Before going on medical leave and retiring under a confidential disability claim, Phoenix homicide Det. Jennifer DiPonzio repeatedly mishandled evidence and failed to complete important tasks and interviews.
The mistakes have impacted at least 37 court cases and 61 police investigations.
But for more than a year, Maricopa County Superior Court judges have been told DiPonzio is too unwell to testify, receive subpoenas, or even be contacted about her cases.
One judge even issued the following order late last year in a murder case.
“The Court has no information that supports she would be available any time soon or possibly ever, as a result of medical issues,” according to the order filed on December 16, 2022.
Just two weeks later, an Instagram page promoting DiPonzio’s esthetician business put out its first post.
The caption: “It’s time to get busy.”
In addition to the Instagram post, an ABC15 investigation obtained pictures, documents, job postings, and other social media entries that show DiPonzio has worked at least two jobs this year as judges operate under the belief she’s too medically debilitated to participate in any capacity.
DiPonzio did not answer a call from ABC15.
After leaving a voicemail, two attorneys later sent ABC15 an email saying she would have no comment and demanded the station “cease any further attempts” to contact her.
NOT AVAILABLE ‘POSSIBLY EVER’
Information and records about DiPonzio’s specific medical condition are confidential.
According to internal city documents, she went on leave on July 28, 2021 then returned to work for just one day on August 23, 2021
That’s the day her supervisor, Sgt. Jerry Barker, spoke to her about a series of problems with her cases, including a failure to complete important tasks and interviews.
DiPonzio, who’s married to an assistant chief, went on medical leave the next day and never returned to work.
She retired more than a year later on Dec. 27, 2022.
During her leave, Barker and other detectives further discovered she had failed to properly document, impound, and handle various types of evidence over a several-year period, records show.
For the past year, and increasing in recent months, defense attorneys and ABC15 have separately documented how Phoenix police have withheld, hidden, and obfuscated information about the extent of DiPonzio’s misconduct.
The concerns first started gaining traction during a court hearing about her lack of availability on September 20, 2022.
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Judge Korbin Steiner called a status conference in a drive-by-shooting murder case specifically to find out more about DiPonzio, who was the main case agent.
Steiner asked a City of Phoenix attorney, “I guess I’ll just ask you what can you share with us today, if anything, about Det. DiPonzio and her status and ability for us to include her in any proceedings at some point?”
The attorney, Heidi Gilbert, said the city had no idea when DiPonzio would be able to return to work, if ever.
Gilbert also openly criticized a defense attorney in the case for raising questions.
“I understand what’s at stake here. But for counsel to say he understands people’s privacy rights, I think he’s being a little coy about that,” she said.
At the time, the city did not disclose that police supervisors knew of widespread problems with DiPonzio’s investigations for at least a year, leading Judge Steiner to exercise caution with the situation.
“I don’t have any reason to delve into this detective’s private information when I’m being told she’s on medical leave,” Steiner said during the hearing. “If (the defense has) reason to believe that this detective has engaged in some sort of conduct, whether it be related to this case or any other case, maybe I might get to a place in time where I would get to the point to order the City of Phoenix to give me something, even if it’s just a letter saying here’s her situation and why she can’t testify.”
A few months later, attorneys for the city and DiPonzio provided the court with some documentation about her medical condition.
Steiner then issued a minute entry informing everyone in the case that DiPonzo may never be available for trial.
“On December 16, 2022, the Court received and reviewed records provided by counsel for Detective DiPonzio, in accordance with the Court’s orders. The Court has filed a complete set under seal. The Clerk of Court is directed not to provide a copy of these records without court order. The records support a finding that Detective DiPonzio is unavailable for trial. The Court has no information that supports she would be available any time soon or possibly ever, as a result of medical issues.”
Days later, on January 2, 2023, an Instagram page promoting DiPonzio’s work as an esthetician published its first post.
EVIDENCE OF MULTIPLE JOBS
Before her retirement, some Phoenix police supervisors had been internally raising concerns about DiPonzio working an outside job while on paid medical leave.
On June 23, 2022, homicide Lt. James Hester wrote an email to human resource officials.
“I’m aware she has been on (leave) for quite some time due to a (redacted) related injury,” he said. “The concern is that I’m getting rumblings that she is operating a business and traveling out of state to business conferences. Is this allowed? Can she operate a business while she is on paid industrial leave?”
RELATED: What did Phoenix PD Chief know about detective’s mistakes?
In 2023, pictures, documents, job postings, and social media posts show DiPonzio has worked at least two different jobs since retiring with a disability pension while attorneys claim she can’t participate in court proceedings.
One is at a chiropractic office in Scottsdale where she was listed as an assistant and stretch therapist.
The other is at a salon in Glendale where DiPonzo worked as an esthetician.
Neither business returned emails and calls from ABC15 seeking information about her employment.
For the chiropractic business, DiPonzio was listed as the contact person for applicants seeking to work at the office in an August job posting.
She was also in pictures and videos posted on social media, including one showing her wearing a mariachi outfit to celebrate “Fiesta Friday.”
DiPonzio has held an Arizona aesthetician license since 2016, according to the state cosmetology board’s website.
Based on social media posts, she’s been using that license to work at a salon since the beginning of this year.
The salon highlighted her services on Facebook in a February 27, 2023 post.
To further verify whether DiPonzo was working, an ABC15 producer scheduled an appointment with DiPonzio for a brow tint on October 5, 2023. The station used a booking website that showed DiPonzio was offering appointments at least three or four days a week.
The day before the appointment, ABC15 attempted to speak with Phoenix City Manager Jeff Barton at a city council meeting about the ongoing issues caused by DiPonzio.
The station didn’t specifically ask about DiPonzio working and only intended to ask about the ongoing scandal. Barton refused to comment by responding, “Don’t even start. We’ve already given you the comments we’re going to give you.”
The next day, a few hours before the appointment, DiPonzio canceled by sending ABC15’s producer a text message.
“I’m so sorry but I actually need to cancel all together. I have been under the weather and today is not a good day. And do you mind sharing who referred you?”
In a text and voicemail, ABC15 then informed DiPonzio that its producer had set up the appointment.
Shortly later, two attorneys for DiPonzio sent ABC15 the following email.
“Good afternoon: Rhonda Neff and I (Cassidy Bacon) represent retired Phoenix Police Detective Jennifer DiPonzio. It has come to our attention that you and your staff have been attempting to communicate with her directly. We are requesting that you cease any further attempts to do so. At this time, neither Ms. DiPonzio nor counsel have any comment to provide you on this matter. Thank you.”
Throughout this year, the same two attorneys have represented DiPonzio in court, telling judges she is still unavailable to be contacted or testify.
In one example, Neff filed a motion on May 9, 2023 challenging an “alarming” decision by Judge Steiner to allow defense attorneys to explore the possibility of sending a subpoena to DiPonzio.
“Detective DiPonzio continues to be unavailable to testify in this case (and the others),” Neff wrote. “It is our position that nothing has changed with respect to her ability to testify in this case.”
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.
