Immigration list probe moving slowly but not on back burner, AG says

SALT LAKE CITY — A criminal investigation of two former state workers accused of compiling and distributing a list of purported illegal immigrants is heading into its fourth month without a conclusion.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said after launching the investigation in July that it would be swift and a decision on charges would come soon, but that hasn't been the case.

"It is on the front burner," he said last week. "There's forensic evidence that is taking time."

Shurtleff said it's one thing to show a computer was used to make the list, but it's another to prove who used it. Beyond that, he said, he couldn't say more about the investigation.

The now infamous list caused a huge stir in the community when it came to light in July. The 1,300 names were sent anonymously to law enforcement and news media under a fictitious group called Concerned Citizens of the United States, with demands that those listed be deported.

A state probe determined two Department of Workforce Services employees breached a computer database to gather personal information, including addresses and private health data for the list. It also contained birth dates, addresses and phone numbers, had the due dates of several pregnant women and showed Social Security numbers and the names of many children.

Those two workers were later identified as Teresa Bassett, a computer specialist who had worked in state government for 17 years, and Leah D. Carson, temporary worker in the imaging department, which scans documents such as utility bills and other paperwork used to verify clients' addresses and income levels. Both lost their jobs as a result of the accusations.

Bassett has maintained her innocence from the beginning and continues to do so, said her lawyer Loni Deland. Carson has not spoken publicly and it is unknown whether she retained an attorney.

Deland said the attorney general's office assured him it would give him a heads up when and if any charges are filed. "I haven't heard a word, not one word," he said.

That the investigation has dragged on could bode well for his client.

"It suggests it didn't happen maybe the way they think it did," Deland said. "It suggests maybe they ought to look at somebody else's computer."

Investigators have not interviewed Bassett, he said, because "I won't let them."

Shurtleff earlier said that in addition to determining whether state privacy laws were broken, he would involve the U.S. Attorney's office to look at whether federal statutes were violated as well. He said the crimes could rise to the level of felonies.

In his review of possible applicable laws, Deland said he found only one felony and the rest misdemeanors.

"Every one of them seemed like a stretch," he said, adding maybe that's why the investigation is moving slowly. "If I never hear from them, I'm good with that."

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