Transnational organized crime is on the rise in the Valley; South American Theft Groups (SATGs) are the suspected culprits behind a string of burglaries in Scottsdale, Phoenix, Paradise Valley, Chandler, Gilbert, Peoria, and unincorporated areas of Maricopa County.
SATGs, also known as “crime tourists,” are nationals from Chile and other South American countries that exploit tourist visas in order to obtain and transport stolen goods internationally. Up until recent years, SATGs were known to operate mainly in Los Angeles and New York City.
Federal agents have offered different estimates on the emergence of SATGs. An FBI special agent toldVanity Fair in 2022 that California’s troubles with SATGs began in 2016; in that same spate of interviews, another special agent claimed that the SATG plague began in 2014 after Chile joined the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) program. Chile is the only South American country in the program.
The ESTA program automatically grants 90-day visas to South American countries’ citizens with clean background checks. These program authorizations are valid for multiple trips over a period of two years.
As agents told Vanity Fair, these SATG criminals likely have “clean” background checks because they use “fictitious documents, IDs, residency cards” to claim legal presence. As a result, SATG members generally register no criminal record.
Scottsdale Councilwoman Tammy Caputi advised in a press release last week that law enforcement agencies across the cities and towns are running surveillance operations to apprehend the SATGs including cameras, fixed and moving positions, aircraft, and K9 units.
The agencies also plan to convene for further coordination efforts on Wednesday, with the possibility of a multi-agency burglary task force.
Further, the FBI assigned an agent to coordinate response efforts to the crime trend.
In December, the FBI testified on SATGs at a congressional hearing regarding the uptick in organized retail crime. In order to address SATGs, the FBI leads task forces through its Major Theft Program (MTP).
In last week’s press release, Scottsdale Police estimated that this recent string of robberies began around last October. Police estimated at least 22 burglaries were the result of SATGs, with the latest occurring last week.
Scottsdale Police reported that it had conducted seven surveillance operations to apprehend the burglars, with an eighth planned for Tuesday night. Law enforcement also disclosed that they obtained physical evidence as well as camera footage from several of the burglaries.
Law enforcement noted that the burglaries were usually occurring Thursdays through Saturdays from 5-10 p.m. The burglars have primarily targeted homes adjacent to a wash.
One of the earliest to speak out on the burglary spree was Scottsdale City Council candidate Jan Dubauskas. On Monday, Dubauskas issued a press release warning of the import of the sudden uptick in crime.
“This is a crime spree and it’s not happening in a far-off blue city like San Francisco. It’s in our own backyard,” said Dubauskas. “Scottsdale is being targeted. We chose to live here because of the sense of safety and protection and that has been shattered.”
Dubauskas further urged the community to engage in neighborhood watches, and expressed confidence in local police’s ability to apprehend the perpetrators.
“We need to come together to protect our homes and ensure these thieves are caught and brought to justice,” said Dubauskas. “Thankfully, we have an all-star Police Department here in Scottsdale that is bringing the community in and making this a top priority. They’re some of the best in the country.”
Valley law enforcement are becoming more familiar with recognizing and catching SATGs. Around this time last year, 12 News reported on Scottsdale investigators prosecuting a crime syndicate that reportedly hit homes in Arizona, California, Texas, Nevada, and Utah in 2022.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Female athletes will rally to “save women’s sports” from biological male athletes on Thursday.
Current and former NCAA female athletes, coaches, and parents will bring signs and chants outside the 2024 National Collegiate Athletic Association Convention in Phoenix, Arizona, to ask the organization to stop discriminating against female athletes by allowing males to compete in women and girls’ sports.
“Female athletes work our entire lives to compete in sports, only to have the NCAA destroy our even playing field. This devalues female athletes and women in general,” said former NCAA swimming champion and Independent Women’s Forum ambassador Riley Gaines. “Sex-based categories are important for competitive sports just like age classifications and weight categories. We are asking very little of the NCAA. Maintain the fairness necessary for competition and safety.”
The theme of this year’s rally, sponsored by Our Bodies, Our Sports, is “We Won’t Back Down,” reflecting the group’s determination to compel the NCAA to revoke its Transgender Student-Athlete Participation Policy.
The policy allows transgender student-athlete participation for each sport to be determined by the national governing body of that sport. As a result, males who identify as females can participate in women’s sports if they suppress their testosterone for at least one year and achieve levels set by the governing bodies of their particular sport.
Hormone injections do not eliminate the male athletic advantage over females, according to a review of the scientific literature by the Independent Women’s Law Center and the Independent Women’s Forum. Without any male athletic advantage, the participation of males in women’s sports takes away opportunities for women to compete, IWF and IWLC say.
Gaines will be joined by fellow swimmers Paula Scanlan and Kaylee Alons, and volleyball player Macy Petty, to continue to call on NCAA President Charlie Baker to meet with them to hear how they were hurt by men in women’s sports.
“Shame on Charlie Baker for continuing to enforce this discriminatory policy,” said Jennifer C. Braceras, vice president for Legal Policy at Independent Women’s Form and founder of Independent Women’s Law Center. “The NCAA may not be bound by Title IX, but the schools that make up its membership are, and the NCAA has an obligation to help its member schools comply with equal opportunity mandates, not subvert them.”
The athletes, coaches, parents, and sponsor organizations will deliver a new demand letter and petition to the NCAA signed by thousands of female athletes from across the country after the rally.
This event is the fourth Our Bodies, Our Sports event. Previous events include the 2022 rally in Washington, D.C., to mark the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, the 2023 rally at the NCAA Convention in San Antonio, TX, and the 2023 rally at the USA Cycling National Championships in Knoxville, TN.
The Tennessee rally succeeded in pushing Union Cycliste Internationale to bar biological male athletes from competing in the women’s cycling division.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
In addition to being found at fault for the notorious homeless encampment in downtown Phoenix known as “The Zone,” the city of Phoenix must also pay over $221,000 in attorney’s fees and costs.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney issued the order for attorney’s fees on Monday. This latest order followed his September ruling which determined that city of Phoenix officials had not only failed to abate the public nuisance known as The Zone but had maintained it.
“The City of Phoenix shall maintain its public property in the Zone in a condition free of: (a) tents and other makeshift structures in the public rights of way; (b) biohazardous materials including human feces and urine, drug paraphernalia, and other trash; (c) individuals committing offenses against the public order. The Court will employ a reasonableness standard to future allegations of violation of (b) and/or (c). The Court does not intend this order to create a private cause of action for every non-pervasive violation of subsection (b) and/or (c). Further, the Court will require evidence of a substantive, good faith attempt to address any future violations of this order with the City before seeking court involvement.”
As reported previously, the city cleaned up The Zone several days in advance of the court-ordered deadline. This resulted in an over 82 percent success rate in admittance of the area’s homeless into shelters. The city also installed signs prohibiting encampments and other criminal activities around the area that formerly housed The Zone.
Blaney’s September ruling found the city to be at complete fault for The Zone. Blaney declared that the city had displayed an utter disregard for law-abiding citizens and tolerated crime by the homeless.
“The City’s refusal to meaningfully enforce statutes and ordinances in the Zone has created a classic siren song to certain individuals that are enticed at their peril by the Zone’s drugs, sex, and lack of societal rules.”
Additionally, Blaney found that the city intentionally stopped or materially reduced enforcement of laws in The Zone, as well as transported the homeless using taxpayer-funded “courtesy rides” from police officers and community organizations.
All in all, Blaney found unequivocally the city to blame for the increase in violent and organized crimes such as assaults and murders, drug usage and sales, public defecation and urination, rape and prostitution, and property damage and theft. City officials admitted to decriminalizing these behaviors.
A home for sale in the middle of the ‘zone’. The zone is in Phoenix Arizona and extends for several blocks. Everyone talks about the rights of the homeless. We need to balance that with the rights of all others. Homeowners and business owners also have rights and deserve better pic.twitter.com/n0VjLRJ6W5
Despite what city officials have indicated, it is unknown how many of the homeless population in Phoenix are homeless by choice. City representatives admitted that determinations of involuntary homelessness have been based on self reporting, not investigatory efforts into that individual’s case. They also admitted to being stumped by “service resistant” homeless: those who refused services like shelter because they didn’t want to adhere to any rules imposed, such as leaving behind contrabands like drugs or weapons. About 20 percent of homeless were “service resistant” according to a survey.
Despite the mass encampment cleanup, some community members have noted that homelessness persists in the area.
I just drive thru there today. Even tho they cleared the tents, it’s still hundreds of homeless in the zone area. If you are in the Phoenix area and want to help out, dm me. If you want to donate, the cashapp link is at the bottom of the flyer. Give thanks by giving back 🤲🏾📈 pic.twitter.com/GKLJpRC3dW
While the contests weren’t as significant as in other states , last Tuesday, Arizonans concluded a month of elections, which largely took place via absentee ballots.
The majority of races across the state, primarily in Maricopa County, were for bond approvals. Flagstaff voters made decisions on almost two dozen questions, while Tucson voters considered mayoral and city council selections.
Opponents of municipal bonds had a decent night of results. On the Arizona Republic’s Election Tracker page, twelve of forty-four of those questions appeared to be rejected by voters. Many of those results came in the west and east regions of Maricopa County.
In the lead-up to the election, both the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and the Arizona Tax Research Association (ATRA) shed light on the spending requests up for adjudication by the voters. ATRA wrote in September that the “$3.5 billion in bonds is easily the largest statewide K12 bond request in history.” The Arizona Free Enterprise Club added, “This level of borrowing being sought by local school districts is both unwise and unnecessary, especially given the large amounts of money that have been pumped into the system.”
Most of the bond questions were approved, however, with several of those results occurring in Glendale and Phoenix. Glendale had five successful bond outcomes and Phoenix had four.
Jeff Barton, the City of Phoenix’s Manager thanked his municipality’s voters for their positive support for the bonds, saying, “Thank you, Phoenix residents, for supporting the 2023 General Obligation Bond Program. Because of your support, we will be able to fund critical infrastructure and rehabilitation needs of both aging City facilities and areas of rapid growth, with new and enhanced parks, libraries, fire and police stations, affordable housing, street improvements and more.”
In 2024, Arizona voters will have higher-profile races to make determinations on, including a President of the United States, a U.S. Senator, and a bulging list of initiatives with critical implications for the future of the state. Although elections in even years have both mail-in and in-person components, most of the voting is still done via absentee opportunities, making the return of those ballots critical to candidates’ and propositions’ successes.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The city of Phoenix reported having an 82 percent success rate with admitting The Zone’s homeless into shelters after a court order to clean up the infamous downtown homeless encampment.
The majority success rate came just ahead of the court-ordered deadline last week, Nov. 4. Of the 716 homeless in The Zone, 590 consented to entering a shelter according to Rachel Milne, director of the Office of Homeless Solutions. That’s a success rate of over 82 percent.
Milne also said that they managed to reconnect some of those sheltered homeless with their families, or got them established with treatment programs. Milne says that shelter only serves as the beginning of securing permanent housing for the homeless.
“We need to make sure those 590 individuals that did move on to an indoor location now have the support systems and the proper services to help them in their homelessness,” said Milne.
That concern relates to the recidivism rates of The Zone’s residents, something noted by the Maricopa County Superior Court when it ordered the city to clear The Zone.
In his ruling, Judge Scott Blaney criticized city officials equating 70 percent of individuals accepting services as a permanent movement from the streets. Blaney ruled the data as potentially misleading, noting that the city wasn’t able to disclose how many of those individuals accepted a “free hotel room for the night” before returning to The Zone the next day.
As part of their compliance with the court order, the city established clear signage prohibiting encampments and other related criminal activity around the area that formerly housed The Zone.
🧵INBOX: Welcome to The Zone, the epicenter of the homeless crisis that @CityofPhoenixAZ refuses to solve. This man is one of many that will likely live and die on these streets under the city's current approach to homelessness. I investigated & uncovered shocking details… pic.twitter.com/snb8QkvjsA
AZ Free News published a series of reports on the nature of The Zone: rampant crime and lawlessness: murders and assaults, drug use and dealings, prostitution, gang violence, theft and property destruction, bordered all around by knee-deep and blocks-long biohazards.
One of the lawyers that sued the city over its handling of The Zone, Ilan Wurman, marveled at the success rate the city of Phoenix experienced when forced to meet a court deadline to help the homeless.
“We did it. Because of our lawsuit, the City has cleared the Zone,” said Wurman. “And look at the huge number of folks who ACCEPTED SHELTER. Just incredible.”
We did it. Because of our lawsuit, the City has cleared the Zone. And look at the huge number of folks who ACCEPTED SHELTER. Just incredible.
