Arizona Officials Add Charges Against Former Representative

Federal prosecutors in Arizona have added several new charges to their public corruption indictment against former Rep. Rick Renzi.

Renzi pleaded not guilty to the new insurance fraud counts through his attorney during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Tucson on Thursday. Trial for Renzi and three co-defendants is set for Jan. 20.

Renzi now faces 48 counts, many related to his alleged efforts to swap federally owned mining land to benefit himself and a former business partner who is a co-defendant. Other counts are related to his alleged raiding of his family insurance company’s accounts to fund his election campaigns. He previously faced 44 counts.

The charges include conspiracy, racketeering, extortion, insurance fraud and money-laundering.

The 51-year-old Republican represented Arizona’s sprawling 1st Congressional District for three terms before declining to seek re-election in 2008.