Renzi Frenzi

[Parche]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican, has been indicted on federal charges following an investigation into land deals involving a former business partner, federal prosecutors said Friday.


Rep. Rick Renzi, shown here in Baghdad, Iraq, in April 2007, has denied any wrongdoing.

In a 35-count indictment unsealed early Friday, Renzi is charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, extortion and insurance fraud.

Also named in the indictment is Renzi's former business partner and real estate investor, James W. Sandlin, 56, of Sherman, Texas, and Andrew Beardall, 36, of Rockville, Maryland.

Renzi, 49, has denied any wrongdoing.

At a news conference in Phoenix, Arizona, prosecutors said Renzi conspired with Sandlin to conduct a land swap in exchange for Renzi's push to get a House committee's approval for the deal.

U.S. Attorney Diane Humetewa said that Renzi "used his official authority as a United States representative" to ensure a 2005 federal land exchange that included land owned by Sandlin.

Another goal of the conspiracy was to conceal that Renzi received a portion of the proceeds from the deal, according to the indictment.

Renzi was having financial difficulty in 2005 and "needed a substantial infusion of funds to keep his insurance business solvent and maintain his personal lifestyle," the indictment said.

The 26-page indictment outlines a series of transactions involving Renzi and Sandlin, who were co-owners of Fountain Realty and Development, until Renzi ran for a seat in Congress and sold his share of the company to Sandlin.

Sandlin bought out Renzi's interest for $200,000 and a note for $800,000, according to a statement from the Justice Department. In 2005, when Sandlin still owed him $700,000 on the note, "Renzi insisted that two separate entities doing business in Arizona purchase Sandlin's property in exchange for his support on land exchange legislation," authorities said.

Renzi and Beardall are charged with insurance fraud, accused of embezzling more than $400,000 in insurance premiums from the trust account of the Patriot Insurance Agency, a business owned by the Renzi family in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, to fund his congressional campaign in 2001 and 2002. They're also accused of making false statements to influence state regulatory investigations, a statement said.

"There were concealment efforts, misrepresentations and fraudulent statements made," Humetewa said.

If convicted, Renzi could face up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud and extortion and 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering and concealing money laundering as well as lesser sentences for convictions on the other counts, prosecutors said.

Renzi and the other defendants will be served summonses to appear in U.S. Magistrate Court in Tucson, Arizona, for an arraignment March 6, Humetewa said.

Renzi has been under an ethical cloud since the FBI raided a family business last year. The FBI said it was investigating whether the congressman had used his office for personal gain.

He stepped down from the House Intelligence Committee in April after the raid.

Renzi, a three-term member of the House, announced in August that he would not seek re-election. He represents Arizona's 1st Congressional District. E-mail to a friend
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WOW Annother Republican in a scandal...........:rofl: :rofl: :hi:

[lligrd]

1. Why Should We Reach Across The Aisle

and work with people like this. To hell with that, fight and indict them.

[laststeamtrain]

2. "Blurry background"

<snip>


Blurry background

For a national political figure who served on the powerful House Intelligence Committee, Renzi's background is, as described by Wikipedia, "unclear."

He was born June 11, 1959, in Fort Monmouth, N.J. His family moved to Sierra Vista in 1975, and he completed high school there before getting a degree in criminal justice at Northern Arizona University in 1980.

Exactly what Renzi did for the next two decades is blurry. He has said he worked overseas for the Defense Department, but research turned up no information on which agency, where he was assigned or what duties he had.

Renzi founded an insurance company in 1989 and bought a six-bedroom home in Virginia two years later for $765,000. He and his wife, Roberta, lived there with their children for more than a decade.

In the late 1990s, Renzi opened an insurance agency in Sonoita and registered to vote in Santa Cruz County in 1999. A year later, he bought a vineyard in the area.

During fall 2001, a new congressional district was formed in Arizona, and Renzi bought a house in Flagstaff. He established himself as a voter there and, a month later, announced his candidacy. In interviews at the time, Renzi shrugged off the label of outsider, saying, "Let the chips fall where they may if I am a carpetbagger."

Astonishing that so little is known about a man who has already served as a congressman. This is from his home town newspaper! Of the state he already represented. Astonishing.

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