SIERRA VISTA — Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever says he never gave his former jail commander, who is being investigated by the federal government, a recommendation for a law enforcement job in Oregon.
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Dever has said he asked Hager to resign after he discovered a month earlier that Hager was being investigated by two federal agencies. Hager held the position of detention and administrative services bureau chief at the time of his dismissal. Hager also has been subpoenaed in an upcoming drug case.
Dever’s opponent in the Nov. 4 election, Democrat Norm Bradley, contends the Republican incumbent knew for years that Hager was being investigated. Dever said it wasn’t until late 2007 that he found out.
The “Hager issue” and other allegations of mismanagement have been brought up by Bradley and Dever’s opponents in making a case that Dever should no longer be sheriff.
When Hager left the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, Dever said, “He asked me if I would give him a (future employment) recommendation and I told him no.”
Hager eventually applied for a job at a four-county detention complex in Oregon, for which he was hired. In September, Hager resigned, slightly more than four months after taking the position, citing family concerns as his reason.
Rick Eiesland, sheriff of Wasco County, Ore., was in charge of finding someone to manage the Oregon facility, and a company was hired to assist.
During a recent interview with the Herald/Review, Eiesland said Hager’s name came to the top of the applicant list, so a retired Oregon state trooper was sent to Cochise County to check Hager out.
During the weeklong investigation in Arizona, a number of allegations of wrongdoing by Hager surfaced, but the retired Oregon law enforcement investigator “found no substantiation to those rumors,” Eiesland said.
Since no collaboration could be found to substantiate the rumors, it was decided “there was nothing to disqualify Hager from being offered the job,” Eiesland said.
The Oregon sheriff said he did call Dever to talk about Hager.
Eiesland said during the phone conversation, all that Dever would provide was a synopsis of Hager’s work — “a telephone résumé” — that included that he had made the Cochise County Jail better managed and operated.
“There was no glowing recommendation. Nothing in writing, or verbally,” the Wasco County sheriff said.
Dever, who was first elected in 1996, said during an interview on Tuesday there is no denying Hager was a good jail commander and was professional in how he operated the Cochise County facility, “and that’s all I said.”
“I threw up as many red flags as I could suggesting they needed to talk with Ron in depth and give him a polygraph,” Dever said of his discussion with Eiesland.
Bradley contends Dever’s response to the Oregon authorities was not sufficient. He said the problem with Dever is that he has mismanaged many operations, and that is based on what he has been told by many others, including members of the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office.
“I have no firsthand knowledge of any of the allegations against him, just what I’ve been told second- and third-hand,” said Bradley, who was undersheriff in Dever’s first term for about three years and left on friendly terms to take a federal job.
Dever denies he knew of allegations against Hager “two or three years ago.” He said it was less than a year ago when FBI and DEA agents approached him to help gather information about Hager.
The allegation by Dever’s critics, including Dever’s former No. 2 man, Lance Crosthwait, is the sheriff was informed of Hager’s purported involvement with a criminal drug enterprise.
Crosthwait, who Dever says he asked to resign because “it was not working out for both of us,” now works in New Mexico and contributed $300 to Bradley’s campaign on Sept. 5, according to financial reports filed by the campaign in Cochise County. He has previously confirmed he told Bradley that Dever knew much earlier about issues with Hager.
“They were looking for answers,” Dever said of the federal investigators. “They needed additional information and they asked me if I could help them get that information.”
Dever said it was easier for him to look into confidential records within the Sheriff’s Office, which the two federal agencies could not readily access, such as information within the office that Hager might have access to concerning investigations into drug activities.
The sheriff said because of the sensitivity of the investigation, only he and the federal agents knew he was collecting information.
“No one else in the department knew,” Dever said.
The gist of the investigation concerned Hager’s possible involvement with a known drug lord, Carlos “Calichi” Molineras Nunez, who was arrested in December 2006.
Hager has been subpoenaed to testify in the Mexican national’s trial, but he has not been charged with any crime.
Although the FBI and court records are sealed, the trial is scheduled for Jan. 9 at the federal courthouse in Tucson, said Anthony Coulson, the DEA special agent in charge of the Tucson office.
On Tuesday, Coulson said there is nothing new to add except to emphasize Hager is only being asked to testify. Hager’s wife, Eugenia “Gina” Aguirre, also has been subpoenaed.
Dever said Aguirre worked for the Cochise County Health Department and part of her job was being a nurse at the Cochise County Jail, which was under Hager’s control.
At this time, Dever said, he does not believe Hager will be charged with a crime.
The FBI has said it is not making any comments about the case.
Dever said when he was approached by the two federal agencies, his first thought was to immediately terminate Hager. But, he said, the FBI and DEA asked him to hold off until they had more time to investigate.
Dever said it was three to four weeks after being approached for assistance that the two agencies said they had enough information in the alleged corruption investigation. In the fall of 2007, Dever said he then gave Hager an ultimatum.
“I told him he could no longer work for me and for him to tender his resignation immediately,” he said.
Hager resigned and was gone that day, Dever said.
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