No probe is in sight over DA donations

Is it too late for the Miller campaign to recover from this?

Prosecutors refuse to open case, and the CEO whose workers gave Miller their bonus says he did nothing wrong
By Derek P. Jensen The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:10/26/2006 01:11:36 AM MDT

Dell Loy Hansen has no idea if bonuses given to his employees then donated to Republican district-attorney hopeful Lohra Miller were illegal. He just wanted to topple Democratic DA David Yocom's "evil empire." "We don't know, we're no lawyers," the Wasatch Property Management CEO said Wednesday. Now, no one will ever know. Prosecutors decided Wednesday that the Salt Lake County ordinance allegedly violated contains no criminal penalty for non-officeholders such as Miller. Therefore, they opted not to waste taxpayer money on an investigation into the $24,000 in alleged "proxy" campaign cash mailed to Miller from Wasatch employees. The joint legal opinion - from nonpolitical appointees in the Utah Attorney General's Office and the county DA's office - did little to appease Miller, who insists the Wasatch donations were voluntary and again blamed her Democratic opponent, Sim Gill, for "dirty campaign tactics." "Having this kind of slanderous allegations made in the last weeks of an election," she said, "the damage can never be repaired." Hansen said he backed Miller because he wanted to do whatever he could do to take out the "evil empire," which he defined as Yocom and Gill. "They're the same person to me," Hansen said. Hansen also disputes the account of former employee Shauna Hardy, who told reporters she was "forced" to give a $2,000 bonus to Miller, calling it unethical. "We were very zealous in trying to get a better prosecutor in Salt Lake than David Yocom," Hansen said. "That's our biggest sin. We will concede that. What we will never concede is that people were coerced." Hansen acknowledged trotting out Miller in June before his employees for an introduction. ''I said, 'This is Lohra Miller. She is running for District Attorney. I'd like to do everything I can to get her elected.' '' Days later, the Wasatch CEO issued 20 employees $2,000 bonus checks along with a letter stating, "please consider donating to the candidate or cause of your choice." Twelve gave the cash to Miller, prompting cries of "proxy" contributions, outlawed by Salt Lake County election rules. Hansen says the money had no strings attached. And since income tax would be charged beyond the bonus amount, he noted, employees would be paying out of pocket if they donated the full $2,000. "They could have gambled it away for all I know," he said. "You've got the money. Have fun. Do something good with it. That's all we said." One employee gave his bonus to a Salt Lake City Council candidate, according to Hansen. Still, nervous Wasatch employees bombarded their boss with calls and e-mails Wednesday, wondering if the donations to Miller were illegal. Sally McPherron, a property manager for Wasatch, donated her $2,000 to Miller in June. McPherron said employees were told to give their bonuses to the candidate of their choice, but it was mentioned that Hansen supported Miller. "I was not at all [coerced]. I was happy to do it," she said. "I would definitely like to see Lohra Miller win." Lance Swedish, another Wasatch employee concurs, insisting there was no pressure to donate to Miller. "I made the donation willingly," he said. Even so, John Flynn, the retired University of Utah law professor who called for a probe, said despite the prosecutors' stand, voters are entitled to know who is financing campaigns. "It still is an ethical issue," he said. "It strikes me that it violates the spirit of [the county] regulation." Hansen counters he simply was compelled by his distaste for Yocom, who he said "crucified [former county mayor] Nancy Workman and crucified us." The latter reference stems from a bidding war over the old First Security Building on 400 South and Main, when Hansen alleges the DA threatened him to stay away from the building, which Yocom coveted for his attorneys. Yocom laughed off the accusation, noting Hansen triumphed in the end. "The last time I saw the man he put his arm around me and sang my praises," he said. "I thought it was an open competition to bid on the property. We lost out." Meantime, Hansen characterized Hardy as a disgruntled employee, who left the company last month in a contract dispute over commission, not the donation issue. He alleges Hardy's husband recently threatened to make the company's chief operating officer "a criminal," which Shauna Hardy disputes. "That's a pretty typical response - try to slander my good name," said Hardy, who adds she left Wasatch when her contract was changed shortly after getting bonus. "It was kind of like two slaps in the face right in a row. This is about doing the thing that is ethically right." And the lesson for Hansen: He's done with politics. "We will never donate to a politician again," he said. "You have inoculated us to that one. You guys are going to save me a ton of money." djensen@sltrib.com --- * Tribune reporter ROSEMARY WINTERS contributed to this story.