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Jan. 5, 2000
There's more pressure on lawyers associated with the Salt Lake Winter Olympics.
And that pressure is coming from top Olympic board members who are concerned about missing or incomplete records.
The attorneys in question were on duty throughout the olympic scandal which, they say, they had nothing to do with.
News Specialist John Daley has been investigating this story.
That pair of attorneys--Jim Jardine and Kelly Flint--are under fire after their firm destroyed documents, they say by accident, and after admitting they failed to keep records of important meetings for two years.
Now, three members of the Board of Trustees have told Eyewitness News they want answers about what happened, and whether the lawyers should stay on board.
Salt Lake won the Olympics in the summer of 1995.
For 11 years both before and after that, the city's Olympic effort has relied on two men,
Jim Jardine and Kelly Flint, to act as its top lawyers, with broad responsibilities over money, the drafting of contracts and legal documents, and the taking of notes and keeping of key records.
But controversy now dogs the pair.
Lillian Taylor, a member of the Board of Trustees, is turning up the heat.
She's sent a letter to Board Chairman Robert Garff asking several pointed questions about Jardine and Flint, whose law firm has "some dark clouds" over it from its involvement in Salt Lake's now-scandalized winning bid.
She says she's extremely concerned about news reports of "missing and shredded records."
By phone from out of state Taylor tells Eyewitness News she has a number of questions.
Voice of Lillian Taylor/Member/SLOC Board of Trustees: "...REGARDING INFORMATION THAT WAS DESTROYED OR WASN'T KEPT AND I HAD A HARD TIME DEALING WITH OR UNDERSTANDING YA KNOW WHEN YOU'RE PAYING A LAW FIRM AND YOUR RECORDS AREN'T KEPT FOR SUCH A CRITICAL MATTER THEN THERE'S A QUESTION OVER MY HEAD AND I JUST ASKED TO BRING IT TO THE TABLE."
Last February, Jardine's firm, Ray, Quinney and Nebeker, where Flint worked as a partner before joining the SLOC full-time, admitted to an Ethics Board that it destroyed Olympic documents.
Jardine maintains they contained nothing important, just records for which duplicates exist elsewhere.
But, new mayor Rocky Anderson, also a lawyer, is another Olympic board member who says all the questions haven't been answered.
He calls Jardine a man of integrity, but says he has yet to hear a good explanation regarding the destroyed documents.
Rocky Anderson/Salt Lake City Mayor: "I DON'T KNOW HOW BOXES OF DOCUMENTS IN A LAW FIRM ARE DESTROYED BY ACCIDENT. I'VE BEEN IN SEVERAL LAW FIRMS AND IT'S THE LAST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN IN THOSE FIRMS, BUT WHO KNOWS, MAYBE THIS FIRM HAS DIFFERENT DESTRUCTION POLICY."
A third board member, Ken Bullock, says Olympic organizers have made great strides in restoring public confidence in the Games, but he says...
Ken Bullock/Member/SLOC Board of Trustees: "THESE QUESTIONS ARE LIKE AN ALBATROSS AROUND SLOC'S NECK. UNTIL WE ANSWER THEM AND QUESTIONS ARE RESOLVED, THE PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IS NOT GONNA BE WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE FOR THE GAMES TO BE SUCCESSFUL."
Today, Jardine told Eyewtiness News the destruction of the documents was an honest mistake that his lawfirm has honestly dealt with by openly admitting the records are missing.
He says it's unfortunate the episode has given rise to the apparenace of some kind of coverup.
Jim Jardine/Attorney for SLOC: "YOU'VE ASKED QUESTIONS. I CAN ANSWER THEM. I THINK THEY ARE STRAIGHT FORWARD AND SIMPLE AND CLEAR EXPLANATIONS THAT CAN BE VERIFIED. I CAN'T CONTROL IT IF SOMEBODY THINKS THERE'S STILL QUESTIONS TO ASK. ALL I CAN DO IS ANSWER THEM AS I'VE TRIED TO TODAY."
Jim Jardine is widely respected in legal circles, and has been praised for his work on behalf of the Olympic bid.
But these most recent concerns will be discussed openly next week --
A spokesperson says SLOC President Mitt Romney intends to put this on the agenda for a Board of Trustees meeting next Thursday.
