Records sought for houseboat scheduler in connection with Shurtleff, Swallow cases

Records sought for houseboat scheduler in connection with Shurtleff, Swallow cases

(File Photo)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Investigators issued a search warrant for records belonging to a man who scheduled the use of indicted businessman Jeremy Johnson's homes, houseboats and fancy cars, which former Utah attorneys general Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow allegedly used.

The warrant seeking the Gmail account of Terrence Jacob was unsealed Tuesday in 3rd District Court.

Jacob worked for Johnson from February 2009 to November 2012. His primary job was to take care of Johnson's five or six houses in St. George, one each in Manti and Santa Monica, California, two houseboats and a Ferrari, according to court documents.

Jacob created Google calendars on his Gmail account to schedule use of the houses and boats and told investigators he was the only one who could edit the calendars. He told them he would receive emails from Shurtleff and Swallow when they wanted to use a house or boat.

Swallow drove Johnson's Ferrari and used his luxury houseboat, and his predecessor, Shurtleff, used Johnson's private jet to pick up a celebrity for a fundraiser in California, according to the affidavit.

But the calendars are now blank, and Jacob doesn't know what happened to the information on them, according to court documents.

The search warrant is the latest one to be unsealed in the ongoing joint criminal investigation of Shurtleff and Swallow by Salt Lake and Davis county prosecutors, the Utah Department of Public Safety and the FBI.

Investigators say in the affidavit they believe the records are evidence of several crimes, including receiving or soliciting a bribe by a public servant and accepting a gift, compensation or loan.

Last month, authorities searched the Sandy homes of Shurtleff and Swallow and the Salt Lake condominium of Renae Cowley, a former campaign staffer for the two Republicans.

Shurtleff, who was in Washington, D.C., when the warrant on his home was served, angrily accused investigators of using "Dirty Harry" tactics and traumatizing his teenage daughter. Both he and Swallow have denied any wrongdoing.

In the warrant unsealed Tuesday, another former Johnson employee, Karen Redd, told investigators Shurtleff used Johnson's houseboats and his home in Santa Monica. She said he and Swallow used Johnson's "Green House" in St. George on more than one occasion.

"Shurtleff was always very nice to say thank you for the planes, and he never was like Swallow, I'm pretty sure just went around our backs to get the pilots to take him wherever," she told investigators.

Redd said the value of a night's stay at the Santa Monica house was $1,600, while the "Green House" was $350.

Investigators say they have found no information to show that Shurtleff or Swallow paid for the use of Johnson's property.

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahPolitics
Dennis Romboy

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast