In 1982, then-Phoenix Police Chief Ruben Ortega was behind a drug investigation in which 11 firefighters - including the president of the Phoenix Firefighters Association - were indicted on drug charges that may have been politically motivated.
Ortega also had serious run-ins with the Phoenix police union and the NAACP.But the search committee that recommended Ortega as Salt Lake City's new police chief didn't know any of these controversies.
Nevertheless, Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini, who was also unaware of the controversies, said she stands by her decision.
"I feel wonderful about it," Corradini said. "I think he will prove himself to the community."
Roger Black, director of the city's management services and chairman of the search committee, said the mayor's staff conducted a background check on Ortega and reported its findings to the committee.
Black said he didn't have a complete list of people contacted about Ortega, but the references included the former Phoenix city manager, the current city manager, the current mayor and a former Phoenix prosecutor.
Rosalyn Kirk, a member of the committee and the City Council, said she wasn't aware of any of the controversies before the committee recommended Ortega.
The president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) said he was never contacted by anyone in Salt Lake City.
PLEA President Mike Petchel refused to talk to the Deseret News about Ortega, but it was clear he and Ortega had not gotten along.
"My relationship ended with him on June 14, 1991, at 5:02 p.m.," when Ortega retired from the Phoenix Police Department, he said. Black said neither the search committee nor staff had questioned any police officers or community organizations such as the NAACP or La Raza.
"I can't imagine a mayor or city manager who had worked with Ruben and had any concerns whatsoever would have failed to bring it to our attention," he said.
Pat Cantelme, president of the Phoenix Firefighters Association, told the Deseret News that during Ortega's administration, extremely "bad blood" existed between the police and fire departments.
The feud escalated in the early 1980s when the firefighters union was a major force behind a move to change the way Phoenix was governed. They wanted to change it from an at-large form of government to a city council form - which Phoenix has now.
In November 1982, Cantelme and 10 other firefighters were indicted on drug charges following a six-month investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Phoenix Police Department.
A federal grand jury indicted the firefighters on 37 counts in connection with an alleged cocaine distribution conspiracy.
Charges were dropped on all but two of the suspects.
According to a Feb. 29, 1992, Phoenix Gazette news article, the drug investigation and indictments came down during a fierce political battle between Ortega and Cantelme. Ortega not only investigated Cantelme's political ties for campaign violations but "used undercover cops in a futile bid to catch fire officials breaking the law," the article stated.
The rift between Ortega and Cantelme apparently continued for a decade.
An undercover agent named Joe Stedino told the Phoenix Gazette last February that he was told during the recent "AzScam" sting to go after Cantelme.
Stedino, under the command of Ortega, was instrumental in helping to snare legislators accepting bribes in connection with a movement to legalize casino gambling in Arizona. He said he attempted to bribe Cantelme but was unsuccessful.
The Gazette story questioned Stedino's credibility, noting that Stedino is a "crook-turned-cop." Stedino has admitted lying under oath to a defense attorney, the Gazette reported.
Salt Lake's search committee members and Corradini said they knew nothing of Ortega's problems with Cantelme. One committee member noted, however, that it's impossible for someone like a police chief to be in position of power for a long time without making enemies.
While Cantelme characterized Ortega as power hungry, a former employee, Sgt. Kevin Robinson, said Ortega will do nothing but good for law enforcement. He said Ortega could take almost sole credit for the increase in the number of minorities that moved up the ranks under his leadership.
Robinson said Ortega was sensitive to minorities.
But a leader of the NAACP disagrees. The Rev. Oscar Tillman, the former leader of the NAACP branch in Phoenix, told the Deseret News earlier this week that Salt Lake City will regret its decision to hire Ortega.
The Salt Lake search committee, however, was unaware of Ortega's reputation with the NAACP because no one contacted the Phoenix branch of the organization.
Wilburt Nelson said he was the local branch president when Tillman moved to Phoenix several years ago. Ortega was very protective of his officers and very cautious when approached about departmental problems, Nelson said.
"Chief Ortega was the kind of person who was open to a certain extent and closed in other areas," he said. "My relationship, to be honest with you, was mixed."
Nelson said Tillman challenged Ortega on his management style and on the way the officers handled situations, and the challenges degenerated into a personality conflict.
Nelson said he believes Tillman was right in challenging Ortega on some of the issues they fought over. He said Tillman "simply came to town and said, `I'm the sheriff, and I'm going to challenge the sheriff, too.' "
John Florez, associate research professor at the University of Utah and a member of the search com-mittee, said he got the recommendation for Ortega from the National Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund. A source in Los Angeles told Florez that Ortega was one of the best.
Florez said he knew nothing of the Tillman controversy, the Cantelme controversy or the problems with the Phoenix Police Union. He said Ortega's response to questions and plans for Salt Lake City were what endeared him to the committee.
Ortega was not every committee member's first choice, Black said, but the majority favored him.
Deseret News staff writer Brent Israelsen contributed to this report.