Workman trial awaits jury verdict

After six days of testimony and argument, eight Salt Lake County residents are deciding the fate of Nancy Workman, the former county mayor who is charged with felony misuse of public money.

The case went to the jury late Wednesday afternoon, after Workman's lawyers finished presenting their case and after the two sides made their closing arguments. Jurors headed home eight hours later — at 12:30 a.m. — and will resume deliberations this morning.

"This was a very lengthy trial," 3rd District Judge Judith Atherton said. "A lot of disputed issues, a lot of emotion. . . . It was tough. (There is) a lot of stress and emotion in any trial, and this one more than most."

In his closing argument, special prosecutor Mike Martinez said Workman and her daughter, Aisza Wilde, engaged in a "cover-up" to hide the fact that two employees hired by Workman were doing accounting at the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Valley under Wilde instead of health work for the county.

Workman herself signed the employees' county time sheets.

"Big picture person?" Martinez said, responding to defense arguments that Workman did not pay attention to details. "Forgetful? Every week she was reminded that she had an employee working for her when she signed the time sheets. Every week. . . . If you believe, well, she had a brain tumor every week when she signed the time sheets, that's reasonable doubt."

For his part, defense attorney Jack Morgan said the time sheets — which weekly went to two other people in the county besides Workman — were evidence that she had no intent to defraud the county.

"Is that what someone does if they're trying to hide something?" Morgan said. "The bottom line, ladies and gentlemen, is if she was trying to hide something, she did a really lousy job of it."

Morgan said that, yes, Workman violated policy (he called it "a policy boo-boo"), but that the violation didn't reach the level of a criminal offense.

"Is there anything inherently illegal here?" he said. "No. Is there wrongful conduct? No. Is there conduct that was done the wrong way? Yes. . . . Policy violations happen routinely.

"Is that a criminal charge?" he went on. "No, of course not. Violation of policy happens. It just does."

Former county councilman Russell Skousen and former deputy mayor Alan Dayton echoed Morgan's comments.

"It's done all the time," Dayton said of county employees working elsewhere without the proper procedure being followed. He said if every such instance were prosecuted, "you would have a jail full of the county commissioners and the county council — and me."