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Show fnrrr' f'r il '! rmr It The Salt Lake Tribune, Saturday, November II (Conflict of , i irn i frt v vr f r f Om m T"r 13, 19H Interest? Prosecutor Ordered to Remove Himself From Case By Mike Carter Tribune Staff Writer Deputy Salt Lake County Attorney Michael Christensen Friday was ordered by a 3rd District judge lo remove himself as prosecutor of an arson case involving the former mayur of Salinas, Calif., and his business partner because of the "appearance of a conflict of interest Judge leter F. Leary said Mr. Christensen's involvement in a private arson investigation company he formed along with several other employees in the county attorneys office gives the impression of a conflict of interest, and that, because of this, Mr. Christensen is "to have nothing more to do with this case. The judge ruled in favor of a motion by attorneys representing former Salinas Mayor James Wood and Martin Taylor, who are charged with arson, with the intent to defraud and insurance fraud in connection with a fire which destroyed more than $1 million in beans stored at the Beans Inc. warehouse in Filer, Idaho. Mr. Wood w as president of Commodity Marketing Corp., which owned the warehouse, and Mr. Taylor was an firm. employee of that in filed Lake Salt were Charges County because one of the insurance companies with which the men allegedly filed a false claim, Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., is based in Salt Lake City. Conflict of Interest? At Fridays hearing, Salt Lake County legal defenders David Biggs and Brooke Wells, who are representing the Californians, alleged that Mr. Christensens involvement with Arson and Fraud Investigations Inc. (AFI), a private firm which investigated fires for several insurance companies, made for a conflict of interest. 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Shop Monday thru Saturday 10-- 9, Closed Sunday and James Ashby, a former Salt Lake County attorneys arson investigator and president of AFI, both stated that AFI did no work whatsoever on the investigation of the Beans Inc. fire and that, in fact, was not even incorporated at the time of the fire. Judge Leary, however, ruled that the association with these insurance companies gives the appearance of a conflict, and granted the defense motion. The judge did not find an actual conflict was evident. During the hearing, the chief of the county attorneys justice division, John T. Nielsen, said he knew of no wrongdoing either by Mr. Christensen or any other past or present employees involved with AFI. Cease Doing Business Mr. Christensen testified that he, his wife, Virginia Barker, and Mr. Ashby formed AFI in March 1981, but ceased doing business two months later because of concerns voiced by officials. All were employed at the county attorneys office at that time. During that period, and prior to the filing of the articles of incorporation, the group investigated several suspicious fires in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho at the behest of GAB. Each time, the group was paid by an insurance company. In April 1981, Mr. Christensen was approached by the Idaho attorney general's office, the Idaho Falls district attorney, representatives from GAB and various Idaho law enforcement agencies and asked to consider filing charges against Mr. Woods and Mr. Taylor in Utah. The local authorities had declined to file charges in Idaho. It was during this time, Mr. Biggs alleged, that Mr. Christensen was involved in a conflict of interest between his duties as a prosecutor and financial concerns over the of his private company, which relied on insurance companies for business. Had .Another Master' "At the crucial time when Mike Christensen is considering filing the charges, he had another master, and that master was AFI, Mr. Biggs said. These men have the right to have a prosecutor who is unbiased." Deputy Salt Lake County Attorney Tom Yuyk, who represented Mr. Christensen and the county attorney's office, told the judge that the entire investigation into the Beans Inc. fire was conducted in Idaho by local authorities. well-bein- SL Panasonic video recorder color portable 288 has automatic Reg. 369.95 ColorPilot and CompuFocus picture tube with tinted glass for sharper focus and higher contrast. Solid state with forward and reverse search, freeze frame, eight hour play capacity and digital clock VHS; PV-126- 5; Insider 13 548 Reg. 699.95 CT-301- timer. Panabrite 2 control and Panalock automatic fine tuning. Technics stereo 478 , ; F1 j. a...,w Reg. $750 SA 212; memory. 25 watts per channel, fully automatic turntable with automatic record size selector plus two 320 speakers, deluxe rack with glass top and full glass door Ac-cul- jja sm o a A.... a'.'jirtr g AMFM Panasonic Cook-A-Roun- d var- capccity yet compact, iable power settings, defrostflash defrost, timer. 5 year warranty Family Panasonic stereo cassette radio microwave Reg. 379.95 model NE5730: exclusive Panasonic magnetic turntable that rotates while ou cook He also noted that the decision to prosecute the two men, as testified to by Mr. Nielsen, was made independent of Mr. Christensen. 328 Reg. 209.95 RX-508- ACbattery portable with two 5" speakers and AC power cord. Slide rule tuning and operation push-butto- Reiterates Order Problems facing the county attorney's office in light of the judges ruling were immediately evident. Several other motions which were to be heard Friday were postponed until Dec. 9 after Mr. Vuyk told the court that he was not familiar with the arguments prepared by Mr Christensen. Mr. Biggs pointed this out to the judge, noting that following the he witnessed Mr. court's findings i Mr. Christensen, asked to comment on the judges decision, reiterated that no actual conflict of interest exists. "I just think the judge was being cautious," he said Ms. Wells noted that having another prosecutor in the county attorneys office review the case in essence "is asking his own colleagues to judge what hes done." Friday and Saturday, November 12 and 13 in Home Entertainment and Major Particularly, Mr. Biggs pointed out, in light of the fact that AFI had done work for a local insurance adjusting firm, General Adjustment Bureau (GAB), which is involved in the Beans Inc. insurance claims. Mr. Biggs alleged that Mr. Christensen was susceptible to pressure from insurance companies during the crucial period during which the charges against Mr. Woods and Mr. Taylor were filed, because AFIs success depended on work from insurance companies. Christensen intended to remove the case from the county attorneys office altogether. "We wanted an independent analysis of the issuance of the charges, Mr. Biggs said. Saturday last day, now-defun- Mr. prosecution of Mr, Woods and Mr. Taylor in the future. Mr. Biggs and Ms. Wells expressed some disappointment in the judge's ruling, as their motion was Christensen and Mr. Vuyk discussing the various motions during a recess. The judge reiterated that Mr. Christensen was to have nothing whatsoever to do with the t r ja Lf-- mm 179.95 |