Utah County Attorney Kay Bryson said he was trying to catch a burglar when he asked a Utah County sheriff's detective to install county-owned video surveillance equipment in the Salt Lake condo where his son lived.
What he caught instead, he says, was a videotape showing a romantic tryst involving his now estranged wife, state legislator Kathy Bryson and another man.
"It did not catch a burglar; it caught an unfaithful wife is what it caught," Kay Bryson said, acknowledging he threatened to release the tape after his wife testified during debate on the House floor this past session supporting a bill on domestic violence, saying she had been a victim of such violence and implying he was involved.
Rep. Kathy Bryson, R-Orem, says her "mafia" husband is abusing his power, using county equipment and an off-duty county employee to pursue a personal agenda against her in a bitter divorce.
While Kay Bryson says the equipment was installed last fall to determine the "unknown" person entering the Salt Lake condo, his son, Scott, said he knew all along it was his mother who was frequenting the residence in his absence while he was out of town.
"Who else was it going to be?"
The controversy resulted in Kathy Bryson filing a complaint on Sept. 1 with the Salt Lake police against Utah County sheriff's detective Dennis Harris, who is accused of installing the equipment at a residence where the department shows no complaints of theft or burglary.
Although initial incident reports filed with police agencies are classified as public under Utah's law governing records, a request early this month by the Deseret Morning News for a copy of the report was denied, with officials saying the ongoing investigation precludes releasing the details.
Kathy Bryson says she can't even get a copy of her own report that she filed with the police department because it is restricted, and the Utah County sheriff said such use of equipment in other jurisdictions is routine if it involves a potential criminal matter.
"I don't deny that I was with someone who was with me in the living room of my condo having lunch," she said. "What I am bothered by is that the Utah County Sheriff's Department can do something like this when it is nothing related to drugs, nothing related to a burglary, nothing related to trespassing in Salt Lake City, and not report it to Salt Lake police."
It is yet another ugly chapter in the bitter pending divorce between two high-profile political figures involving allegations of fraud and adultery against her on his part and counter-allegations of abuse of power that Kathy Bryson says have left her with no authorities to turn to.
Fallout over the controversy led Kathy Bryson to withdraw her filing for re-election earlier this year.
Kathy Bryson waited almost a year to report the discovery of the clandestine video equipment, which she said she was made aware of by Kay Bryson in October of last year, when he confronted her about what he allegedly caught on the tape.
Scott Bryson says he was traveling out of town each week on business and knew his mother was using his place for meetings.
After she showed up one day, surprised to see him there, he eventually had a conversation with his father about installing the equipment, he said.
"She is telling him all these lies . . . and I want to get to the bottom of this."
The equipment was installed, and Scott Bryson said it only took a couple of weeks to discover a tape with incriminating evidence against his mother.
The condo in question was occupied by Scott Bryson from June until December of last year, but is in Kathy Bryson's name. The son paid the rent to her, she said, adding that her son knew she frequently stopped by the apartment in his absence.
Utah County Sheriff Jim Tracy said Kay Bryson came to the department concerned about thefts of property from the condominium.
"He asked if we could install some video equipment to find out who was stealing their property."
Tracy said the request was not viewed as unusual, even though the alleged thefts were taking place in Salt Lake City, because the department routinely assists other jurisdictions throughout the state because of its expertise.
"We do this all the time."
The employee, a detective with technical expertise in the area, did it while off duty, Tracy said.
"The equipment wasn't being used at the time."
Salt Lake Police Capt. Mark Peck said a records check of the address shows no complaints of theft from the residence, and Kay Bryson said he turned to a Utah County Sheriff's detective out of convenience, rather than notifying local authorities.
Kay Bryson did say his daughters had suspected infidelity on the part of his wife six months earlier but denied the equipment was set up to catch his wife in a compromising situation.
"If I had known or believed it was my wife involved, the equipment would have been installed in the bedroom so it would have caught her there in a sexual act. It was not installed in that manner. It was simply to see who was entering the apartment and nothing more."
Kathy Bryson said whatever the reason, it was a violation of her privacy, and if there were concerns about a burglary, it should have been reported to police. She waited to report the allegations, she said, because of the fear of her husband's power in the law enforcement community.
"That is the reason I came forward," she said, "even though this is very uncomfortable. . . . He used people in the Utah County Sheriff's Department for his own reasons. . . . He is the godfather, the kingpin, who continues to use his authority for personal reasons."
E-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com