Judge sets prison-report date for former Arizona congressman

PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge is ordering former U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi to begin serving his prison sentence in a corruption case.

U.S. District Judge David Bury ordered Renzi to surrender on Feb. 13 to serve his three-year sentence on corruption, money laundering and other charges

Bury’s order Thursday noted that it’s now final that Renzi lost an initial appeal and says Renzi’s planned filing of an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t automatically block lower courts’ proceedings.

He was convicted of conspiring to use his House seat to make two companies buy land owned by his former business associate so that the associate could repay a debt he owed to Renzi.

Renzi represented Arizona’s 1st Congressional District from 2003 until early 2009.