This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Nancy Workman reacted the same way Tuesday as she did nearly a year ago when she strolled victoriously from a courtroom.
"Yahoo," she squealed. "I'm excited that it's all over."
Hours earlier, the former Salt Lake County Republican mayor had received $100,000 from the county, settling her claim for legal expenses she incurred in a successful defense against felony charges of misuse of taxpayer money.
The county also shelled out nearly $50,000 for its criminal investigation of Workman, including payment for special prosecutor Michael Martinez.
Total taxpayer tab for pressing Workman's alleged misuse of $17,000 in public money: almost $150,000.
"I did the professional thing, and I think the right thing," Democratic Salt Lake County District Attorney David Yocom maintained Tuesday. "The [current] mayor, under our system, makes the decisions on claims. That's his decision, and I respect that."
Workman, whom jurors acquitted last February, had billed the county for $196,811 in legal fees. On Tuesday, after months of haggling, the county delivered a $100,000 check to her attorney Greg Skordas.
"It's a fair settlement," Skordas said. "It's time to be done with this."
Skordas insisted neither side should feel vindication over the settlement, except "maybe the taxpayer . . . because it's over."
Some Utahns felt differently, though.
"That's a joke," West Valley City's Laura Pauu said of the settlement. "The rest of us struggle to make our house payments every month. She's got enough money to pay her own stinking bills."
"That's bulls---, even though she was acquitted," said Colin Thomas, a Salt Lake City resident. "That's a lot of money."
Millcreek Township's Pat Sadler argues Workman should have paid her tab - despite the acquittal.
"It looked bad," she said.
But South Jordan resident Debbie Patchin wonders if the prosecution was unwise from the start.
"I don't know if it was fair that she was brought to a trial," she said.
Workman was charged in September 2004 with two felonies for tapping Health Department funds to pay two successive bookkeepers for the nonprofit South Valley Boys and Girls Clubs, where her daughter was chief financial officer.
A bipartisan panel of prosecutors reviewed the case, and Yocom hired Martinez to try it. Last February, jurors cleared Workman, who had abandoned her re-election bid in late 2004, less than a month before voters tapped Democrat Peter Corroon to replace her.
"Yocom's in my past," Workman added. "This is the end of it. Life is good."
Well, maybe.
Late Tuesday, the Salt Lake County Clerk's Office confirmed Workman failed to file her end-of-year 2005 disclosure declaring her $174,873 in leftover campaign cash. The deadline was 5 p.m.
"We did send notice to Nancy's home," said Deputy County Clerk Jason Yocom, who pointed out the disclosure still could be in compliance if postmarked by Tuesday.
Failing that, according to county ordinance, the clerk must notify Workman, who then has 14 days to file a disclosure.
If politicians "knowingly and intentionally" violate that deadline, they can be charged with a class B misdemeanor.
Workman and her attorney still are seeking clarification from the DA's office on how she can spend the cash.
"Once you're not a candidate anymore, it's our position that the rules don't apply," Skordas said. "I don't think it's a crime for her to spend that money."
Still, Skordas notes, Workman has held the cash in a private account to avoid the risk of a lawsuit.
What the Workman case cost
Defense settlement: $100,000
Special prosecutor: $28,636
Investigation: $14,824
Subpoenas, in-house attorneys: $6,172
Total: $149,632