By Gary Grado | Arizona Capitol Times
The indictments of a former regulator, his wife, a lobbyist and a developer stemmed from a larger FBI investigation that federal prosecutors now want kept secret.
Documents filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix on Monday do not go into detail about the larger investigation, but they do reveal former Republican Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce and lobbyist Jim Norton, both of whom were indicted on fraud and bribery charges, were questioned about the larger investigation.
Defense attorneys for Pierce and his wife, Sherry, filed a motion saying the government wants the court to order that FBI reports, transcripts and recordings of witness interviews, and financial records and tax records of third parties be protected from the eyes of the public.
