Prosecutor: Botched job not criminal

MOSCOW, Idaho – The county prosecutor investigating the botched University Place project in Boise says it will take more than the appearance of negligence or sloppy management to file criminal charges in the matter.

“The type of conduct you’re looking for in a criminal case is intentional conduct,” Bill Thompson said.

The Latah County prosecutor took over the investigation after Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower determined his office had a conflict of interest since the county had previously done business with Civic Partners, the Southern California company involved in the project.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Oregon is also looking into possible federal law violations after Idaho’s U.S. attorney declared his own conflict of interest.

The University of Idaho Foundation, which has been at the heart of the University of Idaho development in Boise, sued Civic Partners for $7 million earlier this month for alleged cost misallocation in the initial stages of the project.

Originally a multi-building, $136 million development just east of downtown, all but the $50 million Idaho Water Center was dropped after the economy slumped. But the university and its foundation were left with $28 million in questionable loans to cover upfront costs.

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden initiated the process for making insurance claims earlier this month by formally demanding the foundation restore $18 million to three scholarship and education program accounts whose case was used in the University Place project.

Wasden alleged the foundation board broke Idaho laws in its management of the trust accounts in what he called a civil matter.

Thompson said that is the key difference between Wasden’s action and his investigation.

“I’m not looking at a civil case where you need a preponderance of evidence,” he said. “In a criminal case you have to have proof beyond a reasonable doubt. … There is a fine line between them, and sometimes that line is blurred. Other times you may find the same conduct of breach of fiduciary duty and civil malfeasance, but it does not rise to the level of criminal misconduct.”

Thompson said his investigators are still familiarizing themselves with all the information in the case, including a 600-page investigative report compiled by a private attorney in Boise for the State Board of Education.

“This is not something we can just look at and quickly make a decision,” he said. “I think it’s fair to say we’re looking at months on the criminal angle.”