Renzi a (Former) Spook? From a lawyer correspondent, "Hmmmm, so was Renzi a spook or what? And is he tied to any of the appropriations investigations?" Check this out, from the Arizona Republic:

Blurry background

For a national political figure who served on the powerful House Intelligence Committee, Renzi's background is, as described by Wikipedia, "unclear."

He was born June 11, 1959, in Fort Monmouth, N.J. His family moved to Sierra Vista in 1975, and he completed high school there before getting a degree in criminal justice at Northern Arizona University in 1980.

Exactly what Renzi did for the next two decades is blurry. He has said he worked overseas for the Defense Department, but research turned up no information on which agency, where he was assigned or what duties he had.

Renzi founded an insurance company in 1989 and bought a six-bedroom home in Virginia two years later for $765,000. He and his wife, Roberta, lived there with their children for more than a decade.

In the late 1990s, Renzi opened an insurance agency in Sonoita and registered to vote in Santa Cruz County in 1999. A year later, he bought a vineyard in the area.

During fall 2001, a new congressional district was formed in Arizona, and Renzi bought a house in Flagstaff. He established himself as a voter there and, a month later, announced his candidacy. In interviews at the time, Renzi shrugged off the label of outsider, saying, "Let the chips fall where they may if I am a carpetbagger."

Astonishing that so little is known about a man who has already served as a congressman. This is from his home town newspaper! Of the state he already represented. Astonishing.

Update: Love the dry observation posted as a comment to this 'Renzi is a secretive mystery, now retiring' Arizona Republic article by a reader, krazy1472:

"Renzi was endorsed by the Arizona Republic in all three general elections."

Posted by Laura at August 27, 2007 11:00 AM