Four owners of Picurro Pizza franchises have suddenly found themselves on the defensive following the arrest Sunday night of the company's namesake, Peter Picurro. "I think at this moment we're just trying to digest everything," said Anita Post, owner of the store at 4055 N. Oracle Road. Picurro, 44, was arrested over the weekend on a charge of soliciting sex with a minor. But the entrepreneurs who staked their livelihoods on his name may also pay a heavy price for Picurro's alleged misdeeds. With the exception of the two locations owned or co-owned by Picurro, the franchises operate independently from the restaurateur. In the eye of the public, however, they are one and the same. "This kind of thing happens all the time," said Alaina G. Levine, a local public relations expert and director of special projects at the University of Arizona College of Science. "What happens when the brand name itself becomes tainted in some way? How does the company survive?" It's an even trickier situation when the company and the individual responsible for tainting it share the same name. "There's a notion in the franchise business that what you're paying for is the reputation and good will of the parent, of the franchisor," said attorney Mick Rusing, of Rusing & Lopez LLC in Tucson. "There's at least an implied obligation on the part of the franchisor to not diminish the trade name."