Principals in Bonneville Pacific have been invited to meet with federal prosecutors to tell their side of the story before prosecutors seek indictments from a grand jury.
Prosecutors have until the end of the year to seek indictments against former Bonneville Pacific officers and one of the company's attorneys on certain tax charges or give up prosecution on those charges altogether.Assistant U.S. Attorney Stewart Walz sent letters this week to several former officers and the attorney, inviting them to contact his secretary by Monday if they wish a meeting to discuss any wrong-doings they may have committed.
Such letters are commonly sent out in complex white-collar cases that are "document intensive," one government source told the Deseret News.
The government's motivation is clarity. In such letters, prosecutors typically explain that they believe they have a criminal case against an individual and plan to seek an indictment but are interested in hearing any explanation that might put the person's conduct in a different light.
The person is then invited to schedule a meeting if he wishes.
When contacted, the officers' various attorneys all declined comment.
Former officers Wynn Johnson, Raymond Hixson, Carl Peterson and Robert Wood and one-time company attorney David Hirschi all signed waivers last spring that waived any statutes of limitations that expired this year.
But by signing the waivers, the officers gave prosecutors until Jan. 1, 1995, to seek indictments on those charges.
In exchange, the men were assured that the government wouldn't seek indictments until Oct. 1, if at all. The delay gave the men and their attorneys more time to convince prosecutors that they were not guilty of any crimes.
This letter apparently gives them a final chance to do just that.
Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corra-di-ni was not asked to sign a waiver, her attorney Max Wheeler said last spring.
Did she receive a letter this week? That's unclear. "I don't know if she got a letter from the task force," said Thom Dillon, her aide. "I know that she's in a very good mood and if I had gotten something like that, I wouldn't be. So I don't think she did."
Wheeler could not be reached for comment.