Ex-Arizona congressman Rick Renzi denied new trial

Source: Associated Press

Ex-Arizona congressman Rick Renzi denied new trial
Associated Press 2:50 p.m. MST December 30, 2015



TUCSON - A federal judge on Wednesday denied a new trial for former U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi, who was convicted in 2013 of corruption, money laundering and other charges and is serving a three-year prison term.

The ruling by senior U.S. District Judge David Bury comes after Renzi’s lawyers argued at an October hearing that a key witness was told by FBI agents that he could receive payments in exchange for his testimony. That taints the testimony of former Renzi associate Phillip Aries and it should have been disclosed by the government, defense attorneys said.

“Prior to trial, the government knew—because its agents repeatedly told Mr. Aries that he could receive a reward—that Mr. Aries had a personal financial stake in the outcome of Mr. Renzi’s trial,” defense attorney Kelly Kramer wrote in court filings. Aries contacted FBI agents after the trial asking about a possible payment, “yet the government did not disclose this evidence to Mr. Renzi until April 2015—after Mr. Renzi’s direct appeal was decided.”

In addition, Kramer argued that newly disclosed FBI documents show that Aries first told FBI agents it was a woman who originally brought up a parcel of property to be included in a land-swap that was the heart of a portion of the government’s case against Renzi. They argued Aries changed his story after learning about a possible reward.


Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2015/12/30/judge-denies-rick-renzi-new-trial/78083582/