Rosses' attorney booted

A federal judge has ordered the attorney for a couple at the center of a Davis County School district scandal booted from the case, citing several conflicts of interest and the fact that he agreed to hold $381,000 in funds for his clients.

Paul Gotay called the decision by Judge Brooke Wells to have him removed from the case, a "cheap shot" and said he was holding the $381,000 for John and Susan Ross as a "catch-all" defense fund that would pay him for past and future legal expenses.

However, federal prosecutors pointed out that the transfer of those funds took place before federal agents froze the Rosses' assets in their investigation of the accusation that the couple had embezzled $4.3 million in Title I federal funds from the Davis County School District over a five-year period starting in 2000. Agents with the IRS and FBI said there was evidence that Susan Ross, who worked as Title I director for the district, may have taken millions more over a 20-year period. John Ross worked as a federal grant writer for the district and also previously worked as a Title I director for the state. The federal funds are intended to go toward helping disadvantaged, minority and disabled students.

According to a 47-count indictment handed down against the couple last month, Susan Ross used a company she owned to create pirated copies of textbooks, which she sold to the school district at inflated prices. The indictment also states that Ross worked in conjunction with a second company, Research and Development Consultants Inc., which she used as a front.

John and Susan Ross have both denied the allegations and say they are being held out for blame by school district officials for years of financial mismanagement on the district's part.

Since the indictments, federal prosecutors filed a motion to have Gotay removed as attorney in the case, citing several conflicts of interest.

In court Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Bearnson said Gotay had a conflict of interest in representing the Rosses while also representing the owners of R&D, whom she said the government planned to call as witnesses at trial. Bearnson pointed out that Gotay could not cross-examine one set of clients while representing the Rosses at the same time.

Federal prosecutors also point out that there were potential conflicts of interest between John and Susan Ross, specifically because John Ross may have had supervisory control over his wife's budget at the district.