Pro-Trump Sheriff Joe Arpaio left taxpayers on the hook for over $100 million in lawsuits and legal fees -- so far

According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, a recent payout to an Arizona restauranteur of $3.1 million because former sheriff Joe Arpaio defamed him and then had his place of business raided, pushed the total cost of legal fees and damages payouts due to his actions over $100 million -- with more yet to come.

The controversial lawman is currently making noises about running for office once again at age 89 after losing election in 2016.

As NPR noted last week, Arpaio-- who has strongly allied himself with Donald Trump -- has seen Maricopa County shell out millions in the past few weeks, reporting, "The $5 million settlement with Uncle Sam's owner Bret Frimmel came weeks after officials signed off on a separate $400,000 settlement to resolve similar claims brought by Uncle Sam's manager Lisa Norton. County officials approved $3.1 million of Frimmel's settlement. The remaining $1.9 million in his settlement is being covered by an insurer."

"The payout takes to $100 million the attorney fees, settlements and other costs the county has paid from lawsuits stemming from Arpaio's six terms," the Times reported before noting that Maricopa County isn't done dealing with fall-out from his years in office.

"That doesn't include the separate $178 million — and counting — that taxpayers have shelled out in a 2007 racial profiling case stemming from Arpaio's signature traffic patrols targeting immigrants, although about 75% of that spending has occurred on his successor's watch as he works to comply with court-ordered overhauls of the sheriff's office," the report states.

According to Michael Manning, an attorney who was on the winning side in some of the lawsuits, the voters who kept re-electing the controversial lawman have only themselves to blame for tax dollars spent defending Arpaio and then having to pay up.

"They just didn't care as long as they got the entertainment value," Manning lamented. "And it just went on and on."

Arpaio has dismissed complaints about the costs of litigation, saying all jails are subject to lawsuits and that he was in office for 24 years so, "$100 million is not unreasonable."

By way of comparison, the report adds, "The legal spending for Arpaio's office, which aside from the racial profiling case averaged about $4.2 million a year, wasn't nearly as high as some police agencies. Litigation expenses for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, for instance, totaled $480 million for the eight-year period ending in late June 2020, averaging about $60 million per year, according to records," while pointing out the stunning number of lawsuits filed against him -- over 6,000 of them in federal court alone.

The Times adds that Arpaio is unrepentant about the legal wreckage he left behind him saying, "I'd do it all over again."