By Gordon A Hunsaker

Huckster: One who uses aggressive, showy, and sometimes devious methods to promote or sell a product.

Grifter: A swindle or confidence game.

Bunko Artist: A kind of swindling game or scheme, originally by means of cards or by a sham lottery, but now used for any swindling tactic.

I first stumbled upon this story while researching a story reference Chief Harris and the Phoenix Police Professional Standards Bureau. (The Harris investigation is still live but buried in the bowels of a PPD investigation—another tedious and tawdry story.)

The Arizona Republic’s reporter Michael Ferraresi’s name surfaced in a May 13th article in the Arizona Republic reference these two PPD Lieutenants. By then I had gained the impression that Ferraresi was either an (Unofficial) apologists for, or “in the bag” so to speak for the Phoenix Police and had come to distrust his writings. Not that I thought that he was consciously misstating stories on the Phoenix Police, certainly not that, rater that his pieces lacked objectivity, detail and well fell short of the full story—often woefully short.

KPHO’s Pat McReynolds on the other hand, appears to me to be a “Stand-Up” kind of reporter, digging in and putting what is found out there, good, or bad. The McReynolds story aired on May 7th several days before the Ferraresi farce—I’m sorry did I write “Farce” there I meant to write piece—such as it was.

An example of the two styles of reporting are as follows:

On My 7th 2010, McReynolds quoted a certain Mrs. Stevens, a widow with two small children who felt swindled by Phoenix police lieutenants Mark Tallman and Lee Brent Shaw as saying: “I literally have no empathy for those police officers. I really hope they go to jail and become somebody’s girlfriend. Sorry,”

While the Arizona Republic’s Michael Ferraresi, strongest phrase was by Phoenix police Sgt. Joel Tranter, on behalf of the Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association, saying that “lieutenantsTallman and Shaw each have nearly 20 years experience each.” (I note that Ferraresi used the word “each” twice in the same sentence which tells the reader a bit how the Arizona reportage and editing has slipped over the years. But I digress.)

Then there are these weighty quotes: “Tranter said the lieutenants are not subject to any criminal investigation, and that they would comply with the internal probe.” And; “Both Lt. Tallman and Lt. Shaw feel confident that their names will be cleared of any wrong doing once the internal investigation is complete,” Tranter said.”

Ya think?

Now it is the Arizona Lawman’s News and Phoenix Police Gazette’s position in every case of Law Enforcement Officers accused of wrong doing that they are innocent until proven guilty. Phoenix Police Lieutenants Mark Tallman and Lee Brent Shaw’s sleazy operation(s) are no exception.

However at best, these two are a public embarrassment —far too often I have heard that one of Chief Harris’s favorite excuses for not being more aggressive and forceful with inappropriate behavior is fear that the Phoenix Police Officers Union will do this or that.

Well that is, it seems to me that is a piss-poor excuse for weak leadership. A clever and resourceful Chief could assign one of these Cretins masquerading as Police Lieutenants to monitoring South Mountain Park on a three wheeler and the other the plumbing of the main police building at night or some other suitable position(s).

Get the picture?

To view KPHO video, click here, and either click on, Valley couple lose home in police foreclosure scam or search with those key words.
Police Lieutenants scam home owners

To read the full KPHO story, click here:
KPHO story on Phoenix police lieutenants Mark Tallman and Lee Brent Shaw

To read the AZCEN story, click here:
Phoenix lieutenants face probe over real-estate business