Former UTA board member made 'millions' on land deal near Draper rail stop

SALT LAKE CITY — One question went unanswered in the still simmering conflict-of-interest finding against a former Utah Transit Authority board member involved in a land deal near a controversial rail stop: How much did he make?

Documents obtained by the Deseret News and KSL-TV show developer Terry Diehl made "in the millions and less than $24 million."

The figures were in Office of the Legislative Auditor notes obtained through Utah's Government Records Access and Management Act. Legislative auditors last year found in a "limited review" that Diehl had a conflict of interest when he profited from the sale of land chosen for a FrontRunner stop.

The Utah Attorney General's Office confirmed Monday that it is "actively" investigating the matter.

Legislative auditors are scheduled Wednesday to present their report to the Transportation Interim Committee, which has yet to be briefed on the issue. Auditors first released the report to the audit subcommittee last December.

According to the audit, Diehl in 2008 consulted for and later held ownership in a company called Whitewater Seven, which wanted to develop land next to the proposed Frontrunner stop at 12800 South in Draper. In November 2009, UTA selected that site for the station. A month later, Diehl sold the development rights for the property to a company called Draper Holdings, the audit said, "for an undisclosed amount."

Although the review identified a conflict, auditors determined Diehl did not interfere in the selection of the site for the FrontRunner stop.

But Sen. Pat Jones, D-Salt Lake, in a Legislative Audit Committee meeting called the undisclosed money made off the deal the "elephant in the room" and the underlying question that initiated the audit.

The newly revealed figures came in answers to questions auditors posed to Diehl and his attorney, Thomas Karrenberg, in an interview for the audit.

"Terry's attorney would not provide us the agreement between Diehl and Vitek, but the amount Terry was compensated was in the millions and less than 24 million," the auditors wrote. Jeff Vitek heads Draper Holdings.

Diehl was reimbursed for his planning, surveying and engineering costs to develop the property as well as attorney's fees and a consultant fee, according to the auditors' notes.

Karrenberg told auditors that because proprietary information wasn't used in the transaction, Diehl only needed to disclose the conflict of interest, which he acknowledged did exist.