later worked together to put pressure on the ACC to get approval for the water company. This caused concern about Rhodes receiving favorable treatment from county staff. Rhodes had also donated to congressional members of Arizona. In a separate case, the Arizona Department of Water Resources granted an application to another Las Vegas developer, Leonard Mardian, for water rights in Mohave County. Mardian's application had been filed after Rhodes had already requested the water rights, but Mardian's was approved first as it was considered a complete application. This reduced the amount of water that Rhodes would be eligible to take. Rhodes sued the water department, stating that his application should have been approved first. Rhodes' affiliation with a Nevada politician became a topic of concern during his effort to get water approval in Arizona. In the 2000s, Rhodes had close connections with members of the Clark County Commission, and he was a major financial contributor to commission campaigns. Commissioner Erin Kenny was a resident in Rhodes Ranch, and she was later charged in a bribery scheme that was investigated through Operation G-Sting. Strip club owner Michael Galardi, a witness in the case, told the FBI that Rhodes had paid commissioner Kenny $20,000 a month to work in his favor while she was on the county commission, a claim that Rhodes denied. Rhodes was also a significant donor to Kenny's failed 2002 campaign for lieutenant governor of Nevada. After she left the commission in 2003, Rhodes hired her to work as a consultant for $200,000 a year. He continued to pay for her services even after she admitted to bribery later in 2003. Rhodes' relationship with Kenny became a subject of interest for Arizona officials. Rhodes responded that he was no longer paying Kenny and that the matter was irrelevant to ACC's approval of water rights. However, in July 2007, a judge ordered that the ACC's investigation into Rhodes be reopened after the revelations involving Kenny came to light. The ACC had questions about why Rhodes continued to pay Kenny $200,000 a year after she admitted to the bribery scheme. In late 2007, Rhodes sold his Arizona water company to an Illinois firm that would manage it, negating the need for him to get approval from the ACC. The sale made it unlikely that Rhodes would have to testify about his relationship with Kenny. He sold the company in hopes of