
News Stories
- Renzi Ends Career in Congress Quietly, under Cloud
January 6, 2009 - State not well represented by McCain, Renzi
December 31, 2008 - Renzi faces 44 criminal counts
December 31, 2008 - Renzi Tries to Wiggle Through Constitutional Loophole
December 30, 2008 - Renzi Must Face Music
December 16, 2008 - U.S. House Leaders: Drop Charges against Renzi
December 15, 2008 - The Ethical Shoe Now on the Other Foot
December 12, 2008 - Recommendations on Renzi Motions Could Come by End of Friday
December 8, 2008 - Rep. Renzi's Lawyers Question FBI Wiretaps
December 5, 2008 - Renzi Pleads Not Guilty to Second Set of Charges
December 5, 2008 - Renzi Defense: Law Offers Shield Against Charges
December 5, 2008 - Federal Magistrate to Hear Renzi Pretrial Motions
December 4, 2008 - House Lawyers: Renzi Prosecution Unconstitutional
December 4, 2008 - Renzi Co-Defendant Makes Initial Court Appearance
December 1, 2008 - Leaders Seek Dismissal of Most Charges Against Renzi
November 26, 2008 - House Leaders Back Renzi on Wiretaps
November 26, 2008 - Arizona's Renzi Indicted on Graft Charges
November 13, 2008 - Renzi Pretrial Motions Hearings Reset for Dec.
November 13, 2008 - Prosecutors Ask Judge to Deny Renzi Dismissal Bid
November 12, 2008 - Prosecutors Dispute Renzi’s Defense
November 12, 2008 - Scandals Don't Hamper Alaskans, But Oust Florida Lawmaker
November 6, 2008 - Under `R' in the sleazy-associate file
October 28, 2008 - Does Renzi have a Get-out-of-Jail-Free Card?
October 21, 2008 - Renzi's Lawyers Ask For Dismissal of Charges
October 19, 2008 - FBI Wiretapped Renzi; Lawyers Challenge Legality
October 17, 2008 - Indicted Congressman: Government Broke Rules to Wiretap Me
October 17, 2008 - FBI wiretapped Renzi; lawyers challenge legality
October 17, 2008 - Renzi Charges Government Misconduct
October 16, 2008 - Ex-Attorney Says His Ouster May Have Ties to Renzi Case
October 1, 2008 - Feds Conclude Ariz. Firing Not Tied to Renzi Probe
September 30, 2008 - Leave Your Scandal at the Door
September 17, 2008 - McCain Ties to Indicted Arizona Politician ‘Deep and Complex’
September 4, 2008 - Arizona Rep. Rick Renzi Pleads Not Guilty at Hearing
March 4, 2008 - After Threat Failed, Renzi Offered Bill
March 3, 2008 - Boehner's New Approach To Troublemakers
February 29, 2008 - House Ethics Panel Announces Renzi Probe
February 29, 2008 - Top Democrats Say Renzi Should Step Down -- Now
February 28, 2008 - Congressman Renzi indicted in conspiracy involving land swap
February 22, 2008 - Renzi makes list of 'most corrupt' members of Congress
October 1, 2007 - Embattled Rep. Renzi won't seek re-election in 2008
August 23, 2007 - Renzi gets House OK to report financial info late
June 15, 2007 - Renzi’s Chief of Staff Drops Role as Congressman’s Top Fundraiser
May 8, 2007 - Renzi's taxes telling
May 2, 2007 - Renzi faced cash squeeze
May 2, 2007 - Election commission drops charges against Renzi
May 2, 2007 - GOP Learns Lesson on Ethics
April 23, 2007 - Land-Swap Plan Causes Trouble For Congressman
April 21, 2007 - Renzi's Family Business Raided by FBI, He Quits Intel Panel
April 20, 2007 - FBI Raids Renzi Family Business; Congressman Leaves Intelligence Panel
April 20, 2007 - Members’ Legal Bills Continued to Mount in ’06
February 1, 2007 - Renzi needs Teflon coat
October 28, 2006 - Congressman From Arizona Is the Focus of an Inquiry
October 25, 2006 - Renzi Win Not a Slam Dunk Now
October 24, 2006 - Agency's inquiry of lawmaker dropped; Audit questioned campaign funding
September 11, 2006
The 20 most corrupt members of Congress
- Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)
- Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)
- Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA)
- Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)
- Rep. Vito J. Fossella (R-NY)
- Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-LA)
- Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
- Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
- Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)
- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Rep. Gary G. Miller (R-CA)
- Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)
- Rep. Timothy F. Murphy (R-PA)
- Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA)
- Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM)
- Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)
- Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)
- Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY)
- Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)
- Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)

Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) is a third-term member of Congress, representing Arizona’s 1st congressional district. Rep. Renzi’s ethics issues stem from misusing his position on the House Resources Committee to force a company to purchase land from his business partner for his personal financial benefit and misappropriating insurance premiums and diverting the money into his campaign account. Rep. Renzi was included in CREW’s 2005, 2006 and 2007 congressional corruption reports. As a result of the investigation, in August 2007 he announced that he would be retiring at the end of his current term. He was indicted by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona on February 21, 2008 on 35 counts including conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, extortion and insurance fraud.
Federal Indictment
Just before Rep. Renzi’s reelection in 2006, federal authorities began investigating whether Rep. Renzi used his position as a member of Congress to promote the sale of land owned by his former business partner. In 2005, mining company Resolution Copper sought to mine for copper in Superior, Arizona. Before mining could commence however, Resolution needed Congress to approve a land swap of 5,000 acres of private land for 3,000 acres of public land near the mining area. Rep. Renzi agreed to support the land exchange bill if, as part of the swap, Resolution bought a 480-acre alfalfa field in his hometown, Sierra Vista, owned by Rep. Renzi’s former business partner, James Sandlin.
After Resolution Copper refused the deal, Rep. Renzi solicited the Petrified Forest Group, an investment group that was looking to put together a separate land swap, to purchase the land for $4 million. Rep. Renzi promised that if the Petrified Forest Group bought the land, he would make sure that the swap got through the Natural Resources Committee. Ultimately, Petrified Forest paid $2.6 million for Mr. Sandlin’s land and gave him a note for an additional $2 million. Throughout and after the negotiations, Rep. Renzi and Mr. Sandlin concealed their relationship from the company. After the group purchased the alfalfa field, however, Resolution Copper complained that Petrified Forest had received priority treatment and Rep. Renzi dropped his support for the land swap.
After receiving the land contract, through a series of transactions, Mr. Sandlin paid Rep. Renzi $733,000 all of which was concealed from Resolution Copper and Petrified Forest. In
addition, Rep. Renzi omitted both the money owed to him by Mr. Sandlin and the $733,000 payment by Mr. Sandlin from his 2005 financial disclosure forms.
On the same day Mr. Sandlin received the first payment from the Petrified Forest Group, he wrote a $200,000 check to a wine company owned by Rep. Renzi. A few days later, the wine company was sold to Rep. Renzi’s father. Rep. Renzi has claimed that Mr. Sandlin paid the $200,000 to settle a debt stemming from a previous business transaction involving land in northeast Arizona. This explanation is contradicted, however, by the fact that Rep. Renzi failed to report the payment on his 2005 financial disclosure form and the debt bore no relation to the wine company business.
Rep. Renzi has been charged with honest services wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, engaging in transactions with criminally derived funds and conspiracy for his role in the land swap.
Insurance Fraud
Rep. Renzi ran Renzi and Company, a company licensed in Virginia and Arizona, which obtained property and liability insurance for coverage for clients. Andrew Beardall served as the company’s president and general counsel from November 2002 through December 2003.
The company contracted with an insurance broker in New York, North Island Facilities, Ltd. (“NIF”), which, in turn, contracted with Safeco Insurance Company (“Safeco”) to insure Rep. Renzi’s non-profit clients. Premiums received by Renzi and Company were to be held in trust and then passed on to NIF and Safeco, minus a 10% commission.
From December 2001 through June 2003, Rep. Renzi and Mr. Beardall misappropriated more than $400,000 of clients’ funds and failed to pay NIF $236,000 in insurance premiums, leading NIF to cancel the coverage of those insured. To conceal the theft, Rep. Renzi sent letters to his insurance customers falsely claiming that their coverage had been moved to another company, attaching fake certificates of coverage in the name of Jimcor Insurance Company, actually an insurance broker that did not issue policies. When state insurance regulators investigated the cancelled policies, Rep. Renzi and Mr. Beardall claimed that the false certificates were sent due to a clerical error. In a series of transactions between December 2001 and March 2002, Rep. Renzi moved over $300,000 of the misappropriated money to his congressional campaign.
Rep. Renzi has been charged with insurance fraud and making false statements to insurance regulators.