This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Two Salt Lake City employees were charged Friday for allegedly using public funds to rent excavation equipment.
Brandon Petersen, 32, admitted to renting a mini excavator and a skid steer to work on his property, charging a Salt Lake City Corp. account $2,971.17 for the two rentals, according to charging documents filed in 3rd District Court. He is facing a second-degree felony charge, two third-degree felony charges and two class B misdemeanors for theft by deception for charges made to the corporation's account between June 2015 and November 2016.
Michael Ryan Broadhead, 38, Petersen's supervisor in the Public Utilities department charged a total of $2,801.18 to a Salt Lake City Corp. account to rent an excavator and to buy a 1750-gallon septic tank, according to the charges, which include one second-degree felony misuse of public money, and three class A misdemeanors of attempted misuse of public money, between August 2014 and November 2016.
Petersen told the city he was participating in work-related training on Nov. 3 and 4, but on the second day, posted pictures on social media of him using an excavator next to a dug-out basement. The post said: "Another basement down. That Komatsu hybrid sips fuel, but it wasn't very fun to grade with. #petersenrock #excavation #dirtlife." Petersen admitted to a Unified Police Department detective that Broadhead had rented the equipment and that he dug a basement for the Eagle Mountain house that his supervisor was building.
Broadhead said he was using the excavator at City Creek Canyon in November, but the equipment's GPS logged the location as Eagle Mountain, charging documents state. A concerned citizen took a picture of Petersen using it at Broadhead's house on Nov. 7, and on Nov. 8, Broadhead requested the invoices for the septic tank and the excavator be put in his name and paid for by his personal credit card, according to charging documents.
Both men also are being charged with various nonwork-related purchases that added up to more than $5,000 each that were charged to their city accounts.
The men no longer work for the city.
"We took it seriously," said Mary Beth Thompson, chief financial officer for Salt Lake City, told KUTV Channel 2. "As soon as we got enough information, we turned it over to the authorities to complete the investigation."
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