Prosecutor is said to have leaked info
Kent Morgan was fired last month and currently is appealing the decision before the county's personnel board.
According to a letter sent by the district attorney's office to the Salt Lake County Career Services Council, Morgan was fired for revealing confidential information to Steve Maese, who was co-owner of the Doll House. Maese is scheduled to go to trial on April 23 on six felony counts, including money laundering, exploiting a prostitute and a second-degree felony pattern of unlawful activity.
Maese apparently made some sort of statement to police that made them believe he knew information only prosecutors involved in screening the case would have known, according to the letter. The letter also indicates Morgan was involved in confidential meetings in which prosecutors screened the charges against Maese, a fact Morgan disputed to KUTV news.
The letter does not specify what information Maese supposedly knew that only prosecutors would have known.
"That information was only known within the District Attorney's Office," the letter states. "Without an inside source he wouldn't have had access to the information"
Miller's office was "notified by outside sources that you were providing confidential internal information to a defendant in a criminal case that the office was prosecuting," the letter states. Miller declined to comment late Friday, since it is a personnel matter.
Several attempts to reach Morgan Friday were unsuccessful, but the 24-year veteran Salt Lake County prosecutor told KUTV he didn't do anything wrong. He believes his firing was politically motivated.
"No I was not a mole in the DA's office for any purpose," Morgan told KUTV news.
Miller and Morgan are political enemies. Morgan ran against her for district attorney in 2006 but lost at the Republican convention.
"I think the office is a professional office," Morgan told KUTV. "I think people with political agendas don't always act in a professional way."
Maese worked on Morgan's campaign, and the two are thought to consider each other friends.
But that's as far as it goes, Morgan said.
"I stayed away from my friend's case," Morgan said in an earlier interview with the Deseret Morning News. "I referred him to an attorney and didn't discuss the case with him at all and maintained my friendship."
Maese declined to comment.
Recent comments
If you're going to insult someone, perhaps you should learn how...
Get the facts straight | April 15, 2008 at 9:17 p.m.
People are inocent till proven guilty. charges are brought up on...
Scott G | April 15, 2008 at 3:37 p.m.
Who is Steven Maese?
Who? | April 15, 2008 at 11:04 a.m.
