Jim Urquhart/Reuters
Former Utah Attorney General John Swallow was acquitted Thursday of bribery and evidence-tampering charges in a corruption scandal that engulfed the state’s top law-enforcement office. Prosecutors had accused Swallow of accepting fancy gifts from businessmen, including flights on private planes, gold coins, and trips on a yacht. Jurors in Salt Lake City on Thursday spared Swallow from a potential 30-year prison sentence, finding him not guilty on nine counts, including obstruction of justice, misusing public funds, and falsifying government documents. Swallow’s defense had argued that the accusations were part of a smear campaign. Swallow and his predecessor, Mark Shurtleff, were arrested in July 2014. The charges against Shurtleff were dismissed in July 2016.