Arpaio: $5,000 reward for catching political sign vandals

As the election season heats up, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is offering a $5,000 reward to those who offer up information leading to the arrest of those who have damaged or may continue to damage his campaign signs.

Defacing a political sign is a misdemeanor and punishable by up to four months in jail, a $700 fine and up to two years probation, according to information from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

So far, during the 2012 sheriff election season, Arpaio’s camp said that more than 200 signs have needed to be replaced due to damage.

Arpaio said in a statement that since he has raised more than $7 million for his re-election campaign, he can easily afford to pay such a reward so the money wouldn’t be paid by taxpayer dollars.