation improvements contained in the plan. However, the structure of the tax was challenged in a 2018 lawsuit and ruled invalid by the Arizona Supreme Court in March 2022. The East-West Corridor (now the Sonoran Desert Parkway) project is part of the RTP and involves construction of a 21-mile corridor of new and existing roadways beginning at State Route 347 in the city of Maricopa and extending east through northern Casa Grande to Interstate 10. When it became clear funding from this tax would not

be forthcoming, the city moved to fund this regional corridor with developer impact fees (not citizen-paid taxes). Impact fees are charged to contribute to costs associated with infrastructure and public services that need to be expanded as a direct result of new development in the growth areas of the city of Maricopa, as defined in the General Plan. This corridor is critical to future transportation needs and will support significant job creation and economic prosperity for the citizens of Maricopa.

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InMaricopa.com | December 2023

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December 2023 | InMaricopa.com

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Purple heartbreak Fake war hero scammed state — and many others along the way

BY ELIAS WEISS

O STEAL VALOR IS TO ADORN oneself in borrowed laurels of courage. It’s the product of either malice, “A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction.” – CRISS JAMI T cowardice or vanity, and generally misses its aim in each of these aspects. Because sooner or later, the carefully placed blocks of deception topple under the gravity of truth. Some weave grand lies and exit dramatically. Then there’s Stanley Wayne Wineberg Jr., who spun a slow-burning tale of wartime heroism that spans decades and a great distance. But it’s here in Maricopa where the curtain may fall on his exploits. It was in this city where the seemingly innocent U.S. Army vet became the focus of a state criminal investigation in September. He scammed a state agency and got away with it, forcing a change to the department’s legal policy last month. But that’s the mere tip of the iceberg. Cue the unraveling. Vanity plates Wineberg, by all accounts, seemed like any other Maricopa resident. He’d drive home from his job as a cable guy, park his truck in the driveway of his Glennwilde Groves home and greet his newlywed wife at the door. The setting sun would throw a beam of light against his polished Purple Heart license plates as his wife closed the front door on another picturesque day. She didn’t know about the half-dozen wives who came before her. She didn’t know he left them all in financial ruin. She definitely didn’t know she’d be next.

What else didn’t she know? Plenty — like his criminal record, bankruptcy, mounting back child support, tax fraud and IRS fines. And she hadn’t yet figured out those Purple Heart license plates were obtained fraudulently. Not until that letter from the Arizona Office of Inspector General came in the mail Sept. 11.

Wineberg joined the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association fronting as a Purple Heart recipient injured while saving lives in Somalia. His war story is fabricated — but here, he wears his CVMA jacket plastered with a phony Purple Heart medal.

InMaricopa.com | December 2023

chapter said in response to inquiries about the matter. Wineberg did not respond to requests for comment from InMaricopa . Medal detector Bryan Masche was running a Republican bid for governor when he met Wineberg at a speaking engagement in Maricopa last year. The eight- year Air Force veteran still remembers touching Wineberg’s fake Purple Heart medal and thanking him for his service. It’s a memory that now disgusts him. “There’s nothing more disrespectful, hurtful, insensitive and plain disgusting in my book than stolen valor. It speaks to a deep- seated psychological personality disorder,” said Masche, who studied psychiatry in college. “It’s hurtful. It’s sleazy. It speaks to a number of different psychological conditions that someone is so hard up for attention, they have to go out of their way to make up lies about who they are.” Masche worked closely with the Army on deployment. He’s active in veterans’ groups and understands their psychology. It made him uneasy when Wineberg didn’t ask about his military experience, but rather touted his own heroic stories. “People who have seen really bad stuff, they just don’t talk about it,” Masche told InMaricopa . “When Stan talked about Somalia, all these pieces were starting to come together. I was figuring it out in my mind.” Masche once called out a phony war hero in Scottsdale just minutes after meeting him. This one took him a little longer than he liked to admit, but sooner or later, he figured it out. “Something in my stomach just didn’t sit right in that situation, but I couldn’t quite figure it out,” Masche said. Then, he started replaying their conversations in his head. Something clicked. “Here I am thinking Stan was somebody who was involved in combat, in a disaster in Somalia,” he said. “In actuality, he wasn’t asking me about my service because he knew I would, in a short amount of time, realize this guy was full of sh*t.” Warriors wanted Stolen valor — the act of making false claims about military service — is a term coined by Vietnam veteran B.G. Burkett in his titular 1998 book. He busted so many people exaggerating and inventing their service records that he

Mr. Stanley Wayne Wineberg Jr.,

the MVD Now website to order them, which at the time would send the tags by mail and allow the driver to supply his DD Form 214 — military discharge paperwork — after the fact. Under Arizona law, he needed to prove he received a Purple Heart to obtain those plates. “Because of the glitch in the system, I couldn’t prosecute him,” Fisher said. “I brought it to MVD’s attention, so they’re fixing that flaw.” Instead, Fisher sent the letter demanding Wineberg turn in the plates or face criminal charges. The detective didn’t confirm whether he surrendered the plates and neighbors reported seeing them months later. When he received the letter, Wineberg called the inspector general’s office. “It’s hurtful. It’s sleazy. It speaks to a number of differ- ent psychological conditions that someone is so hard up for attention, they have to go out of their way to make up lies about who they are.” BRYAN MASCHE “He was very distraught when he called me, probably because he thought I was going to arrest him,” Fisher recalled. “He said, ‘I made a mistake, I was in a bad place.’” For Fisher, Wineberg’s Somalia story reeked of falsehood. “I don’t know how that story can be true,” he said. As soon as a soldier is wounded, his unit would recommend the Purple Heart and it would be awarded immediately upon treatment. Wineberg never supplied a DD Form 214. “If he provided any of those documents, they would have been forged,” Fisher said. “That’s where we’d get him. On forgery charges, and maybe tampering with public records.” Fisher said he believes Wineberg is guilty of stolen valor, a federal crime that carries a one-year prison sentence. It’s a separate felony charge in Arizona that could mean more than four years in prison. It’s unclear if a forged DD Form 214 exists for Wineberg. He joined a Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association chapter in Denver, where he wore a Purple Heart medal on his jacket. The nonprofit veterans’ charity requires discharge papers from its members. “We cannot meet your request without authorization from the former member,” the

The Office of Inspector General has discovered a discrepancy with your customer record. Our records indicate that on June 21, July 3 and July 20, 2023, you obtained Purple Heart License Plates and failed to provide the required documents. No response to this request will result in your license being further suspended or canceled, or other appropriate criminal charges being filed. Wineberg fronted as a Sergeant First Class in the Army with 15 years of service, a Green Beret in the Elite Special Forces with Top Secret Security Clearance. He earned his Purple Heart, telling anyone who would listen, when he suffered shrapnel wounds, saving his comrade “Eddie” in Somalia. Indeed, Wineberg is an Army veteran who was honorably discharged, earning 18 medals and badges along the way. And yet no detail in his story — not a single one — is true. He served fewer than seven years, according to military service records obtained from the National Personnel Records Center through a Freedom of Information Act request. Wineberg's highest rank was E5, two notches below what he claims. The records don’t mention Somalia. Although his awards suggest he saw combat, he was also a driver and mechanic. He never received a Purple Heart, the National Archives confirmed. He's not credited with saving anyone’s life. He had standard security clearance, and he was never in the Special Forces. Yet his Purple Heart vanity plates read “SF RNGR” — Special Forces Ranger. Gone fishing Earl Fisher isn’t just a detective at the Office of Inspector General in Phoenix. He’s also a proud veteran who served in the Vietnam War as a medical combat corpsman. For him, investigating stolen valor is personal. So, when the state opened its investigation into Wineberg, Fisher was the man for the job. “He’s a vet, but he’s not happy with what he has,” the detective told InMaricopa . “He wants more.” According to Fisher, Wineberg abused a loophole in the system. Had he gone into a Motor Vehicle Division office to request his plates, he would have been denied. But he used

Continued on page 20

December 2023 | InMaricopa.com

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Veterans affairs Susan Buonsante was married to Wineberg less than a year when she found out about his stolen valor. Not before he took her for $70,000, she said. “I had no idea the man I married was a con artist and a serial predator of women,” she told InMaricopa . “He fabricated nearly every detail of his life story.” Buonsante spent more than $55,000 on a parcel of land in Hidden Valley under the auspice her new husband would obtain a VA- backed Veterans Home Loan to build a house there. It was only after closing on the land she learned he was not eligible for a VA loan. According to a divorce decree in Pinal County Superior Court, Buonsante was awarded the land “due to Wineberg engaging in fraud.” Wineberg has been married at least six times and has at least six children, none of whom he supports, according to government records.

dubbed it “a national phenomenon, a weird ripple in the American psyche.” At that time, it was a crime to merely display a false military medal as Wineberg did — albeit under the same statute that made it illegal to impersonate a 4-H member. After an Arizona man falsely told newspapers he was a decorated war hero who captured Saddam Hussein, Congress passed the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 making it a crime to wear unearned military medals. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the law a violation of the First Amendment in 2012, prompting the Stolen Valor Act of 2013, which made it a crime to profit from false military accomplishments. “I think it was a bad call on the part of the Supreme Court," American Military News journalist and stolen valor researcher Cheryl Hinneburg told InMaricopa . “Those who are guilty of stolen valor should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. It is a slap in the face to our military and veterans.” In 2019, Congress upped the federal prison sentence from six months to 12 months for violating the stolen valor law. But just one year later, investigators at the National Archives reported stolen valor cases were on the rise. After InMaricopa exposed another fake war hero in July, the magazine asked its readers if the penalties for stolen valor fit the crime. About 3,000 people answered the poll, with more than 85% saying the penalties are not strict enough. One in 10 respondents said the penalties were adequate while just 1 in 100 said they were too strict. After learning his story, Hinneburg didn’t feel qualified to answer if Wineberg violated stolen valor laws. “It is a federal crime if he used ribbons or medals to obtain something of value,” says Chuck Pardue, a military law attorney in Evans, Ga. And obtain something of value he did.

Susan Buonsante

FACTS VS. FICTION

Stanley Wayne Wineberg Jr. earned plenty of honors while enlisted in the Army, which makes his lies all the more puzzling. Let's separate the facts from the fiction.

THE FACTS

THE FICTION

Rank E5

Rank E7

Served six years, nine months Army Commendation Medal Army Achievement Medal Joint Meritorious Unit Award Army Good Conduct Medal National Defense Service Medal

Served 15 years

Purple Heart

Army Elite Special Forces (Green Beret)

Top Secret Security Clearance Shrapnel wounds in Somalia

Saved life of comrade "Eddie” in Somalia

Soldier for Life Medal Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Humanitarian Service Medal NCO Professional Development Ribbon Army Service Ribbon United Nations Medal Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge – Rifle Bar Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge – Grenade Bar

“The trust of the innocent is the liar’s most useful tool.” – STEPHEN KING

Combat Infantryman Badge Expert Infantryman Badge Air Assault Badge Ranger Tab Driver and Mechanic Badge

InMaricopa.com | December 2023

Chevy Silverado and $21,000 for two brand- new Honda dirt bikes. He convinced her to borrow $400,000 for a home loan in his name but disappeared the week of closing, she said. “He put me in a very bad financial situation,” White told InMaricopa through tears. “He is very abusive towards women. He promised to pay back the money he owed me, but he never did.” Crime doesn’t pay It’s difficult to pinpoint the genesis of Wineberg’s financial woes. Judges in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico ordered him to pay restitution in seven civil lawsuits he lost between 1994 and 2016. He’s been evicted at least four times in Colorado and metro Phoenix. In 1998, on the same day he was discharged from the Army, Wineberg was charged with theft, computer crimes and possessing a forged instrument. A Denver District Court judge in Denver ordered him to pay his victims $13,329 in restitution and court fees after he pleaded guilty

He married one woman four days after divorcing another — and owes at least $27,424 in back child support, according to official records from the Colorado Office of Economic Security supplied to InMaricopa by two women. Caren Fluharty, the mother of one of his daughters, told InMaricopa he tried to dodge child support by claiming his sperm was genetically modified to only produce male children. He still owes her more than $8,000 in child support although his daughter is 21 years old. “Within a week, he moved in with me,” Fluharty said. “He rented a home in my name that was four times what I could afford. When I told him I was pregnant, he packed his sh*t and left, and I got evicted." Fluharty estimates Wineberg took her for $19,655. They were never married, although court records show an El Paso County, Colo., judge issued a permanent restraining order against Wineberg in 2001. Another ex-girlfriend, Tina White, estimates she lost north of $71,000. White said Wineberg took out three vehicle loans in her name: $50,000 for a brand-new

Wineberg (left) reps the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix on Memorial Day last year. The charity declined to answer why Wineberg's CVMA jacket is patched with a fraudulent Purple Heart.

Continued on page 22

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December 2023 | InMaricopa.com

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Wineberg last year, the IRS “has no record of a processed tax return for 2020.” Hofmann, who hired Wineberg based on his resume — which was supplied to InMaricopa and boasts the bogus Purple Heart medal — sympathetically loaned him $3,000. Weinberg never paid back the loan, telling Hofmann he was tending to his deceased father’s affairs in Florida. His father is alive and healthy today. Fortunate son Wineberg since moved to Apache Junction. His days in Maricopa have come to a somber close. What of his days of stolen valor? The fabrications about his military service date back decades, according to those close to him. Some habits are hard to break. But as President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said, “Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.” Sooner or later, it all comes toppling down.

to the latter charge in a plea bargain and was sentenced to fines and probation. He violated his probation in 2004, court records show. A public records request for case documents did not reveal specifics about his crimes. IRS records obtained by InMaricopa show Wineberg didn’t file taxes for nearly a decade, racking up $21,738 in penalties as of September last year. In 2019, he finally filed for bankruptcy. But his financial misdeeds continued, according to his former employer, Chris Hofmann. In 2020 and 2021, Wineberg filed W-2 Forms with the IRS naming Sioux Falls, S.D.- based TAK Communications as his employer. “He never worked at TAK,” said Hofmann. “Everything he did with us was 1099 [contract] work.” Hofmann supplied Wineberg's 1099 Forms and called the W-2 Forms “fake.” He noted the employer identification number didn’t match the company and that the company does not issue W-2 Forms. Wineberg used those fishy W-2 Forms to both file taxes and apply for mortgage loans. According to a letter from the IRS to

MAD MONEY

$7,586 CIVIL JUDGMENTS ORDERED $13,329 CRIMINAL RESTITUTION ORDERED

$21,738 OWED TO IRS $27,424 OWED CHILD SUPPORT $53,000 OWED FRIENDLY LOANS $555,655 LOANS SOUGHT IN NAME OF EX-PARTNERS

“A lie cannot live.” – MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

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$8.5 Billion. A Super Bowl's Worth of Economic Activity Every Year for Nearly Two Decades That's right. A recent economic study found that when in production the Cactus Mine will generate more than $8.5 billion in Western Pinal County. That's the equivalent of hosting a Super Bowl in Casa Grande and Maricopa every year for 18 years. That's right. A recent economic study found that when in production the Cactus Mine will generate more than $8.5 billion in Western Pinal County. That's the equivalent of hosting a Super Bowl in Casa Grande and Maricopa every year for 18 years. $8.5 Billion. A Super Bowl's Worth of Economic Activity Every Year for Nearly Two Decades

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