SALT LAKE CITY — Search warrants for the phone records of former Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and others in his office were unsealed late Wednesday, revealing more details into what a joint criminal investigation into allegations of wrongdoing are focusing on.
The warrants were unsealed in 3rd District Court. They demanded the phone records of Shurtleff, his chief deputy Kirk Torgensen and Tim Lawson, an associate of Shurtleff’s who describes himself as a “best friend” and political “fixer” of the attorney general.
The documents detail the case of accused white collar criminal Marc Sessions Jenson, whom prosecutors have said paid Lawson $120,000 to help him get “access” to Shurtleff, and help facilitate a plea deal for the criminal charges he was facing.
Jenson claims he paid for trips for Shurtleff and former Utah Attorney General John Swallow to a luxury resort in California.
“Marc Jenson stated that during one of the trips, Mark Shurtleff apologized for what happened to him,” police wrote in the search warrant affidavit.
“Mark Shurtleff told Marc Jenson that if he had contributed to him before the charges were filed, none of this would have happened. Mark Shurtleff also told Marc Jenson that if he would have been a contributor to his campaign, he never would have been in trouble in the first place.”
The search warrant affidavit also claims that during a trip to the Pelican Hill resort, Shurtleff racked up a $2,000 Internet charge on his state provided phone.
The affadavit suggests that authorities are investigating allegations of bribery, evidence tampering and misuse of public funds.
More on FOX 13 News and fox13now.com soon…
