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Show Tesch violated no nepotism laws Wasatch County Commission finds (ed, there is a violation by the actions ' of. either the county attorney or his wife':!' Schwendiman told the Record the informal opinion does not reach a conclusion because he has not made the determination whether the funds paid to Tesch "have lost their identity identi-ty as public funds." Utah Attorney General David Wilkinson Wednesday said his office does not intend to pursue the matter. The Wasatch County Commission has determined that state nepotism statutes have not been violated by county attorney Joseph Tesch. That ruling was the outcome of a verbal complaint lodged by leber auto dealer Carl Schettler, who last summer was prosecuted on felony charges by the county attorney's office. of-fice. He was acquitted by a jury. Commission chairman Pete Coleman Col-eman said Wednesday that Tesch took office in January 1983 and began receiving the same salary as former county attorney Harold Call. Under the arrangement worked out with Call, the county attorney is responsible for providing deputies or assistants, Coleman said. Although Tesch's wife, Wendy Hufnagle, is a sworn deputy county attorney, Coleman said she is not on the payroll and receives no benefits. "Hufnagle receives no salary and works on a volunteer basis," he said. Hufnagle receives no medical benefits directly from Wasatch County, said Coleman, but is covered as a member of Tesch's family r under. ' his .county ; policy. TescheeeiveB(n annual salary" of-- $39,000 to run the county attorney's ;, office, Coleman said. ,. ,i Tesch had earlier denied, the . allegations made by Schettler. "There is no question in my mind . that we are 100 percent in conformity conformi-ty with the law, "Tesch said. ' " ! ! Schettler was charged with two', felonies and a misdemeanor by the,, Wasatch County Attorney's Office following an April 29 incident near Heber on U.S. Highway 40. The inci-. dent involved Schettler and Califor-' nia truck driver Richard Thompson. But on Aug. 22, a five-woman, three-man jury found Schettler, not, guilty of the two felony counts of aggravated ag-gravated assault and carrying a con-, cealed weapon. The jury did find, ' however, that Schettler was guilty of reckless driving. Tesch asked the Utah Attorney General's Office for an ppinion on the nepotism question last summer. An informal opinion was written Aug. 29 by Stephen G. Schwendiman, Schwen-diman, assistant attorney general. In summation, the informal opinion opi-nion reads: "The key is whether .public funds are used . if.it is -'determined that public funds ae us-: |