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Ex-deputy attorney general pleads guilty

funny | 12:10 p.m. Dec. 1, 2008

At least he was working, Just like the chief of police in Ogden working for the city and holding a state cent. job. He's breaking The Fed law. But the mayor in Ogden don't care he's breaking the law.

C.W. | 1:40 p.m. Dec. 1, 2008

Interesting that this same issue of the newspaper talks about a lack of ethics in kids!!
He should have been prosecuted to the FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW to make an example for kids to follow.

Plea Deal? | 2:03 p.m. Dec. 1, 2008

Of course the crooked attorney was able to cop a plea--- he'll now be giving probation and the fine will be forgotten-- attorneys serving as legislators make the laws and attorneys serving as judges sentence on those laws and the boys in the Club run wild wild---- you can even steal gas from Salt Lake County and be the Speaker of the House if your an attorney--- Absolute power breeds absolute corruption............

Comments continue below

Phoebe | 3:10 p.m. Dec. 1, 2008

Dear Plea Deal:

I understand your being upset about this case, but your post reveals some misconceptions about our judicial system. First of all, the vast majority of defendants "are able to cop a plea," so there's nothing unusual about Wyss being given a deal in this case. (Prosecutors enter into plea bargains to save money and time, and as taxpayers, we shouldn't be too quick to criticize such savings.) Second, the Wyss case is in federal court, not state court. Unlike Utah legislators, our Congressional representatives don't also practice law. Third, the federal judges (unlike state judges) have to comply with sentencing guidelines; they can't just impose any old penalty on a defendant.

Calvin | 3:45 p.m. Dec. 1, 2008

Shouldn't something be done with this man's supervisors? I'm wondering how a man can work for two different organizations at the same time without his supervisors knowing something is amiss.

Gordon | 4:58 p.m. Dec. 1, 2008

His TSA and DPS supervisors were aware. There is a lot more to this story trust me. There were a lot of people at TSA in Salt Lake that knew of antics of Mr. Wyss. But, because of who they are nothing will happen to them. I was there, I know.

wise one | 6:44 p.m. Dec. 1, 2008

As Gordon said .. there is more to the story ..
what I know is the one side - the STATE side, where many state employees, the good ole' boy trooper DPS boys .. DO work side jobs, use their state jobs and position to conduct the side jobs and .. guess what?
Complain and nothing will come of it .. they cover each like like bear rugs. The good ole' boy network ..
I made a complaint about 5 years ago about a trooper/DPS guy having a side consulting business and listing his phone # and email address with the state. The state job was the same thing he was doing on the side! Big conflict of interest. His bosses didn't care, they covered it up big time and of course, blew me off.

Utah Bill | 4:07 a.m. Dec. 2, 2008

ï¿½There were a lot of people at TSA in Salt Lake that knew of antics of Mr. Wyss. But, because of who they are nothing will happen to them.ï¿½

Likewise, there were DPS staff and leadership who knew of Wyssï¿½ antics as well. Not only were there payroll issues, but there was also inappropriate use of a state vehicle on and off the job. To his credit, Commissioner Duncan booted Wyss out even before an internal investigation was complete.

negotiated justice | 5:12 a.m. Dec. 2, 2008

If the prosecutors have the evidence and filed the charges then it should be up to a jury to decide if he is guilty or not. This negotiated justice system is not what justice is about. Did the prosecutors ask a jury if it was okay to not put a criminal in jail or did a jury decide if he was guilty or not? Prosecutors are acting as judge and jury in negotiating his crimes and the justice he gets. What is wrong with this picture? And we wonder why criminals are always being pardoned from their crimes, this is not the powers of the prosecutors. We have lazy judges and lazy criminal system looking for the easy way out, even if injustice is served and crime is not considered criminal. We are supposed to have a jury system of justice but now its all in the prosecutors hands to negotiate justice. Once a person is charged with a crime, there should be no negotiating or plea bargaining, with the accused or for witnesses. This system usually ends up with the accused being sentenced for crimes not related to the original more serious crime.

bengel | 8:39 a.m. Dec. 2, 2008

I have some questions for "negotiated justice." How much are you willing to pay for a system that doesn't plea bargain? How many judges are you willing to hire? How many court houses are you willing to build and staff? How many citizens will you pay to leave their jobs so they can sit as jurors? What will you do for the economy when so many are absent from their employment? How many prisons will you build and staff? How will you pay for prisoners' food and health care? Assuming you are willing to pay what would be your proportionate share for such a system, where is the justice in requiring all of the rest of us to do so?

The system we have, while not perfect, is not staffed by lazy judges, nor is it a lazy system. Most people could not handle the workload and stress currently endured by our judges. There is room for improvement, but I will take what we have over what you demand any day.

Roger S. | 9:11 a.m. Dec. 2, 2008

This is very sad. With this scheme, the man made more money, but now he has lost everything else.

Dont kid yourself | 12:49 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

This guy is probably the most honest of the employees in the AG's office. There is no greater group of criminals in Utah.

Get Real | 3:40 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

90% of all cases settle out-of-court, in other words--are "plea bargained." If you are truly opposed to the practice, then get ready to pay for 9 times as many judges, court personnel, court buildings, prosecutors, and police officers (b/c many will be spending days in court, waiting to testify). The public realizes a huge benefit from the judicial system's use of plea bargaining. Does it give prosecutors too much discretion? Every person in the prosecution step has discretion, from the cop who issues a citation for one thing, to the booking officer at the jail, who may change it, to the prosecutor who may change it yet a 3rd time. Probably the only ones who don't have the "discretion" and who bear the brunt of plea bargains, are poor, uninformed defendants. Oh, yeah, we'll have to hire 9 times as many public defenders, too. Now that you know how much a stand against "plea bargaining" will really cost--are you still opposed?

C.W. | 6:27 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

All VERY interesting comments here! I can't help but think that there is a lot of excuses and/or rationalizing going on here. It may reality, but that doesn't make it right! I know its not a perfect world, but I would refer back to my earlier post regarding "ethics". When it comes to ethics, attorneys should "set the standard", not lower them. It seems to me that things are either right or wrong.
As far as sentencing guidelines, do the guidelines say that if someone extorts 188k, but agrees to return it, he should be given PROBATION?
As far as a criminal justice system overloaded, I would agree 100% with that assessment. Maybe we should ONLY pass those laws that we intend to prosecute to the fullest? As far as cops waiting around courtrooms for 2 or 3 hrs. for a 10 minute testimony, maybe the Judges should be held accountable? I've been around courthouses a couple of times, and I've seen how it goes!
My point is that we, as the general public, should hold the legal system accountable!
Excuses and rationalizing DOES NOT MAKE THINGS RIGHT!

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