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Provo • Councilman Steve Turley faces not only felony charges and a call for his resignation but also a renewed civil fight from a woman prosecutors say he defrauded.
Trudy Childs has wrangled with the councilman in court for two years over a property deal gone bad in Spanish Fork Canyon.
On one side, Turley claims Childs reneged on a purchase agreement. On the other, Childs says Turley misled her into selling all her property — not just a portion of it — then altered documents to bolster his case.
Now, with Turley facing 10 felony charges in connection with his business dealings, Childs is fighting back. She filed documents in 4th District Court on Thursday claiming that Turley's offer to buy the property was fraudulent, in light of what the Utah County Attorney's Office alleges.
She hopes the criminal charges against Turley will help put the lawsuit against her to rest and end a legal nightmare that has robbed her of sleep countless nights.
"She felt like, perhaps, there was a light at the end of this long tunnel of litigation that has had a stranglehold on her for so long," her attorney, Randy Spencer, said Friday.
Turley's attorney says Child's allegations are not based on evidence and may not withstand scrutiny in court.
The Utah County Attorney's Office charged Turley this week with seven counts of communications fraud, two counts of exploiting a vulnerable adult and one count of engaging in a pattern of criminal conduct — all second-degree felonies that could send him to prison for one to 15 years.
Provo Mayor John Curtis and the Municipal Council have called on Turley to resign or face an ethics investigation. Turley chose to take a leave of absence instead — a move that will not keep the ethics probe from going forward.
Turley, contacted Friday, refused to say whether he will resign as asked.
"I obviously cannot comment," Turley said. "I cannot go there."
The Utah County Attorney's Office has included Childs among Turley's alleged victims.
Sgt. Richard Hales, an investigator with the Attorney's Office, said in a probable-cause statement that Turley showed Childs' attorney a copy of a $2.6 million check as proof that he had the money to buy Childs' property in Spanish Fork Canyon.
In reality, Turley did not have the money, Hales said in his statement, and the man who did said he wouldn't give it to Turley for the deal.
Craig Carlile, Turley's attorney in the Childs suit, said he had not seen the court documents yet. He pointed out that a probable-cause statement is not the same as evidence.
"If it is simply a recitation of what the county attorney has stated in the probable-cause statement, then Mr. Spencer will have as difficult a time proving that as the county attorney," Carlile said.
But Spencer plans to request summary judgment in Childs' favor, based on the alleged fraud. Having the money available for the property, Spencer said, was a prerequisite for Turley's claim that Childs reneged on the deal.
"He should not have got past first base," Spencer said. "It was only because of his fraudulent scheme to make it appear he tendered [the money] that he got past first base."
Spencer doubts there will be a problem piggybacking on the evidence collected in the criminal case. He also noted that the burden of proof in civil cases is lower than that used in a criminal case.
Turley's charges are based on eight incidents between 2006 and 2009, including his attempt to reclaim Slate Canyon, which critics said was a thinly veiled attempt to open a gravel pit at the mouth of the canyon, and the real estate agreement with Childs.
But the charges do not cover all who claim to have been defrauded by Turley. One of those victims expressed relief Thursday that Turley was charged in other cases.
"Finally, maybe he'll get what he deserves after treating so many people so poorly," said Ronn Raymond, who said Turley balked at paying for campaign signs.
Raymond said he contracted with Turley in 2003 to repair the roof on his house. Turley agreed to do the work for $1,200, but Raymond said Turley offered to trade the work for signs for his council race.
Turley ended up ordering $6,000 to 7,000 worth of signs and promised to pay anything over the $1,200, Raymond said. But when it came time to pay, Raymond said, Turley's bill was for more than the signs' cost.
Raymond took the case to court. It ended, he said, in a draw.
Turley, who said the judge found debts on both sides, said he believed the suit had been settled amicably.
Twitter: @donaldwmeyers
facebook.com/donaldwmeyers What's next?
Provo Municipal Councilman Steve Turley will make an initial appearance at 1:30 p.m., Aug. 24, in 4th District Court.