As a result, the women are made to feel they made a mistake in whistleblowing on illegals.

Probation ordered for 1 of 2 women charged in connection with 'The List'

Published: Monday, June 6, 2011 1:23 p.m. MDT
By Wendy Leonard, Deseret News

MIDVALE — Two former state employees were charged Monday in connection with the controversial case known as "the List," where the personal information of 1,300 supposed illegal immigrants was released to law enforcement agencies and the public.

Teresa Bassett, 59, was charged with two counts of computer crimes, both third-degree felonies, for extraction of confidential electronic data. Leah Carson, 32, of West Jordan, was charged with providing false statements regarding unemployment compensation to Bassett, her co-worker. The charge is a class C misdemeanor.

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Ravell Call, Deseret News Leah Carson, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor crime in connection with The List investigation, walks into the Midvale Justice Court in Midvale, Monday, June 6, 2011.

Carson appeared in Midvale Justice Court Monday morning and pleaded guilty to the charge as part of a pre-arranged plea deal, saying she was sorry for her "mistake."

"I apologize for my actions," Carson tearfully told the judge. "I know they were really stupid and I made a mistake. I just want to get past this."
She was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $440 of a $750 fine. The judge suspended $350 and imposed a $40 surcharge. The judge also sentenced Carson to serve 90 days in jail, but the jail time was suspended.

In March 2010, Carson was a temporary Department of Workforce Services worker in the imaging department, which scans documents such as utility bills and other paperwork used to verify clients' addresses and income levels. Prosecutors say she violated policies by providing personal information from files to Bassett.

"They worked in the same office and they had access to information that is defined as confidential and within the work environment, that information gets shared among them on a daily basis," said assistant attorney general Scott Reed. "What happened here was information that she shared with a co-worker, in turn, got out of the office, which is wrong."

Reed said Carson didn't know what the information would be used for until after she had already released a good part of it, and participated in the crime. The information was provided to Bassett months before it was distributed to various law enforcement agencies and media outlets, under the name "Concerned Citizens of the United States," in July.

"It's pretty egregious conduct," Reed said. "What Leah Carson did was wrong, but the ripple effect, the political effect and the ideological impact may be much more profound than the criminal conduct in this case."
The infamous list caused a huge stir in the community when it came to light in July. Carson and Bassett, who had worked in state government for 17 years, both lost their jobs as a result of the accusations and the following investigations.

Bassett, also known as London Grace Wellington, is scheduled to appear in 3rd District Court at 1:30 p.m.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705373955/Probation-ordered-for-1-of-2-women-charged-in-connection-with-The-List.html