Corroon likened it to a stain on a home's front entryway carpeting. The family living there has grown so accustomed to it they don't even notice it anymore. But get someone moving in and they notice it right away.

"We're able to see things the other administration couldn't see," Corroon said.

Many within Salt Lake County say part of the problem was that staffers would move from office to office, staying at the county for years and decades. People in power established networks and got comfortable.

One former county official says it got to the point that there was a "county cartel" — a group of officials who had been there so long that they wielded tremendous influence and power even over those who were nominally their superiors.

"That's why I'm so shocked that (a certain county official) is getting in trouble," the former official said. "Because he's part of the county cartel. These are guys who can take care of each other."

Much of the problem wasn't deliberate wrongdoing. Many of these longtime county people were highly qualified for every job they held. But get to know people enough and you tend to treat them a little more gently, perhaps even bending some rules to help them out because you know their heart's in the right place.

The widespread practice of hiring friends and family members — even those who were clearly qualified for their positions — contributed to the insular nature of things.

"The county almost encouraged hiring families," County Recorder Gary Ott said.

Some rules that seemed quite innocent and appropriate when enacted, got people in trouble. For example, the county has historically allowed wide latitude in hiring temporary employees, who don't have to go through the same qualification process normal employees do. Workman hired two temporary employees just that way to help her daughter do accounting at the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Valley, and the ensuing controversy ended her political career at the county, even though she was ultimately acquitted of charges arising from the matter.

Likewise, the tuition assistance scandal, in many cases, arose from nothing more sinister than understanding that some people were going through hard financial times and softening payback deadlines.

"We had been pretty lenient with people," conceded personnel training manager Sharon Hatz. With the advent of an audit that revealed abuses, "it became clear that we had been too lax."

Given all that, "it doesn't surprise me" to see the extent of the scandals, the former county official said.

Corroon, then, inherited quite a task — cleaning up a situation that was created and developed over decades. But the very fact that, as he puts it, "I'm new here" makes him the ideal candidate for the job.

"Corroon's in a great position," Councilman Jim Bradley said. "He comes in, it's not his fault, and he cleans it up."

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E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com