Investigator Todd Gabler sifted through the D.A.'s garbage, attached a tracking device to her car's bumper and even trailed party guests leaving her South Jordan home.
Yet that months-long investigation - so invasive that Salt Lake City news outlets now have images of discarded tequila and vodka bottles reportedly pulled from Miller's trash - does not appear to run afoul of state law or private-investigation ethics.
Bureau of Criminal Identification investigator Phil Leiker confirmed that one of Gabler's more controversial tactics, the use of a GPS device, isn't prohibited in the private-investigation business.
In fact, one Salt Lake City-based investigator, David Lundberg, described it as a common tool.
Gabler, a Springdale-based investigator hired by an unnamed client last August to burrow into the District Attorney's personal life and past business practices, has released dozens of documents that paint an unflattering picture of Salt Lake County's lead law enforcer.
He uncovered Miller's failure to obtain a business license for her private law firm. He captured video of subdivision streets clogged with cars allegedly driven by late-night partygoers at the D.A.'s South Jordan home. And he revealed a police report in which Miller's son complains about his father, Lorenzo Miller, holding him down and cutting his hair as punishment for drinking alcohol at the family's home.
"I don't wish [Lohra Miller] any harm," Gabler said Wednesday. "I don't wish her any bad news or bad luck. I just want public officials to tell the truth, that's all."
The allegations come fewer than two months after the Attorney General's Office completed its own investigation into neighbors' claims that Miller had allowed raucous parties, underage drinking and an illegal day care at her home - a probe Miller requested.
The A.G.'s office (run by Mark Shurtleff, a fellow Republican who endorsed her candidacy two years ago) found no evidence of criminal activity.
Miller declined to discuss Gabler's investigation. Instead, she released this statement:
"It is unfortunate that a neighborhood dispute has risen to [this] level . . . My family is like any other American family, and, as a parent, I do what I can to help my children overcome the challenges that life presents."
Yet Gabler's investigation raises questions about his use of a GPS tracking device.
While state law forbids law-enforcement agencies from using that technique without a judge's approval, A.G. spokesman Paul Murphy said he knew of no such standard for private investigators.
"We're having water-cooler discussions [about that] now."
Gabler stands behind his work. "Every method used by my agency is legal, does not invade privacy and [employs] technologies used daily by police officers and investigators directly under the command of Lohra Miller," he said.
jstettler@sltrib.com
jbergreen@sltrib.com
