By Katie Campbell | Arizona Capitol Times
Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Battista says it was lobbyist Jim Norton’s “strong suggestion” that led to the flow of money from a utility owner to the pockets of a utility regulator.
Norton testified he did not require but urged his then-wife, Kelly Norton, to hire Sherry Pierce to do work on behalf of water utility owner George Johnson starting in 2011. Kelly Norton operated KNB Consulting, and she hired Pierce as an independent contractor at the firm.
At the time, Pierce’s husband, Gary Pierce, was chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates Johnson’s water company, Johnson Utilities.
Norton, having been a friend and confidant of Gary Pierce for years, was well-aware of his elected position as he advised Kelly Norton to hire Sherry Pierce.
The government has alleged that she was given a “no-show job” at KNB to funnel nine monthly payments of $3,500 to her husband; the payments were allegedly bribes in exchange for Gary Pierce’s Corporation Commission votes in favor of Johnson Utilities.
