By: The special prosecutor in a case that landed two newspaper executives in jail says his investigation was not "grossly mishandled or mismanaged," and he will not stand to have his reputation tarnished.
Attorney Dennis Wilenchik's comments came a day after he received a public dressing-down from Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and was fired as chief of the investigation involving the Phoenix New Times.
Thomas said Friday Wilenchik had made "serious missteps" and "badly mishandled" the case.
Thomas dismissed criminal charges against New Times the same day.
Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin were arrested Thursday on a misdemeanor charge of disclosing grand jury information in a story they co-wrote in New Times, a free, weekly publication.
The article detailed a secret grand jury subpoena seeking reporters' notes and the names and habits of thousands of people who have accessed the New Times Web site since 2004.
Critics called the subpoena for information far-reaching and a violation of free speech and privacy rights.
Wilenchik says the information about the Web site's visitors was necessary to prove whether Sheriff Joe Arpaio was "endangered or (in) imminent threat of danger" as a result of the publication of Arpaio's home address in the newspaper and on its Web site.
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