02 June 2018

2 More Mesa Mormon Republicans Called To Testify in Gary Pierce Bribery Trial

It's getting very curious to follow a series of clues dropped by AZ Cap Media reporter Howie Fischer who's covering a grand jury trial now going on in Phoenix that started on Wednesday, June 1, 2018 against a former Mesa legislator and a Pinal County utility company that involves charges of bribery and fraud. There are also charges that Pierce sought to buy some land in east Mesa . . .
(Hang on to that clue for just a moment . . . save it for later)
The indictment mentions "an unindicted co-conspirator" . . .
Let's see if you can continue to follow all these clues:
. . .  Who happens to be the former wife of lobbyist Jim Norton, who's firm employed Sherry Pierce, Gary Pierce's wife . . .
Ashley Adams, represents Sherry Pierce . . .
ACC bribery trial includes angry ex-wife
Originally published June 1, 2018 @ 5:56 am
The government's theory is that Johnson (owner of Johnson Utilities that provides services to Queen Creek and San Tan Valley) used lobbyist Jim Norton to funnel funds to Gary Pierce, not directly but by having Norton's wife provide a $3,500-a-month contract to Sherry Pierce, a contract that Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Galati said did not actually require she do any work . . . Adams intends to call former Congressman Matt Salmon and current Congressman Andy Biggs, for whom she did work.
The defense lawyers also contend that there was a legitimate reason for Johnson to not only contract with Kelly Norton, but to insist she, in turn, contract with Sherry Pierce. They said Johnson had an interest in issues in the San Tan Valley area of Pinal County and Sherry Pierce had political contacts there, allowing her to do things like look for a Mormon Republican to run for the Board of Supervisors.
WHY MORMON?

"Who better to be hired as a contractor than somebody who knows everybody in the Republican Party?” Adams asked. . . And to buttress Sherry Pierce's credentials, Adams intends to call former Congressman Matt Salmon and current Congressman Andy Biggs, for whom she did work.
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Blogger Note: "Revolving-door" former U.S. Congressman Matt Salmon (who has a public relations firm with his wife), resigned from office before the end of his term to make way for Andy Biggs, the former President of AZ Senate, to succeed him. He announced at the same time he was hired by ASU (as a lobbyist and influence-peddler) as Vice-President of Government Affairs.
< He's seen in the image to the left.
Matt Salmon appeared with AZ State Bob Worsley, another Mesa Mormon Republican, a Mega-Millionaire who defeated the infamous SB1070 Russell Pearce, who also "knows everybody". He came out in public at a Mesa City Council as the private real estate speculator [mixing up trust in public office and gains in private profits] who's gambling what he says is $20M on a $130M "Upscale-Living" 15-story 75-room luxury hotel and 75 "above-market"-rent apartments in a mixed-used project with Habitat Metro atop a parking lot in downtown Mesa.
Mesa city officials and the Mesa City Council passed a Memorandum of Understanding and approved a development agreement fairly quickly. As you can see, also, Worsley's speculative proposal appears on the front cover of Compass Magazine obviously endorsed by the Mesa Chamber of Commerce as a Stakeholders Prospectus 2018
One of the partners in this speculative project is Kent Lyons, his campaign manager, whose registered at least 8 more holding companies for recent property transactions. In Snowflake, AZ Worsley bought up two biomass energy utility plants with 10-year contracts to supply SRP and APS, along with 7,000 acres of land. Another 40,000 acres in Arizona and New Mexico is controlled by NZLegacy. 
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More clues . . . Are you still following the trail?
" . . . Galati told jurors that Pierce was interested in buying some land in east Mesa. Galati said there was a scheme being cooked up to have Jim Norton buy the property and have Johnson pay for it. . . . Galati said part of the reason it didn't happen was because Kelly Norton balked, saying it would endanger her real estate license. And in the end, he said, the bank wouldn't accept the offer.
But Patricia Gitre, Gary Pierce's attorney, said there was never any discussion about Johnson buying the property for her client.
"It's a made-up story,” Adams said of the whole government's case. 
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RE: Land is east Mesa/Pinal County
At one time, the City of Mesa owned an 11,000-acre "Water Farm" in Pinal County, pledging to sell that in pieces with an estimated value of $100 Million dollars to use the proceeds to pay for a baseball sports complex Wrigleyville West instead of asking Mesa taxpayers to approve a bond issue 2012 . . . that didn't happen.
In early April 2018  a new 14,000+-acre land development bordering east Mesa and going all the way south to Casa Grande was announced as Saints Holdings.
Re: The Question Why Mormon?
This map might explain that



 






  



 

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