The Sky Lodge was a condominium hotel near Main Street and Heber Avenue and is now called Main & Sky. Abdalla acquired several Old Town Park City properties in the early 2010s, including the historic railroad depot which used to house Robert Redford’s restaurant Zoom.
The Main Street mogul has now pleaded no contest to stealing at least $5,000, a second-degree felony.
Charging documents alleged Abdalla and related business entities owed his property owners association nearly $4.2 million.
Summit County prosecutors claimed he spent $3.8 million of that on expenses not associated with the property owners association. That includes payments to Abdalla’s personal chef and nanny and food and liquor for a restaurant controlled by an Abdalla-related LLC.
The Summit County Attorney’s Office originally charged Abdalla with three second-degree felonies in 2022: theft, a pattern of unlawful activity and unlawful dealing of property by a fiduciary.
Prosecutors bumped up against a four-year statute of limitations when charging him with theft. Their filings state Abdalla’s misappropriation occurred over four years, with about $143,000 spent after May 2, 2018.
Under the terms of Abdalla’s plea, which a 3rd District Court judge accepted June 14, the unlawful activity and dealing charges were dismissed.
Abdalla has a 2-year probationary period, and if he maintains good behavior and pays a $10,000 fine, the court will reduce his felony theft conviction to a class B misdemeanor.
Under Utah law, $10,000 is the maximum fine for second-degree felonies, which are also punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
“I express my gratitude for the tireless dedication and efforts of our detectives and prosecutors in the investigation of Mr. Abdalla,” Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter said in a statement.
“Their unwavering commitment while investigating this egregious crime is a testament to the exceptional qualities of the individuals representing the Park City Police Department and Summit County Attorney’s Office. Our thoughts are with the victims in this case, and we trust that this resolution, to some extent, will help address their pursuit of justice.”
A guilty plea is treated as an admission of guilt in civil court, but a no contest plea isn’t.
Abdalla had been embroiled in civil litigation with fellow Main Street condo owners for years before he caught felony charges. Ultimately, a judge ordered him to pay a $2.3 million settlement in 2020.
Abdalla’s defense attorney Cara Tangaro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
