Former County Commissioner Dee Waldron sold more than $23,400 worth of goods and services to Morgan County during his four-year term without filing disclosure forms about his business interests.
Many of the transactions with Waldron-owned businesses were made with county departments or projects he supervised as commissioner, records show.Of the total, nearly $14,700 went to Dee's Tires and more than $8,700 went to Dee's Dairy, according to a report in the Ogden Standard-Examiner.
Under Utah law, elected officials legally can transact business with the public body they represent if they file sworn statements disclosing their business interests and verbally disclose any business conflicts prior to discussion or approval of transactions.
Waldron acknowledged failing to file disclosure documents but said he was not aware of the statutory requirements.
"I absolutely would have filed a disclosure if I had known," Wal-dron said. "I don't think ignorance of the law makes me a criminal."
Documents involving Waldron's business dealings with the county were sent anonymously to the attorney general's office.
Chief criminal prosecutor Reed Richards said the documents have been reviewed but that the review did not rise to the level of an investigation and there was nothing to indicate criminal activity. He said a future investigation had not been ruled out if justified.
Richards said Waldron should have complied with the law but that the failure apparently was an error of omission.
Depending upon the amount of money involved, failure to file disclosures can be prosecuted as a second-degree felony. Other penalties could include removal from office and rescission of all transactions, meaning a violator could be forced to pay back any proceeds from any business deals.
The law also requires disclosure from elected officials who run businesses regulated by the public bodies they represent, whether they transact business with that body or not.
Waldron said that on the advice of the then-county attorney, he had abstained from voting on any transactions that would have brought revenues to his businesses.
But none of the commission minutes kept during Waldron's term reflect abstention on votes to approve requests for payment of purchases that involved his businesses.
Other commissioners who served with Waldron also said they could not remember him abstaining from any votes because of a conflict.
Waldron, however, said other commissioners were well aware of his business interests during his term, which ended in 1992.
Former Commission Chairman Jeff London and current Chairwoman Joan Patterson agreed and said possible conflicts had been discussed.
Patterson said the commission let the road and sheriff's departments decide where to buy tires and get them repaired. Because Waldron was the only dealer in the county with heavy equipment tires, it was logical for him to get that business, she said.
Waldron's business dealings as a commissioner have been a source of controversy among some residents, but he said the issue has been kept alive by a handful of political adversaries.