A Salt Lake County employee has apologized for sending a racist email from his government account to a Sandy business owner.
Jedd Bogenschutz of the assessor's office says he wrote the email to Linnaea Mendoza of Salsitas Mendoza on an impulse and is embarrassed over it.
Mendoza and her husband sell salsa out of their store, and posted an online ad under charity advertisements for donations so they can put a kitchen in it.
KTVX-TV reports (http://bit.ly/SYMADk ) Bogenschutz's email criticizes the Mendozas for listing the kitchen as a charitable cause and refers to them as "south of the borders." It also threatens to use his county connections against them.
Assessor Lee Gardner says he won't tolerate bigotry or abuse of power, and Bogenschutz will be punished. He didn't elaborate.