When this story first broke, there was a picture of a text message Jose Orozco claimed supported his allegations of threats of deportation.
I haven’t been able to find the original picture. I did find a transcript of the text.
“You can never have business after this and you will harm my and many others in the process…including yourself & your family.” (11 a.m.) And, two minutes later, Babeu wrote: “And you say you have loved me? Papi…this is no good.“
Orozco claims this is proof that he was being threatened.
I have a slightly different take on the situation.
Let’s look at why Babeu engaged an attorney in the first place.
Orozco was sent a cease & desist letter demanding that he stop posting inflamatory messages on twitter and an alternate web site paulbabeu.co. This web site was mirroring the real sheriffpaul.com campaign site but presenting derogatory information as though it was the official campaign website.
Orozco is also accused of using his control of the campaign web site, twitter feeds, and financial access to essentially hijack those systems. If he did change the passwords without notifying the Sheriff or the campaign staff, then he was in effect denying access to those systems. To my way of thinking volunteer or not that is breach of implied contract and certainly trust.
I’ve been working in the computer industry for about 30 years. In that time I’ve always operated under an assumed contract that essentially says I’ll never compromise a clients system under any circumstances. The only exception to that rule would be if I found illegal activity such as child porn or evidence of criminal activity. In that case I’m duty bound to report such activity to proper authorities.
I look at the message from Babeu to Orozco not as a threat, but as a statement of fact.
Babeu must have known that when all of this went public, Orozco’s business would be toast. The fact that Orozco was here on a tourist visa and running a business is odd in the first place. Why would a tourist need to, or be allowed to run a business in the country they were a tourist in?
That question aside… There is the matter of dishonorable, and to my mind unethical conduct on the part of Orozco where the web sites were concerned.
Knowing that it took a cease and desist order from an attorney to stop Orozco from posting messages and mirroring the real campaign site would be more than enough to cause any potential clients to look for another web developer.
There goes Orozco’s business… at least in the local area. If Orozco was sending money back to Mexico supporting his family then clearly they will and have been hurt by the loss of business.
The fact that the whole Sheriffs department has been dragged into investigations of wrong doing certainly proves the assertion that Babeu and many others will be hurt.
The saddest part of all of this is that this story got any traction at all.
I ran across these photos of text messages allegedly from Orozco’s phone. [Thanks to www.boxturtlebulletin.com]
This series of messages reads like a soap opera… Or perhaps like a scene from Fatal Attraction … Boiled bunnies anyone?
Orozco is clearly insecure, and frankly Babeu is a hell of a lot nicer than I would be at 12:30 am.
The distance from Florence to Tucson according to Google maps is minimum 70.3 miles. Which means that if Babeu left at 1 am (the last message shown) he’s not going to get home until at least 2:30am. I don’t know about you… But I’d stay at a friends house especially if I’d had a drink or two.
The interesting thing is that these messages are from April. The litigation didn’t happen until September. Who keeps text messages 11 months?
My opinion of this whole mess is that we’re looking at nothing more than a bad end to a relationship.
Orozco is engaging in one of the time honored roles among some gay men… BITCHY QUEEN…
Orozco for his part, in my opinion, is an idiot who was only seeking revenge like woman in a soap opera.
In this particular case Orozco went to a hispanic reporter in who saw an opportunity to further her career by bringing down a Sheriff that was known as tough on illegal immigration. Orozco never thought about the broader consequences of his actions, he was too wrapped up in getting his pound of flesh. In the process he got used by the media and he’s continuing to be used because he’s not smart enough to shut up.
I think we’ve all experienced the singular thrill of breaking up with insecure, petty, nasty bitches (female or male) like this. The difference is, what should have ended as a bitter BUT private breakup has spiraled out of control into the national spotlight.
Sadly, I think Babeu is done. I don’t think he’s going to win the congressional seat.
I’m betting that he’s going to abandon his campaign so that he can focus on making sure that the Deputies who work for him don’t have their careers ruined by the allegations of improper use of authority.
I suspect that Orozco will disappear into the woodwork and turn up in Mexico leaving a trail of destroyed careers behind him.
I feel really sorry for Sheriff Babeu. This must be very humiliating for him, not because he was outed or that his private life became public…
Humiliating because of the betrayal of trust…