Lawmaker, others call for federal probe of former UTA board member's land deal

SALT LAKE CITY — A state lawmaker joined several residents in calling for a federal investigation into how a former Utah Transit Authority board member made possibly millions of dollars on a land deal involving a rail stop.

"I feel like we have a lot of work to do. We need to encourage the attorney general's office to move forward with this. There does need to be a federal investigation," said Rep. Janice Fisher, D-West Valley.

Fisher made the comments during a Transportation Interim Committee meeting Wednesday where legislative auditors presented conflict-of-interest findings regarding former UTA board member and land developer Terry Diehl. Auditors concluded that he may have violated the Public Transit District Act's misuse of official information provision, a class B misdemeanor.

In 2008, Diehl consulted for and later held ownership in a company that 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, the audit said, "for an undisclosed amount."

Through a government records request of the auditors' notes, the Deseret News and KSL learned and first reported this week that Diehl was paid "in the millions and less than $24 million."

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's office confirmed it is "actively" investigating the matter, something Fisher and Rep. Todd Kiser, R-Sandy, said they asked Shurtleff to do earlier this year.

Because that is already happening, the transportation committee did not vote to request an investigation. It also did not call for a federal probe.

Cottonwood Heights resident Roger Kehr was among those who asked the committee to get the feds involved.

"I feel like I have been misled and lied to," he said. "UTA is not willing to be transparent to me."

UTA board Chairman Greg Hughes said Diehl followed state law and UTA policy when he declared his conflict of interest regarding his interest in land near the FrontRunner station. The audit, he said, showed Diehl did not influence the selection of the site for the stop nor did he use proprietary information in the deal.

How much Diehl made in the transaction is not the board's purview, he said.

"Sometimes conflict of interest is a pejorative. I would argue conflicts are inherent," said Hughes, a Republican legislator from Draper.

Sheryl Allen, of Utahns for Ethical Government, said public officials need to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

"We believe public officials should not use information for personal advantage," said Allen, a former state lawmaker. "They should not abuse their office or the public trust they have."

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