Paul Babeu Politician

Paul Raymond Babeu (pronounced BAB-you; born February 3, 1969) is the sheriff of Pinal County in the U.S. state of Arizona voted into office in 2008. He is the first Republican Sheriff elected in the history of Pinal County. He received national media attention in 2010 and 2011 for speaking out against illegal immigration, the unsecured U.S. border with Mexico, and Operation Fast and Furious gun smuggling facilitated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.In October 2011, Babeu announced the formation of an exploratory committee to run for U.S. Congress, but later withdrew following a controversy. After a 2012 media investigation of his massive acquisitions of surplus military equipment through the 1033 program he had to retrieve equipment his office distributed to non-police organizations. He won re-election to a second term as sheriff on November 6, 2012.