"There was nothing there from the very beginning," Nicholas said. "It was political."
Lee Watkins, who owned Cactus Towing at the time of the raid, has a long history of political involvement that includes serving in the administration of then-Gov. Evan Mecham.
In the 2004 general election, Watkins supported former country-radio DJ W. Steven Martin, who was running against Arpaio as an independent in the sheriff's race.
A year after the raid, Watkins said, "I lost about 30 percent of the value of my business, all because of a guy I helped, and (Arpaio) turned on me."
Arpaio disputed Watkins' accusation, saying, "I don't do things for political reasons."
Nicholas said he has been contacted by U.S. Justice Department lawyers who are looking into claims of misconduct by Arpaio and the Sheriff's Office.
Arpaio faces multiple federal investigations, including a grand-jury investigation on abuse of power, a civil-rights investigation into claims of racial profiling and another by the U.S. Labor Department into claims that detention officers did not get enough overtime pay.
Nicholas said he did not have an extensive conversation with the Justice Department. "But," he said, "it certainly ties into a lot of the bogus investigations and frivolous indictments that have been going on," a reference to battles among Arpaio, his ally County Attorney Andrew Thomas, and numerous public officials and private individuals.
