On Tuesday, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss all charges against former Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce, his wife, Sherry Pierce, lobbyist Jim Norton and utility owner George Johnson.

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.

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.

Jim Norton said on the witness stand Tuesday he did not force his now ex-wife, Kelly Norton, to hire Sherry Pierce at her firm, but that he urged her to do so because he had a stake in their success.

Defense attorneys in the so-called “Ghost Lobby” trial said “normal folks” might not find the activities of the defendants acceptable, but the government failed to prove corruption was their driving force.