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Veteran prosecutor Kent Morgan said Tuesday he is friends with a man being prosecuted by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office for allegedly running a prostitution ring in Cottonwood Heights.
But Morgan - fired from the office last month for allegedly leaking confidential information to Steven Santiago Maese - denied giving his friend any information about the case, or that he even had information to give.
A letter from District Attorney Lohra Miller's office to the county Career Services Council overseeing Morgan's appeal of the firing claims Morgan was fired for providing Maese "confidential, internal information."
Maese, 31, was charged in October 2006 with felony counts of exploiting a prostitute, money laundering and racketeering. His trial is scheduled to begin April 23 before 3rd District Judge Randall Skanchy.
The letter to the council - supplied to The Salt Lake Tribune by a source other than Morgan - cites a police report indicating Maese knew information only an "inside source" at the D.A.'s office would know. It claims Morgan participated in confidential meetings about Maese's case and that phone records "confirm conversations between [Morgan and Maese] which . . . correlate to the dates when these discussions took place within the office and court dates scheduled."
Miller declined to comment on the case Tuesday.
Phone records obtained by The Tribune confirm Morgan and Maese spoke scores of times. Morgan, who has claimed Miller fired him to ruin his career and remove him as a potential future political rival, said that proves nothing.
Morgan said the two discussed only politics. According to Morgan, Maese has a college degree in marketing and used his skills to help Morgan with his image and appearance during his campaign run for district attorney. He lost to Miller at the Republican convention in April 2006.
Morgan said he knew upfront that Maese was involved in an escort business, but said he felt he could accept anyone's campaign help without having to "identify with their business."
The letter to the Council claims Morgan acknowledged during a March 3 meeting with Miller that Maese had donated significantly to his campaign, with both money and time. The letter states Maese's name did not appear on Morgan's financial disclosures.
Morgan told The Tribune that Maese was a volunteer who helped him "free of charge."
After losing the race, Morgan said he and Maese remained friends, often talking about the possibility of Morgan running again in four years. But Morgan, who is the branch president of an LDS Church ward for the handicapped, said he has also urged Maese to return to his Mormon roots.
The Doll House case was filed while longtime D.A. David Yocom was still in office. Yocom said Tuesday he intends to testify before the Career Services Council that Morgan's involvement in the Maese case was "almost nothing."
The case was discussed several times at senior staff meetings that Morgan attended, Yocom said, but Morgan was never part of the decision-making process. Yocom said Morgan had no specific access to the Maese file and cited the D.A.'s "open file policy" of providing the defense with all documents and evidence obtained by prosecutors anyway.
Yocom said he does not recall Morgan openly declaring his relationship with Maese, but said that would not have been necessary. It was common for attorneys to "just steer clear" when the office prosecuted a friend, associate or family member, Yocom said.
Because Morgan had no direct connection to the Maese case, "he wouldn't have to announce he knew the guy," Yocom said.
Morgan said he never told Miller about his friendship with Maese. He said he felt he had resolved any conflict by "putting up a wall" between himself and the case by never asking about it and never looking at the file.
A 24-year veteran of the D.A.'s Office, Morgan was the lead prosecutor in the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case and prosecuted a number of high-profile homicide cases.
"I want my job back and my integrity back and I want my name cleared," Morgan said.