Canyon County releases ex-prosecutor's bank records

CALDWELL (AP) - Canyon County officials have released financial records that they say show former prosecutor John Bujak wrongly spent more than $300,000 of the county's money.

Bujak resigned as the county's prosecutor last September. He has filed a tort claim - the precursor to a lawsuit - against the county asking for more than $25 million because he says he was extorted and forced to resign.

The complicated case centers around a contract Bujak had with the county to prosecute cases for the city of Nampa. County officials say that more than $734,000 was put in a trust account to cover 15 months of prosecution work, and that Bujak spent more than $300,000 of the money for his own mortgage payments, cosmetic dentistry, student loans and other personal expenses.

Bujak, meanwhile, has maintained that while he promised to reimburse the county for any county expenses incurred while his office handled the Nampa work, any amount over the expenses was profit.

Bujak's financial records have long been sought by Nampa resident Bob Henry, who filed public records requests seeking access to the bank records. County officials initially denied his request and when Henry sued for access to the records last May, a judge decided the documents were private.

But shortly after his resignation Bujak also filed for bankruptcy, and county commissioners - who are fighting to keep Bujak on the hook for money they say the county is owed - were given copies of the bank records earlier this week as part of the court proceedings. On Thursday, they released the documents along with a 27-page letter their attorney wrote to the bankruptcy trustee.

The letter says that on Sept. 4, 2009 - the very first day the Nampa funds were deposited into a trust account - Bujak wrote a $10,000 check to his own law firm and deposited it, less $500 cash, into his business checking account.

"Thus began the cycle of the Bujaks stealing and spending the county's money on almost a daily basis until they filed bankruptcy," the letter states. "In less than a year, he and his wife, strictly for their own personal purposes, burned through not only the $82,000 of net income he generated as a prosecutor, but also $300,000-plus of the county's money."

More than $110,000 went to his mortgage payments, according to the letter, and $38,000 went to a cosmetic dentist. The commissioners also contend that $4,400 went to a plastic surgery office, $9,500 went to plumbing and air conditioning work at his home and $5,800 went to his student loans.

Other checks issued from the account appear to have been used to cover office expenses, including several checks for about $9,800 each written to a bank, some of which are labeled "payroll." Additional checks were written to several restaurants for varying amounts, and at least one of those is labeled "training dinner."

Bujak said he wouldn't respond to the county's allegations because it would violate his professional ethics, which he says prohibit him from commenting on the merits of investigations and pending litigation.