This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A state judge Monday set an October trial for a telemarketer whose taped conversation with John Swallow linked him to the corruption scandal that forced the former Utah attorney general from office.
Aaron Vincent Christner is charged in 3rd District Court with two third-degree felony counts of violating a final cease-and-desist order.
The charges stem from allegations that Christner and business partner Ryan Scott Jensen continued to operate a pair of telemarketing businesses — K-Street Advertising and One Touch Media — despite being ordered to cease operations by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection.
Christner, 37, pleaded not guilty to the charges in June. A three-day trial is set to begin Oct. 27. If convicted, he faces a possible prison term of up to five years on each count.
In 2012, Christner contacted Swallow, then a candidate for attorney general, by phone seeking help in overturning a $400,000 judgment that accompanied the division's citations.
Christner, who also said he might attend a Swallow fundraiser, recorded the call and captured the candidate saying he planned to move the consumer protection office out of the Department of Commerce and place it under his control once he was elected. Swallow also suggested setting up a meeting for Christner with then-Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.
The call later was the subject of a Utah State Bar complaint against Swallow by former division Director Traci Gundersen, who alleged it was wrong for Swallow to have engaged in such a conversation with someone who was the subject of a state legal action involving the attorney general's office — since that office represents the consumer division. The complaint was dismissed.
Swallow has pleaded not guilty to 13 second- and third-degree felonies and one misdemeanor, including counts of money laundering, misuse of public funds, obstruction of justice and falsifying government records.
The charges stem from allegations of corruption and bribery inside the attorney general's office, where Swallow was the chief deputy before being elected Utah's top cop in 2012. He resigned the post after 11 months amid state, federal and legislative investigations.
His four-week trial is set for April 5, 2016.
Christner's former business partner, Jensen, has also pleaded not guilty to two third-degree felony counts of violating a final cease-and-desist order. No trial has been set in his case.