A federal judge has rejected a bid by a former utility regulator, his wife, a lobbyist and a utility executive to throw out criminal charges against them.

The name George Johnson has gained-state wide notoriety in the last year, but his reputation precedes him in Pinal County.

The legal fate of a former utility regulator, the head of a utility and a lobbyist facing bribery, conspiracy and fraud charges could depend on whether jurors believe the lobbyist's former wife.

A lobbyist is asking a judge to delete several allegations in an indictment that accuses him of serving as a middle man in a scheme to bribe an Arizona utility regulator on behalf of a water company owner.

A water company whose owner is charged with bribing a former Arizona utility regulator is opposing a subpoena that orders the Corporation Commission to turn over records as part of the criminal case.

An attorney representing indicted lobbyist Jim Norton said in court today the lobbyist’s ex-wife provided more than 250 pages of documents to the federal investigation that also includes former Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce, his wife Sherry Pierce and Johnson Utilities owner George Johnson.

Federal prosecutors are offering to tell defendants in the Corporation Commission bribery case who and what else they're investigating -- but only if they agree not to share that information with anyone else.

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.

The Arizona Corporation Commission is still without an ethics code, despite an initial pledge a year ago to come up with one and a federal bribery case casting a shadow over the regulatory body.

Citing the indictment of one of its former members, state utility regulators voted today to review a policy allowing utility company owners to pass along some of their personal income tax burden to customers.