Florence, AZ – Paul W. Ahler, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Chief Deputy, will be the newest addition to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office staff on Dec. 6, 2010, as the Pretrial Bureau Chief. The Pretrial Unit is responsible for reviewing most law enforcement referrals and deciding on appropriate criminal charges.
Ahler is bringing with him experience in public service extending back to 1979, most of it as a high ranking member of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. He has more than 30 years experience prosecuting crime. During that time, he was the Chief Deputy to the Maricopa County Attorney Richard Romley for over 12 years. He also worked at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. From 2008 until 2010 he was Executive Director of the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys’ Advisory Council.
“I am very pleased Paul is joining us,” James P. Walsh, Pinal County Attorney said. “He is a veteran prosecutor with the experience necessary for a growing county like ours, having worked through similar challenges in Maricopa County.”
Ahler graduated from Purdue University in Indiana with a BA in Political Science in 1975 and went on to complete a J.D. at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona in 1978.
He was named the “Arizona Prosecutor of the Year, Maricopa County” three times by the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys’ Advisory Council (APAAC) and also received the APAAC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.
Ahler replaces retiring Pretrial Bureau Chief Jeff Sandler, who is leaving the office after 12 years of service and a total of 26 years of public service in the Pinal County and Maricopa County Attorneys’ Offices. Sandler supervised the Pretrial Unit for the past five and a half years.