Raid on Renzi

Piling on Sweaterman's post, it's good to see that our local corrupt congresscritter, Rep. Rick Renzi, is in more trouble.

In a second blow to House Republicans this week, the FBI raided a business tied to the family of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) Thursday afternoon as part of an ongoing investigation into the three-term lawmaker.

Details of the raid on Patriot Insurance Agency in Sonoita, Ariz., were not immediately available. Renzi’s most recent financial disclosure form lists the
business as an asset belonging to his wife, Roberta, and valued at $1 million to
$5 million.

Little is known about the inquiries into Renzi’s activities, but according to media reports the Justice Department has been running a two-track
investigation into Renzi regarding a land deal, as well as a piece of
legislation he helped steer that may have improperly benefited a major campaign contributor. It was not immediately clear which investigation the raid
pertained to, and neither his attorney nor his spokesman could be immediately
reached for comment.http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/19/renzi-raid/

Couldn't happen to a more deserving scumbag.

In 2003, Rep. Renzi sponsored legislation that dealt hundreds of millions of
dollars to his father’s business while, according to environmentalists, devastating the San Pedro River. A key beneficiary of Rep. Renzi’s legislation was ManTechInternational Corp., a Fairfax, Virginia based defense contractor
where Rep. Renzi’s father, Retired Major General Eugene Renzi, is an executive
vice president. The company, which has an office in Sierra Vista, Arizona, was
the largest contributor to Renzi’s 2002 congressional campaign and the second
largest in his 2004 campaign.

If Rep. Renzi accepted campaign contributions from ManTech in exchange for
pushing through legislation benefitting the company, he would be in violation of
federal bribery laws. His actions on behalf of his father may have also violated
conflict-of-interest rules and the requirement thatMembers of the House
conduct themselves “at all times in a manner that reflects creditably on the
House.”http://www.beyonddelay.org/node/94

And it's good to see that he's off the house intelligence committee. The last thing anybody who's talked to Mr. Renzi would accuse him of is "intelligence".

As a result of the raid, Renzi is stepping down from his seat on the
House Intelligence Committee, according to a statement from his office
obtained Thursday evening by Roll Call.

Unfortunately, we haven't been able to beat him at the polls in the past 3 elections (all 3 times, the dems have run truly uninspiring opponents). So maybe we can get rid of him through the courts.