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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's District Attorney's Office collected some $31,373,879.25 in 2012, much of it related to some older cases that have been recently settled.
The district attorney's office is responsible for representing the government in both criminal and civil cases. About $4 million was collected due to criminal cases, and another $27.2 million was collected in civil actions.
"During this time of continuing economic recovery, these collections are more important than ever," said U.S. Attorney David B. Barlow in a statement. "We take our responsibility to recover funds for the federal treasury and for victims of federal crime very seriously. We will also continue to hold accountable those who seek to profit from their illegal activities."
Related:
Miner's widow calls Crandall Canyon settlement 'slap in the face'
Plastic flowers still line the entrance to the Crandall Canyon mine. The mine itself is as quiet now as it's been in four years.By far the biggest collection was from the settlement of a suit between Utah's ATK and the Army and Air Force. According to the government, defective flares were sold to the military that could have gone off with relatively little jostling. ATK paid $21 million in the settlement, as well as roughly $16 million of in-kind services in order to fix existing flares in U.S. stockpiles.
The Department of Justice got involved with the suit after a whistleblower, ATK employee Kendall Dye, performed tests that were said to show the flares' deficiency.
Another $500,000 came from the settlement of the infamous Crandall Canyon Mine disaster case. The mine, near Huntington, collapsed in August of 2007, trapping six miners 1,800 feet underground. Ten days later, three miners were killed in a second collapse. Nine people died in all.
The operator of the Crandall Canyon Mine, Grenwall Resources, agreed to pay the fine and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors for willful violations of mining laws prior to the mine collapse.
"It is this office's intent that these charges send the message to mining companies everywhere: obey the safety laws," Barlow said in March of 2012.
Related:
US fighting ATK over defective military equipment
It's one of Utah's most prominent companies, embroiled in a high-stakes court battle against the U.S. government over allegedly defective military equipment. If the government wins, a whistleblower could get tens of millions of dollars.Later in the year, the mine's operator agreed to pay $1.6 million in fines to the Department of Labor.
Another $250,000 was paid over a suit involving asbestos cleanup in May of 2012. HP Boston Building, LLC, which owns the historic Boston Building in downtown Salt Lake City. Another $250,000 will be paid in the future.
The company pleaded guilty to violations of the Clean Air Act. When the building was purchased and renovated in 2007, HP Boston Building did not properly deal with asbestos known to be in the building.
The Attorney's office also forfeited some $5.2 million in assets that were either sold, paid to victims, destroyed or given to law enforcement agencies.
Nationwide, the Department of Justice collected about $3 billion in criminal and $10.12 billion in civil cases.
