A Texas man has pleaded guilty to his role in a romance scam in which women from Arizona and other parts of the country were cheated out of a total of about $1.6 million by someone often pretending to be a U.S. Army general.

A federal judge late Friday threw out charges by former state Rep. Don Shooter that his civil rights were violated by an investigation that resulted in his ouster last year from the state House.

Gary Pierce and his fellow co-defendants aren’t off the hook yet, despite the government’s failed attempt to convince a jury they were part of a scheme to bribe the former utility regulator.

A majority of the jurors in the “Ghost Lobby” trial voted for acquittal for all four defendants, foreperson Taryn Jeffries said in an exclusive interview with the Arizona Capitol Times.

After just about three and a half days of deliberation, 12 jurors could not reach a unanimous decision in the “Ghost Lobby” trial, and U.S. District Court Judge John Tuchi declared a mistrial.

The admission by a juror in the Corporation Commission bribery trial that she made some notes at home and brought them to deliberations could lead to a new trial even after all the testimony has been heard.

Arizona’s most significant public corruption case since the 1988 impeachment of Gov. Evan Mecham has come down to this: Four defendants. Fourteen days of testimony. Nearly four dozen witnesses.

The so-called “Ghost Lobby” trial was the summer blockbuster no juror bought a ticket to see.

Gayle Burns will be allowed to testify in the so-called “Ghost Lobby” trial after U.S. District Court Judge John Tuchi determined the defense had opened the door to her testimony.

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.