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In 2006, Doll House escort service owner Santiago Steven Maese deliberately contrived to meet and befriend prosecutor Kent Morgan to further a vendetta against Lohra Miller, whom Maese despised, according to evidence presented Wednesday at a job-termination hearing.

At the time, Morgan was running against Miller for Salt Lake County district attorney, and Maese still held a grudge against Miller for her 2005 Cottonwood Heights prosecution of The Doll House owners for a sexually oriented business license violation, according to Tiffany Curtis.

Curtis, who was Maese's girlfriend and co-owner of the Doll House, said Maese "inserted himself" into Morgan's campaign.

Later, she said, Morgan leaked information to Maese about the district attorney's investigation into whether The Doll House was a front for prostitution.

Curtis made the statements during a videotaped interview last February with Utah attorney general investigators, who were looking into filing criminal charges against Morgan.

No charges were filed, but in March, Miller fired Morgan for allegedly leaking confidential information to Maese.

The videotaped interview was played Wednesday for the county Career Services Council, which is reviewing Morgan's termination.

Morgan, a 24-year veteran of the office, admits maintaining a relationship with Maese, but he denies leaking any information.

Calling Maese "a schemer," Curtis said that after Morgan lost to Miller during the Republican convention, Maese offered support to the Democratic opponent, who turned him down.

Curtis said Morgan and Maese continued their friendship through phone calls and lunch meetings after the campaign.

And, as a county investigation of the Doll House escalated, Morgan began feeding Maese "inside information," Curtis said.

"He'd come up with little tidbits of information," Curtis said of Maese.

Curtis, who said she never met or talked to Morgan, said Maese identified the prosecutor as the source of his information.

Curtis said Maese learned through Morgan that police were interviewing Doll House escorts. And one day Maese appeared with two prepaid cell phones saying Morgan told him authorities might try a wiretap of their other phones.

In October 2006, Maese called Curtis to say he had learned racketeering, money laundering and exploitation of prostitution charges were about to be filed, said Curtis.

She said Maese had the information hours before her own attorney did.

Asked by attorney general investigators what motive Morgan would have to leak information, Curtis said "just friendship."

"Steve [Maese] just said he was a great guy," Curtis said.

She said she had no knowledge Morgan received money from Maese or sex from Doll House escorts.

Curtis, who testified against Maese at trial, said her motive for exposing Morgan was to stop the flow of information to Maese.

"I don't want to be at risk because Steve knows more than he should," Curtis said.

At the time of the interview with Curtis, she had just been sentenced to probation on misdemeanor convictions for her role in operating the Doll House. At this time, Curtis and Maese had ended their personal relationship.

Maese was sentenced this week to probation and 60 days in jail after jury convictions on five felonies.

Morgan's job termination hearing is scheduled to continue Tuesday.