CHICAGO (AP) – A federal judge has dismissed a public corruption case against a construction contractor even before the end of trial testimony. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly on Friday dismissed a charge of wire fraud against Debra Fazio as part of an alleged $700,000 kickback scheme with the highway commissioner of Bloomingdale Township, near Chicago. Kennelly concluded that prosecutors had not proven that Fazio, owner of Bulldog Earth Movers Inc., knew of the plot or participated in it. The highway commissioner at the time, Robert Czernek, pleaded guilty in March to fraudulently accepting $280,000 in kickbacks. He agreed to cooperate with the government in prosecuting Fazio and her boyfriend, Mario Giannini, a longtime Bulldog employee. The case continues against Giannini.