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A former mosquito abatement officer in Sevier County allegedly skimmed barrels of insecticide and other supplies from the county and resold it at a discount to other counties and municipalities statewide, as well as local farmers.

John P. Johnson, who retired as mosquito abatement director in 2012, is accused of pocketing at least $70,000 in sales of pest-control supplies that actually were worth far more to the county, said Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis.

"He sold all kinds of different stuff at a discount," Curtis said Thursday. "Any normal person couldn't buy it — couldn't even touch it — at that price."

Johnson, 67, confessed to the scheme in an interview with investigators and turned $100,100 in restitution over to the sheriff's department, said Curtis and Johnson's attorney, Marcus Taylor.

Johnson was charged this week in 6th District Court with multiple felonies and misdemeanors related to alleged abuse of his public office. A plea deal is in the works, Taylor said.

"He's willing to step forward now and pay his debt to society," Taylor said.

From 2009 to 2012, Johnson altered records to show his crews used more mosquito spray than they actually did, Curtis said. Johnson took the excess and sold it directly to farmers and government agencies, pocketing the money, Curtis said.

"If they used two gallons of spray during a shift, he would alter the books and records to say four gallons were used," Curtis said. "Over time, when he had enough built up on the records, he would take the product that was supposedly used and sell it."

Deputies began investigating in 2013 after Johnson retired and the new director noticed oddities and apparent changes as he reviewed the books.

Then the new director began to receive calls from Johnson's former customers, asking if he would continue selling discounted mosquito spray, insecticide cakes and herbicides, Curtis said.

"Bells and whistles and red flags started to go off," Curtis said.

Many of the customers appear not to have known the cheap chemicals were stolen, Curtis said.

Sammie Dickson, director of the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District, said Johnson approached him in 2009, claiming he was contracting with neighboring counties and had leftover insecticide briquettes that would expire before the next season. Dickson said he was running low on the briquettes, so he agreed to buy three cases at $600 a case, only $40 below retail.

But when Johnson asked for a check made out to him personally, Dickson said he became concerned and consulted with the district board. The board requested proof of purchase from Johnson, which he supplied with a photocopied check to a pesticide company. But investigators in Sevier County reviewed his bank records and found no such payment was made, Curtis said.

"It was just unfortunate all the way around," Dickson said.

A local farmer who bought pesticides from Johnson grew suspicious in 2011, when Johnson asked to be paid with "some cash and half a beef," Curtis said. The farmer stopped doing business with Johnson.

" 'This stinks to high heaven.' That's what he said," Curtis recounted.

Investigators learned Johnson had sold stolen supplies to mosquito abatement agencies in Wayne, Piute and Salt Lake counties, as well as others in northern Utah, and to municipalities in Sevier County, Curtis said.

Most customers were simply happy to find a low-cost supplier, Curtis said. When asked if government officials who routinely buy insecticide should have known Johnson's prices were too good to be legit, he said: "You would think. But there's so much pressure on people to cut corners and save money everywhere else."