As the investigation continues into the theft of more than $800,000 from the Silver Creek Irrigation District, three more people have been included in the complaint by the Navajo County Attorney’s Office in an effort to recover at least a portion of the funds that were stolen.
Harvey “Leon” Palmer, who was the secretary and bookkeeper for the irrigation district for 42 years, as well as a former Taylor town manager, allegedly admitted to investigators that he “loaned” the funds to Margaret “Peggy” Rogers, also known as Margaret Vallborn, in multiple weekly payments over approximately four years without the district board’s knowledge.
The incident came to light in January when district board members decided to have an outside audit completed. At that time Palmer informed the board president that he had been writing checks made to cash from the district account at a local bank.
As of press time, no criminal charges had been filed, but in order to recoup some of those funds, Rogers and her husband, Russell Rogers, have been added to the complaint, with the allegations that Margaret Rogers committed multiple racketeering offenses, and that her husband either knew of the crimes or should have been aware of them, as the couple mutually benefitted from the money she received from Palmer.
Noted in the complaint was discovery of a storage unit on the Rogers’ property in Taylor where deputies found a grocery bag full of receipts indicating ways in which Margaret Rogers and possibly her husband spent the money that had been taken from the irrigation district. Seized at their Globe residence were a number of guns, ammunition and reloading equipment valued at more than $10,000, their 1993 GMC Sierra for which records showed the insurance and repairs payments were made in cash, as well as jewelry and funds from the couple’s credit union account.
It was noted in the claim that the vast majority of the funds were apparently spent by Margaret Rogers on gambling, making it unlikely that any significant amount will ever be recovered.
Added in a separate complaint is the Palmer’s son, Shawn Palmer, vice mayor of Taylor, and his wife, Dicie Palmer. Although not suspected of any involvement in the theft and racketeering that took place, the couple were added as potential claimants in the real property of Shawn Palmer’s parent’s home and land listed in the seizure and warrant notices.
The younger Palmer claims that the private property recorded as owned free and clear by his parents was purchased by him in a land and home purchase agreement allegedly executed in 2004 by Harvey Leon Palmer, Gloria Ann Palmer and Shawn Palmer, stating an agreed upon sales price of $75,000. Shawn Palmer claims he paid cash for the home and property, but there were no other witnesses to the transaction.
The complaint states, “Substantial areas of concern exist on the part of the state regarding the authenticity of both the land and home purchase agreement, and the payment ledger. Since the payments listed on the ledger were cash, there are no canceled checks, which would independently verify that the payments recorded in the ledger were actually made.” Dicie Palmer was listed in the claim as she is Shawn Palmer’s wife and the alleged transaction was executed during their marriage, so she may have a community interest in the property.
It was also noted that none of the other children of Leon and Gloria Palmer were aware that such a transaction had occurred.
The state believes that even if those documents are legitimate, it has priority over any interest of Shawn Palmer because the seizure warrant signed by the Navajo County Superior Court in January was recorded by the state on that same day along with a notice of seizure and racketeering lien, and it did not learn of Shawn Palmer’s alleged interest until the middle of February.
Shawn Palmer responded to the allegations made against his father by stating that the 77-year-old man suffers from dementia and has had two strokes that impaired his judgment and allowed Margaret Rogers to take advantage of him.
