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FBI: Arizona Attorney General Hit Car But Left Scene To Hide Affair With Employee

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne has attracted national headlines recently with his spirited appearance in litigation defending the “sanctity of marriage” by blocking basic benefits for same-sex couples. That defense however may be more theoretical for the top state lawyer. Horne was reportedly being followed by the FBI investigating alleged campaign finance violations. The agents say that they watched as Horne struck another car causing $1000 damage to avoid disclosure of an affair with his passenger. The passenger has been identified in news accounts as Carmen Chenal, who works for Horne.


Chenal is the former state superintendent of education and is paid $108,000 in working for Horne in handling foreign extraditions. Chenal has been described as a suspended lawyers with a history including “DUI charge pleaded down to reckless driving, a bankruptcy, and a history of mental and physical issues.” She has been suspended as a lawyer for four months and ordered to pay $2,500 in restitution to a client. She was later placed on probation for two years by the bar.

Horne was allegedly driving a borrowed vehicle and ran into a white Range Rover in the parking garage of a Phoenix apartment complex. According to reports, Chenal left the Attorney General’s Office that day in a Volkswagen she’d borrowed from fellow employee Linnea Heap. Five minutes later, Horne left in his own gold Jaguar and met Chenal in a parking garage. He switched cars and left with Chenal “wearing a baseball hat,” according to the FBI. When they could not get into the entrance of the apartment garage, the agents say that Horne “attempted to back up to exit the parking structure and hit the front passenger side of a white Range Rover with the rear passenger side of the Passat.” They then entered the resident entrance gate.

Horne was not exactly helped by statements from Amy Rezonnico, AG Public Information Officer: “It was a Monday morning. He came in and he looked like a ghost and he, um, um, I asked him what was the matter. I said why did you do that and um, he didn’t really have any good answer other than they looked and that there was they couldn’t see any damage.” That was the AG’s own public relations person.

Horne insists that he did not realize that he caused any damage — though he acknowledged that it caused damage to his car. He further denies that claim by FBI agent Brian Grehoski that he didn’t leave a note for the other driver in order to conceal an extramarital affair. He insists that a grand is nothing for him and he would have simply paid for the damage.
Horne has gone on the attack and asked why he was being followed and surveilled.

There is considerable doubt raised by Horne over the estimate for a little paint and scratches. Here is a statement published from Horne:

The FBI report states: “Montano [the owner of the other vehicle] advised that he was unaware that his vehicle had been hit by another vehicle until FBI Agent Grehoski called him to arrange for the interview. Montano advised that the black mark on the front passenger side of the bumper came from when his son was parking the vehicle in the garage.” The incident may have caused no damage to that vehicle. At worst, pictures show nothing but some scratched paint. “Hit and Run” is a misleading image for, at worst, paint scratches with no dents.

If I had been aware there was damage, I would have left contact information. The parking area is the main parking area for people who have lunch at Pita Jungle and other restaurants in the immediate area. Leaving contact information for a paint scratch in that area would have been irrelevant to whether there was a passenger or not, and the FBI agent’s speculations are without basis.

No one has explained why FBI Agents, investigating whether there were alleged campaign finance violations in 2010, were surveilling me in 2012.

That could very well be true, but the scratches might not seem as pressing a question for a family values politicians than the alleged affair with an employee with greater detail.

In August, Horne filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court to defend the ability of the state to repeal the domestic partners insurance for state employees. Stripping these couples of basic protections in his view “furthers the State’s interest in promoting marriage.”

Indeed, he could add that such benefits do not even scratch the surface of the controversy.

Source: AZ Star

49 thoughts on “FBI: Arizona Attorney General Hit Car But Left Scene To Hide Affair With Employee”

  2. id707

    Who is this “we” and “us” you keep referring to?

    Please don’t include me in any of your conspiracy theory scenarios, tasteless humor, or analysis of Nick’s take on the world.

    Does that help to answer your questions?

  3. Lot’s of questions here.

    Why does the FBI do as Nick said they do.
    1) They havd too many people. “Look busy, dammit!”
    2) Blow their cover? They had nothing to lose, and now get some headlines they can blow up in an official
    report.
    3) Give interviews which are conveniently overheard by press? See question 2.

    Why does Nick complain about us always looking in the same direction. Far be it for me to say, but maybe he is still convinced we have been too well-trained to follow the media “bouncing ball”. If media says so, then it is so.

    My God! Fox News! Didn’t you feel dirty, despoiled, mentally raped afterwards?

    Hee hee.

  4. As long as his partner was not a guy its OK as far as the bible thumpers are concerned. Have to protect the sanctity of marriage y’all! One man, one woman and as many hetro relationships as they can pull off I guess

  5. Off Topic:

    Graham Spanier Charged: Ex-Penn State President Facing Perjury Charge In Jerry Sandusky Case
    By MARK SCOLFORO 11/01/12
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/01/graham-spanier-charged-penn-state-sandusky_n_2057723.html

    Excerpt:
    HARRISBURG, Pa. — Former Penn State President Graham B. Spanier was charged Thursday with hushing up child molestation allegations against Jerry Sandusky, making him the third school official to be accused of crimes in the alleged cover-up.

    Prosecutors also added counts against the two former underlings, Timothy M. Curley and Gary C. Schultz, who were already charged with lying to the grand jury that investigated the former Penn State assistant football coach.

    Spanier was charged with perjury, obstruction, endangering the welfare of children and conspiracy. Curley and Schultz face new charges of endangering the welfare of children, obstruction and conspiracy.

  8. Here’s a little more info on the accident, Horne, the FBI, and Horne’s “I’ll follow you anywhere” lady friend.

    “But one of Horne’s employees told FBI agents a few days after the alleged hit and run: “It was a Monday morning. He came in and he looked like a ghost and he, um, um, I asked him what was the matter,” said Amy Rezonnico, AG Public Information Officer. “I said why did you do that and um, he didn’t really have any good answer other than they looked and that there was they couldn’t see any damage.”

    Horne told her he left because he didn’t think there was damage to the white Range Rover he hit.

    But agents say the black car he was driving had damage and he went as far as trying to buff it out.

    According to an FBI report, Horne didn’t want anyone to know he was with his employee Carmen Chenal at the time. They were trying to park in her apartment complex’s parking garage.

    “Horne is having an extramarital affair with Chenal and they utilize Chenal’s apartment for the furtherance of that affair,” states the FBI report.

    “He was driving someone else’s car, crashed and left the scene of an accident, having some rendezvous with Carmen in her apartment. That’s not ethical, that’s not honest, that’s slimy,” stated an FBI agent on a recorded interview with police. “They sat there for 10 seconds, nobody got out of the car, nobody checked the damage of the car, they weren’t even at an angle where they could see the damage of the car and then they drove away.”

    We asked Horne about the alleged affair earlier this month and he refused to answer.

    “Apparently there has been some investigation into this or whether you have had an inappropriate relationship or are having an inappropriate relationship with Carmen Chenal?” we asked Horne.

    “That’s really off topic. I’m happy to talk about the independent campaign and answer any questions about that,” replied Horne.

    “But you won’t answer this question?”

    “No,” said Horne.

    Chenal was hired by the AG’s office after Horne was elected. She makes more than $100,000 a year.

    Before that she worked under Horne when he was the state Superintendent of Education.

    Chenal told Phoenix Police: “So he was backing up and he hit something and he said look and see if I hit a car or something like that… I did not see a scratch and I told him I don’t see anything.”

    Investigator to Chenal: “Where were you and Mr. Horne going that day?”

    Chenal: “I really don’t remember.”

    http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/19958127/2012/10/30/fbi-report-tom-horne-was-having-affair-when-he-hit-parked-car

  9. Family values, what a crock! These people are such hypocrites. They presume to tell others how to live while they break every rule. Will the people who blindly support these liars ever wake up!?

  10. Maybe I shouldn’t be, but I am surprised that the Professor has attributed the views of the client (Arizona) to the attorney (Mr. Horne).

  11. Nick I think raises some valid questions. I’d like to know why the FBI was surveilling Horne for a campaign finance investigation. Also, why tip off Horne as to investigation over minor property damage unless investigation was over. I wouldn’t jump to conclusions that there was anything improper here, but I think those are fair questions.

  13. Nick… The ‘one direction’ in this case is that of a publicly elected office acting extremely hypocritical and breaking the law… That’s the direction we should all be looking.

  15. This looks like another wonderful entry for “RepublicanOffenders.com”—and you will find no equivalent for Democrats.

    Hypocrites, weasels, and mock-Christians who believe they can do as they like simply because, by pretending to be Christian, everything is forgiven.

    Let the games being.

    http://www.republicanoffenders.com

    (We’re talking pedophiles, murderers, thieves, gay sex, and just about all the toxic hypocrisy you can possibly eat!)

  17. When the FBI do surveillance it’s w/ a team. When they retire and go to work in the private sector they learn an investigatgor is almost always expected to do surveillance solo. This is a lot of taxpayers money for a 1k leaving the scene of a property accident. They obviously had nothing else if they’re going to blow their cover about this. This smells a bit like a Nixonian use of the FBI. But being here for awhile I know many people only can see in one direction.

  18. this looks more smeary than scratchy…despite his offensive politics…

  19. More family values at work in Arizona! I detect a theme here. The more people scream family values and claim that it is immoral to be gay, the more we should assume that they are felons and gay.

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