A probe sought of Rocky's Italy trip

City records show officials did follow procedure when they put the $136,000 in private donations raised for the trip in an interest-bearing account. They also followed procedure in putting the trip's public-relations' contract out for bid. City records show Dunn Communications won that bid and was paid the lion's share, $90,000, of the total trip budget.

Another roughly $40,000 was paid to reimburse team members for meals, rooms and other costs or to pay for those expenses outright. Those payments were given to both city employees and non-city employees.

It's the non-employees that Evans maintains shouldn't have had free meals and rooms.

Anderson has consistently stated that his girlfriend, Tracy Lyon; Deputy Mayor Rocky Fluhart's wife, Gretchen; and a Park City couple who Anderson described as friends, were part of the city's team that took the Olympic message. As part of the team they should be allowed reimbursement for travel and food expenses, Anderson said.

Evans says team members weren't acting as city employees or contractors but as volunteers not eligible for reimbursement. Workman was prosecuted under a statute that states that a public official can't spend public monies for the benefit of others in a way that is contrary to law.

Evans, who said he has consulted several local attorneys, maintains that by paying lodging and food expenses for non-city employees Anderson was misusing public monies to benefit others. Workman was prosecuted for using county funds to pay for a position at a private non-profit where her daughter worked and not following exact county spending rules by giving money to the nonprofit.

Yocom, Anderson and Fluhart did not immediately return telephone calls for comment Wednesday

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E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com