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PHOENIX — Gov. Janet Napolitano has ordered the state to end an anti-illegal immigration contract with the Maricopa County sheriff so she can pay for a larger effort to track down thousands of felons around Arizona.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Tuesday criticized the governor's decision as a maneuver to thwart his efforts against illegal immigrants.

"Dirty politics are at work right now," said Arpaio, who was flanked by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, state House Speaker Jim Weiers and state Rep. Russell Pearce at a news conference.

All four men have staked out hawkish positions on illegal immigration reform. The sheriff has been criticized in particular for letting thousands of felony warrants go unserved while he chased after illegal immigrants.

According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, there are about 59,000 outstanding, unserved felony warrants in the state. The majority of those are in Maricopa County.

Pennie Gillette-Stroud, the DPS chief of the criminal investigations division, said Napolitano's task force will focus on violent, repeat criminals as well as undocumented aliens with felony warrants.

"We can go into different regions, concentrate on suspects that are problematic in other areas," Gillette-Stroud said.

The task force will be led by DPS and will combine local, state, federal and tribal authorities to track down felons around Arizona.

We're hoping in the next few weeks to have the task force up and running, said Bart Graves, DPS spokesman.

DPS hasn't put a price tag on the task force. "We're putting together a plan with a budget to help determine those figures," Gillette-Stroud said.

But to help pay for the task force, DPS said it won't renew a $1.6 million contract with the sheriff's office. The contract ends May 17th, Graves said.

Arpaio still can tap into that money if he cooperates with the state.

"We invite him," to cooperate, she said. "His personnel has a lot of experience."

Still, Arpaio and his supporters cried foul when they heard the news.

Weiers questioned the governor's decision to move money away from Arpaio. He said the money was intended for the sheriff and it appeared the governor may have violated the constitutional separation between government branches.

"As a legislator, I'm very upset," he said.

Napolitano spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer denied that the governor was trying to cut into efforts to stop illegal immigration.

"It couldn't be further from the truth," L'Ecuyer said.