Jewish Soap Opera in the Arizona Desert
by Jeff Davis
A Third World country tends to have Third World politics. The Jewish mayor of Gilbert, Arizona apparently thinks he’s in Israel. That is, if we can believe his ex-wife, which is always a problematic situation in a marriage gone bad. There may be something to this, or the tabloid media has struck again.
According to the (Phoenix) East Valley Tribune “Gilbert Mayor Steve Berman plotted to kill Councilwoman Linda Abbott years ago because he blamed her for his 1993 defeat in a council race, the mayor’s estranged wife told Maricopa County sheriff’s investigators. Berman went so far as scouting out Abbott’s jogging patterns with plans to run her over with his truck, Michelle Berman is quoted as saying in a police report released Friday morning… He backed out at the last minute after waiting for Abbott to pass by, according to Michelle Berman’s statement to police. Her statement to sheriff’s investigators does not give a time frame for the incident. Michelle Berman did say she was not with the mayor at the time, but that he told her about the plot later. The mayor has not been arrested or charged, but the investigation has been turned over to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for review.”
It will be recalled that Maricopa County is the bailiwick of Joe Arpaio, the self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff in America” who makes jailed inmates live in tents and wear pink underwear. Arpaio would probably get a kick out of throwing a crooked politician into one of his prisons.
The Tribune article notes “The allegation is the latest twist in an investigation into claims from Berman’s wife that she was physically and verbally abused by the mayor. Neither Steve Berman nor Abbott could be immediately reached for comment. In an interview with investigators, Berman denied the accusations, saying Abbott is his best friend on the council. Berman’s lawyer, Melvin McDonald, said in a written statement to deputies that all of the charges leveled by Michelle Berman to investigators are ‘outrageous and driven by her long-term and verifiable addiction to prescription painkillers.’”
Sounds like that marriage was a seriously dysfunctional relationship –even without the murder plot.
The Tribune article continues “The sheriff’s office launched the investigation last week after Michelle Berman contacted a counselor with the Gilbert Police Department saying that Berman had threatened to kill her and harm her father. Gilbert police turned the allegations over to the sheriff’s office to avoid a conflict of interest. Berman told investigators that he’s never threatened to kill Michelle, but he acknowledged that he had told Michelle he would ‘like to kick (her father’s) ass.’ Berman denied ever hitting his wife. But Michelle told MCSO that the mayor punched her in the back the night before he was leaving on a trip for Ireland in May. She said he had also punched a hole in the wall that night. He acknowledged punching the hole in the wall to investigators. ‘I put a hole in the wall, I didn’t touch her, but it’s my wall,’ he said. Berman was a council member from 1987 to 1993, when he was defeated in his re-election bid. Berman is serving his third term as mayor.”
Normally mayors don’t try to kill people who live in their towns. This whole episode raises some interesting questions. I wonder how many political rivals of Jewish politicians have been victims of hit and run accidents… or worse. Perhaps someone should do a statistical study along with the number of Jewish furniture stores that mysteriously burn down. Anyhow, at least there’s a chance this Jewish politician may wind up in the slammer for his little murder plot.