Rick Renzi
Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz. waits to speak at a Republican fundraiser in Scottsdale, Ariz., in this Oct. 4, 2006 file photo. Renzi has been indicted for extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other charges related to a land deal in Arizona. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

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Legal and political pressures on Rep. Rick Renzi are mounting amid federal criminal charges that set off calls for the Arizona Republican to leave Congress sooner rather than later.

Renzi was under a cloud for more than a year before a federal investigation culminated in a 26-page indictment against him and two other men.

The indictment accuses Renzi of engineering a swap of federally owned mining land to benefit himself and a former business partner and stealing from his insurance company's clients.

"Congressman Renzi deprived the citizens of Arizona of his honest services as a United States elected representative," U.S. Attorney Diane J. Humetewa said Friday while announcing the indictment issued a day earlier in Tucson.

Renzi announced on Aug. 23 that he wouldn't seek re-election in Arizona's mostly rural 1st Congressional District, but GOP leadership reacted to the indictment by pressuring him to step down.

In Washington, House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio called the charges against Renzi "completely unacceptable for a member of Congress" and said Renzi should "seriously consider whether he can continue to effectively represent his constituents under these circumstances."

In Arizona, one of the candidates running for Renzi's seat also said the congressman should leave office. "It is unfortunate that we can hold so little faith or trust in our elected representatives," Democrat Howard Shanker said.

The indictment's 35 counts include charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, insurance fraud and extortion. Most of the charges allege Renzi, 49, used his office to promote a land swap to collect on a debt owed by James W. Sandlin, a former Renzi associate.

Renzi, Sandlin, of Sherman, Texas, and Andrew Beardall, of Rockville, Md., another of the congressman's former business associates, were to be arraigned in Tucson on March 6. Convictions on the most serious charges carry maximum penalties of 20 years in prison.

Renzi, who is one of 24 co-chairmen for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in Arizona, has denied wrongdoing. His attorney, Kelly Kramer, issued a brief statement saying Renzi would "fight these charges until he is vindicated and his family's name is restored."

The congressman had been considered in political peril ever since FBI agents raided his wife's insurance business in the southern Arizona town of Sonoita in October 2006. He immediately stepped down from the House Intelligence Committee, and followed that by taking a leave of absence from the House Financial Services and Natural Resources committees.

Authorities accuse Renzi of using his position as a member of the Natural Resources Committee to push land deals for Sandlin. Renzi wanted Sandlin to make money so the congressman could be paid for an earlier land deal they made together, according to the indictment.

"Renzi was having financial difficulty throughout 2005 and needed a substantial infusion of funds to keep his insurance business solvent and to maintain his personal lifestyle," the indictment reads.

Attorneys for Sandlin did not returns calls Friday seeking comment.

In 2005, Renzi promised to support proposed land exchanges sought by an investment firm and a company that owned mineral rights to a copper deposit on federal property in his district, but only if they bought property owned by Sandlin, the indictment states.

The mining company didn't make the purchase, prompting Renzi to tell the business' leaders, "No Sandlin property, no bill," the indictment states.

The investment group agreed to purchase Sandlin's land, and Renzi received $733,000 from Sandlin for helping with the sale, the indictment said.

The identities of the company and the investment group were not specified in the indictment but were previously identified as Resolution Copper of Superior, Ariz., and Preserve Petrified Forest Land Investors of Las Vegas.

Resolution Copper on Friday issued a statement stating that it did not buy the Sandlin property after learning that Sandlin and Renzi "had a business relationship that made us uncomfortable."

Officials of the investment group could not be reached Friday, but manager Guy Inzalaco told The Associated Press in 2006 that the group felt "somewhat victimized."

The 27 counts in that part of the indictment included conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering.

Other charges including conspiracy, extortion and insurance fraud relate to allegations that Renzi funneled cash from his insurance firm in 2002 to fund his first campaign. Prosecutors allege Renzi and Beardall embezzled more than $400,000 in insurance premiums from Renzi's insurance business and misled customers and state insurance regulators.

Beardall's lawyer, Lucius T. Outlaw III, said his client is confident the facts will show he never tried to defraud the government or injure anyone.

Government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington applauded the Justice Department for holding Renzi "accountable given that his House colleagues refused to do so." The group has had Renzi on its "Most Corrupt Members of Congress" list for the last three years.

Associated Press writers Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington, Chris Kahn in Phoenix and Arthur Rotstein in Tucson contributed to this report.

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