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PHOENIX -- Attorney General Terry Goddard is defending his demand that State Treasurer David Petersen step down as part of a plea deal. Goddard conceded that an extensive investigation by his agency turned up no evidence that Petersen misused his office. Instead, the crime to which Petersen actually pleaded on Wednesday deals only with his failure to disclose $4,200 he received from the sale of Character First! education materials to schools -- a sale that Goddard said was perfectly legal -- and his failure to list on that form his link to several non-profit corporations. But Goddard insisted that the deal include a provision that Petersen step down from his $70,000-a-year job before he is sentenced on Dec. 1 -- less than two months before he would have left office anyway. "It's a serious mistake," Goddard said of the crime which Pedersen admitted. "It involves a hiding of information which was clearly important information," Goddard continued, information which all elected officials must provide. And Goddard said the plea provides "final closure" to the investigation that started in February. Petersen, 56, would not comment after entering the plea, which could also result in up to six months in jail and fines totaling $4,500. The deal promises no specific sentence; Goddard said he is not making any recommendations to Maricopa County Superior Court Judge James Keppel. But Craig Henley, his attorney, said Petersen did not object to the demand. He noted Petersen, elected in 2002, had decided months ago not to run for reelection when his four-year term ends Dec. 31. He said Petersen, who previously was a state senator from Mesa, is anxious to "move on from public life." Henley said Petersen possesses state licenses to sell both real estate and insurance -- at least for the time being: Henley said he will ask Keppel to specifically recommend when he imposes sentence on Dec. 1 that both state agencies not strip him of those licenses. Gov. Janet Napolitano, who would have to appoint a replacement, said she has a "short list" of two or three contenders who would have to be a Republican like Petersen. That person would serve only until Jan. 1 when the winner of the race between Republican Dean Martin and Democrat Rano Singh takes office. The deal caps an investigation which began in February when Goddard's office executed a search warrant of Petersen's offices. Investigators got a court commissioner to say there was "probable cause" that Petersen was guilty of theft, having a conflict of interest, and participating in a fraudulent scheme or practice. None of that bore out. "The investigation found no evidence that defendant stole, fraudulent obtained, misused, or wrongfully controlled public funds," according to a statement submitted to Keppel by Assistant Attorney General E.G. Noyes Jr. For example, investigators found that a Petersen did not keep a $1,500 honorarium for a speech he made as treasurer, instead putting it into a Arizona Communities of Character, a non-profit corporation Petersen founded. And the training materials Petersen sold to schools -- the sale that resulted in that $4,200 in commissions from the Character Training Institute -- did not involve improper influence. What investigators did find, Noyes said, was "numerous issues pertaining to defendant's performance of his duties and management of his office." But those, he conceded, "were found to be outside the scope of a criminal investigation." Wanda Simeona, who had been Petersen's executive assistant, resigned in January after complaining in a letter to Goddard of everything from low morale and high staff turnover in Petersen's office to letting his children and a friend use a state computer. Goddard's inquiry also has had effects on the office which could leave state taxpayers with financial liabilities. Tony Malaj, who had been Petersen's chief of staff when the investigation started, has filed a $3.5 million "whistleblower" claim. Malaj, who still works for the agency and still earns his $93,000-a-year salary, said his duties were stripped away by Petersen for sharing information about what he knew with the Attorney General's Office.