Town official says developer made threat
Police are investigating accusation in Florence
The town manager of Florence said water company owner and developer George Johnson threatened him on Friday and police are investigating.
Johnson has been in court the past two weeks as a defendant in a bribery trial. His namesake water company has about 25,000 water and 35,000 wastewater customers in the far east Valley.
His company has faced a variety of troubles in recent years, including sewage leaks and service issues.
On Friday, Florence Town Manager Brent Billingsley stopped to photograph something leaking from a Johnson Utilities truck, Police Chief Dan Hughes told the news site Pinalcentral.com. The truck driver photographed Billingsley, and later Johnson called the town manager.
“On Friday June 8th, I received a short phone call from George Johnson (owner of Johnson Utilities), during which he made a serious threat against me,” Billingsley said in a statement to
The Arizona Republic Monday. “Immediately after the call, a police report was filed with the Florence Po-
lice Department to ensure the matter is dealt with in an appropriate manner. That investigation remains ongoing and any additional questions should be directed to the Florence Police Department.”
Billingsley declined to discuss the matter “out of respect for the ongoing investigation,” a city spokesman said.
Hughes declined, through the spokesman, to discuss the issue Monday with
Johnson could not be reached Monday for comment.
The city also declined to provide a copy of a police report of the incident, saying it first needed a review by a city attorney who was out of town for a week.
The trial involving Johnson is expected to last weeks. Federal prosecutors accuse him of bribing a former utility regulator by paying the regulator’s wife for political work and also attempting to purchase the couple a $300,000 piece of real estate.
In return, prosecutors say the regulator, Gary Pierce, helped pass rate increases for Johnson’s water company.
Johnson, Pierce, Pierce’s wife Sherry, and lobbyist Jim Norton are the defendants.