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.

A state hearing officer recommends the Arizona Corporation Commission seize control of Johnson Utilities from the current management, at least temporarily, and install its own manager.

Indicted water utility owner George Johnson is now being investigated by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office for allegedly threatening the Florence town manager, Brent Billingsley.

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.

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.

Sherry Pierce says she had no idea she was doing work on behalf of water utility owner George Johnson while she was employed by KNB Consulting and her husband sat on the Arizona Corporation Commission.

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.

Kelly Norton was back on the stand in the “Ghost Lobby” trial Tuesday, this time under cross examination by a defense team intent on distorting her credibility in the eyes of the jury.