Did Sheriff Joe do this massive hit for political reasons?? Watkins thinks Sheriff Joe Arpaio launched the raid in retaliation for Watkins' backing of an Arpaio opponent in the 2004 election. Original Article Cactus Towing raid starts to look prickly Apr. 6, 2006 12:00 AM There was nothing subtle about the raid. Sheriff's investigators descended en masse on the headquarters of Cactus Towing in Mesa, as well as the firm's site in Scottsdale, a storage facility and the homes of the company's owner and general manager. They hauled off more than 200 boxes of documents. They took cellphones, Palm Pilots, computers, file cabinets and even safes. It seemed to have the makings of the biggest scandal to hit the Southeast Valley in years. Cactus Towing, up to its ears in high-profile political connections, was accused of gouging people whose cars had been towed and of defrauding insurance companies. It was even suggested the firm was involved in a massive auto theft ring that had agents in Mexico. That was more than a year ago. As of today, no one has been charged. No one has been arrested. While there was a lot of smoke last spring, we're beginning to wonder if there ever was a fire. This story ripples across the Southeast Valley. The firm, one of Arizona's largest, has had contracts with the cities of Mesa and Chandler. It has provided services on this side of the Valley for the Department of Public Safety. And whenever the sheriff's office engages in a high-profile investigation, the interests of everyone in the county come into play. Some of the pushing and shoving since Cactus was raided has been predictable. The firm hired a virtual army of lawyers, and lost at least one important battle when a judge ruled there was valid cause to issue the search warrant that was executed last year. But valid grounds for a search warrant do not equate to a finding of guilt in court, or even valid grounds for an indictment. And at this point it's worth asking whether an assertion by Cactus owner Lee Watkins doesn't have at least a kernel of truth. Watkins thinks Sheriff Joe Arpaio launched the raid in retaliation for Watkins' backing of an Arpaio opponent in the 2004 election. "I don't do things for political reasons," Arpaio responded in an interview with The Arizona Republic. Anyone who believes that would probably be willing to swallow a truckload of green baloney. Arpaio, the consummate Valley politician, seldom does anything without political ramifications. Whether that's true in this case, time will tell. Arpaio says the Cactus investigation is still ongoing, that he is processing new information, that these things take time. Maybe so. But if this turns out to have been a dog and pony show, damaging a business and sullying reputations for no good reason, the sheriff will have a lot to answer for. It's in his best interest - and everyone else's - to fish or cut bait.