The investigator, James Morton, also said the wife of a personnel staffer was not recommended for a second interview but was hired anyway. Swensen said no second interview was required.

While some of the investigator's conclusions have been corroborated by a whistle-blower, Swensen isn't the only one who says the investigation by Morton, a local attorney, was itself poorly done. County Council members, who have each been given a copy of the $5,000 report, are likewise unimpressed.

"I found this report enormously lacking," Councilman Joe Hatch said.

"It was quick and dirty," Councilman David Wilde said. "My perception when we got it was if we got our money's worth, it was just barely."

One person who has seen the report called it "a freshman term paper."

Access to the report has been restricted, and Swensen is calling for an inquiry into how the Deseret Morning News gained access to it.

With so many people now reporting on each other, "it's almost a feeling of McCarthyism down here," one county employee said. Both Corroon and Willmore acknowledged that some whistle-blowers might be coming forward to settle personal vendettas or for other reasons unrelated to good government, but "it doesn't matter if the person is credible or not," Willmore said. "We have to investigate."

"This is what everybody asked for" by voting in a new administration, Councilman Mark Crockett said.

"Sunshine is good for everybody and everything, and we're going to shed some light on anything that we find within Salt Lake County, good or bad . . . ," Corroon said. "Better times are ahead. Have faith as we go through this process and know that we are on the road to open, honest, efficient government."

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E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com