Crime & Safety
Arpaio Raid Settlement: Restaurant Owner Gets $5M
Uncle Sam's owner Bret Frimmel claimed that Arpaio's office defamed him and violated his rights.
PHOENIX, AZ — Maricopa County approved a $5 million settlement for the owner of Phoenix restaurant Uncle Sam's, who claimed that former Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office defamed him and violated his rights, the Associated Press reported.
Arpaio’s office arrested Uncle Sam's owner Bret Frimmel and its manager Lisa Norton in 2014, on suspicion of identity theft charges that were later dismissed. Frimmel and Norton have always said that they did nothing wrong. Maricopa County previously awarded Norton a $400,000 settlement.
The county agreed Wednesday to pay $3.1 million of the $5 million settlement. The remainder of the sum will come from an insurance company, according to settlement documents.
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Uncle Sam's was one of many businesses raided by Arpaio's office as part of an effort to look for immigrant workers who used fake or stolen IDs to obtain employment.
Arpaio was first elected sheriff of Maricopa County in 1993 and held the office until his defeat by Paul Penzone in 2016, according to the Arizona Republic.
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