FOX 13 Investigates: Audit says Cache County prosecutors had private contract but used public employees & resources
The county says it will refer James Swink, who held the elected position of Cache County Attorney from 2009 to 2021, and Tony Baird to the Utah Attorney General’s Office. That office will determine whether to ask the men to repay money to Cache County or if they should be charged with crimes.
The audit says Rich County used to prosecute criminal cases by paying Cache County to do it. Yet, in 2018, Cache County administrators directed $17,600 from Rich County be paid to Swink — on top of the salary he already received in his elected post. Even though they had private contracts, auditors found Swink and Baird had Cache County employees doing things like requesting police reports, filing court documents and prosecuting cases.
The audit does not offer a dollar estimate for the Cache County resources that supported any private contracts. A review of vendor data on a state website shows Rich County paid Swink $110,181 from 2019 through 2021. Mendon paid him $32,980 from 2015 through 2021. Baird sent the station an email saying, “There are always two sides to a story. I am surprised by the report’s failure to include several important facts, its lack of context, and the conflation of facts together to press a desired narrative.”“The Audit released by the Utah State Auditor,” the statement said, “makes several recommendations to the County to improve its policies related to employees, grants, and outside work.
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