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SANDY -- A former pizza delivery man is set to appear before a judge next month on a charge he tried to bribe his way out of a speeding ticket using a pepperoni pizza.

Paul G. Booth, 54, was pulled over in June on 9400 South in Sandy while on a double delivery.

"As [the officer] was walking away I said, ‘Hey, if you go easy on me, I can get you a pizza,'" Booth said. "I should have said, ‘Hey if you go easy on me, I'd sure appreciate it.'"

Booth said that's when the officer stopped in his tracks and told him that would be a bribe. Booth said he realized he'd put his foot in his mouth.

Booth said he later told the officer, "You were really up front telling me that was some kind of a bribe on my part, I'm going to be up front with you. I've got my seat belt on, I'm not drinking. You can see I'm trying to work here. Now everything I make tonight is going to go to Sandy City. I hope you feel really good about that."

In the case notes, however, the officer said Booth told him, "You were really quick to call me on my bribe."

Police said that comment was caught on dash-cam video, as was the first part of the stop. However police said when they tried to recover the entire segment, that part was lost due to a server error.

Booth claimed the lost part of the tape would have caught the true nature of his comments and led others to realize the offer was not serious.

He said he questioned the server error and claimed the officer was possibly being vindictive because Booth had scolded him.

Sgt. Justin Chapman with the Sandy Police Department said the computer error did happen. In fact, the problem erased video from numerous dash cams that night, including one on a case he was involved in. "Certainly we don't train our officers to act in a vindictive nature," he said.

The officer noted Booth's pizza comment on the ticket and cited him for speeding.

In August, Booth appeared in court in Sandy City to appeal the ticket. The city said at that time it offered to let the bribery charges go if Booth would pay his speeding fine. Sandy City spokeswoman Trina Duerkson said Booth wanted to press the issue and take his case to trial.

At that point, Duerkson said the city had no choice but to send all the information, including the information on the alleged bribe, to the district attorney's office.

Booth said he did not recall any such offer and would have taken it rather than face a felony. He said the only thing that was said in the hearing was that the city planned to dismiss the speeding ticket without prejudice and forward the case to the district attorney for possible felony bribery charges.

Booth claimed that in the hearing, the representative from the city prosecutor's office was very terse and overreacted when Booth turned and looked at the police officer after learning he may face a possible felony charge. "They're twisting this around like I was the aggressor. They were the aggressors," he said.

The charges were screened with the district attorney, but office spokeswoman Alicia Cook said they were eventually amended to a misdemeanor charge of bribery to avoid criminal prosecution.

Cook said the facts of the case better fit that charge. "What we charge is a reflection of what evidence we have," said Cook.

Booth will be back in court on Nov. 9.

E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com

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