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PHOENIX — Already reeling from a critical audit, officials at the state veterans home learned Wednesday that a criminal probe is being launched into accusations of patient neglect.

Citing state law that gives him "exclusive jurisdiction" over cases of adult abuse, Maricopa County Attorney Andy Thomas requested a laundry list of records from the home, which serves elderly veterans statewide.

"It is my responsibility to investigate the possibility of crimes perpetrated against those defenseless victims," Thomas' chief assistant, Sally Wells, said in a letter to the veterans home. Thomas wants copies of complaints related to patient care as well as all the home's personnel records.

The move came on the same day Republicans pounced on Gov. Janet Napolitano's decision to pick a law firm to which she has close political ties to participate in a review of the embattled home.

At issue is whether Coppersmith Gordon Schermer & Brockelman — a prominent Phoenix firm whose staff includes the spouses of two Napolitano appointees and other political allies — can both objectively review the home and challenge some of the allegations against it as it faces $10,000 in fines for patient neglect.

The firm is also defending the home against some of the complaints and the fine, and it already has a state contract to do work on behalf of the home.

Lawmakers say it can't do both, because the firm is in the position of having to "serve two masters."

"It isn't going to affect the job we do, but if the governor wants it done right, there should be more of an independent review," said Rep. John Nelson, R-Litchfield Park, co-chairman of a bipartisan legislative committee investigating the situation at the home.

Meanwhile, Napolitano sought to rebut charges of a conflict or cronyism in her selection of the firm.

She said the independent review is being headed by Leonard Kirschner, former director of the state's health-care system and a retired Air Force colonel, and that Coppersmith Gordon Schermer & Brockelman's work will "overlap" with his work.

The firm is already contracted through the Arizona Attorney General's Office — part of the reason Napolitano says it was selected. Its hourly rate per attorney is $350, according to the agreement, so an additional contract for work on behalf of the veterans home is not needed, officials said. Neither the attorney general's nor Napolitano's offices could provide estimates on the cost of hiring the firm.

The March review of the veterans home, the state's only one, that found patient neglect has led to firings and resignations all the way up to the state director of veterans services. There are also allegations of nepotism in department hiring.

"Allegations of cronyism got us, to some extent, into this problem in the first place, and hiring the same law firm that's defending the department doesn't solve that problem," said Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, also a member of the bipartisan legislative committee. Paton called the firm "overtly partisan" and said he feared its involvement could lead to a "whitewash."

But Napolitano, who hand-picked the firm last Friday, said it was chosen because of its expertise in health-care issues — not her personal connections.

"Just because I know lawyers does not mean they are disqualified from doing work," Napolitano said during her regular weekly press conference, at which she was peppered with questions about the law firm.

"I'm a lawyer. I'm the former attorney general of this state. I know almost every lawyer you can know, particularly the ones who specialize in these very difficult issues," she said

Also on Wednesday, Napolitano announced the formation of a panel to select a permanent replacement for former Veteran Services Director Patrick Chorpenning, who resigned Tuesday. Richard Maxon, a retired National Guard brigadier general, has been selected as interim director of the department.