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WEST JORDAN — A Salt Lake man is facing a criminal charge accusing him of secretly recording meetings being held by managers of the Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation Department.
Douglas Herzog, 56, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with wiretapping or unlawful interception of communication, a third-degree felony.
Herzog sent an email to parks and recreation director Martin Jensen on Feb. 10, 2023, with "an audio recording of a compilation of various conversations from the Park Operations Center … made in multiple offices and locations without the knowledge of the employees," according to charging documents.
In September, Herzog airdropped another audio recording to Jensen, this one between managers in 2022 "regarding job interviews they had conducted, including a position that Herzog had applied for," the charges state.
In another recording that was made without the knowledge of staff members, "management challenges of staff and operational procedures" were discussed.
Also in September, Jensen reported to police that a "voice-activated recording device was found in one of the conference rooms at the Salt Lake County Operations Center," 6332 S. Airport Road. The device was found attached to the underside of a table in a conference room "where interviews, staff meetings, and budget meetings are held," according to a search warrant affidavit.
About a week later, two more managers reported finding similar devices in their offices.
"Martin expressed concern due to the nature of the meetings that are held in the conference room and the manager offices where the devices were found. Martin said there are frequently meetings regarding event planning, construction and maintenance planning, and personnel directives such as hiring, firing and promoting. Martin said that the recording devices have affected company staffing and security, and it could potentially influence their operations moving forward," the warrant states.
Court documents do not disclose a motive for Herzog's alleged secret recordings of parks and recreation meetings.
