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The former executive director of Salt Lake City's This Is The Place Heritage Park was sentenced Tuesday to six months in a federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release in connection with stealing funds from the park.
Matthew Dahl, 41, of Holladay, in November pleaded guilty to one count of felony mail fraud after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson to sentence Dahl within suggested sentencing guidelines of 27 to 33 months in prison, but Benson noted that Dahl is a first-time offender convicted of a non-violent crime. He elected to deviate to a shorter prison term of 6 months for Dahl.
Dahl's attorneys, Rebecca Hyde-Skordas and Greg Skordas have said that their client — who agreed to pay $321,608 in restitution — had already paid back a large portion of that amount by liquidating his retirement funds and selling his home.
But that claim was a sticking point on Tuesday for Ellis Ivory, who took over as executive director of This Is The Place following Dahl's departure. While Dahl's attorneys said in November that their client would pay back the money he owes by sentencing, Dahl has not yet paid $202,418 in restitution. The park hasn't received a check from Dahl in five months, Ivory said.
"Where's the money? I wish we could know," Ivory said.
Several letters of support were sent to the judge on Dahl's behalf prior to his sentencing.
Dahl, who asked for probation instead of prison time, told Benson that greed got the best of him.
"As I look back I can't believe how I got from where I was to where I am today. I came from a strong family that has taught me what was right and what was wrong. I married an amazing woman that lived each day to be and do 'good' for all around her. We have three wonderful sons that are talented and inspiring. And, I jeopardized it all by being too greedy and selfish," Dahl wrote in a letter to Benson.
At Tuesday's hearing, Dahl stated "I'll regret this dishonesty for the rest of my life."
Dahl was charged in July with felony mail fraud for swindling funds from the heritage park.
A January 2011 internal audit of the park's $3.5 million budget revealed Dahl's actions over the course of 2½ years. Dahl was fired and the audit's findings were turned over to the Salt Lake City Police Department and eventually the Federal Bureau of Investigation. According to charges, he sent a foundation check for $6,800 through the mail to the Trevor Roche Company, a cattle ranch in Parma, Idaho, according to court documents. The check was for Dahl's personal purposes, court documents state.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Romney on Tuesday said that Dahl's hobby of raising cattle fueled his desire to submit false invoices to the foundation for reimbursement. Romney said Dahl —who graduated from Cornell and earned a six-figure income at the time of his embezzlement charges — was calculated in pulling off his scheme.
"Mr. Dahl stole more than a quarter million dollars. This wasn't about writing a few personal checks," Romney said.
This Is The Place named Ivory, who was the chairman of the board of trustees for the foundation, as its chief executive officer a year ago. The heritage park, which pays tribute to Utah's pioneer past, underwent an external audit and every department reviewed its policies and procedures to help prevent future theft.
Ivory said Tuesday the park is committed to moving forward, calling the attraction "still strong."
Dahl, who previously oversaw the American West Heritage Center outside Logan, was hired to manage This Is The Place nearly five years ago as financial problems threatened to close the attraction. At the time, the park had a $2 million budget and was losing money despite an annual state subsidy of $700,000.
State legislators appropriated a $2 million emergency bailout in March 2006, fearing This Is The Place would not be able to reopen. Dahl was credited with increasing attendance at the park from about 50,000 visitors each year to more than 275,000, which has helped improve the park's finances.
Dahl apologized to Ivory in the letter he sent Benson. Ivory, Dahl wrote, "entrusted me with not only the day-to-day operations of the historic site, but with his friendship, too. And I ruined both."
Other supporters wrote to Benson to recall their surprise at finding out about Dahl's criminal activity.
Gary N. Anderson, an attorney who is chair of the board of trustees for the American West Heritage Center located in Wellsville, hired Dahl prior to Dahl's employment at This Is The Place. When working in Wellsville, Dahl left the organization in financially sound shape, Anderson wrote to Benson.
"I do not understand why he did what he did but I am confident that he is remorseful and will take whatever actions are necessary to get him back on course," Anderson wrote.
Benson imposed Dahl's sentence after speculating to attorneys about whether placing the man in prison will do anything to deter others from embezzling in the future. He said with 2.5 million people in prison, America is outpacing other countries with its incarceration rates. He questioned why the punishment of prison is considered more severe than the "anguish of being exposed by a public arrest and indictment."
"I think we have too many people in jail. And I think one day we're going to be a little ashamed of it," said Benson, adding he "reluctantly" ordered Dahl to prison.
Benson compared what he dubbed a culture of placing people in prison to appear "tough on crime" to "the times of Rome," when people gathered at the Colosseum to watch death and destruction during live gladiator fights.
He said he wishes there was a possibility for sentencing options other than prison for Dahl, but that today the public "wants more than that," meaning the public wants to see severe punishments for crimes.
Dahl said he now understands there is "more to life than simply the prize at the end of the day."
"It has made me look at my priorities and re-evaluate what I want to do with my life," Dahl told Benson. "Where I used to strive to get noticed by professional organizations and community leaders, I now want to dedicate my life to raising sons and spending as much time with them and my wife as possible while overcoming my shortcomings. I want to focus on living a good life rather than seeing how much money and assets I can accumulate."
Twitter: @mrogers_trib —
What's next
P U.S. District Judge Dee Benson ordered Matthew Dahl to report to prison in six weeks.