Judge Will Select Overseers For FLDS Church Trust
 
The Associated Press
KUTV Channel 2
 
Third District Court Judge Denise Lindberg will preside over a case involving who controls the trust fund for a polygamist church on the Utah-Arizona border.

Lindberg's appointment Wednesday came after another judge, Constandinos Himonas, recused himself because of a potential conflict of interest when deciding who should be installed as new trustees for the United Effort Plan, the trust for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The change in judges came as Utah and Arizona authorities continue to crack down on plural marriages and other areas of concern in the twin towns of Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz., where the church is thought to have its stronghold.

Also on Wednesday, attorneys general from Utah and Arizona announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of church President Warren Jeffs, who is on the lam after being indicted in Arizona with conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.

In May the state of Utah had the trust assets frozen and temporary control given to an outside firm because it was feared Jeffs was liquidating the assets. Last month, a state court permanently removed Jeffs and five other church leaders from the trust.

A hearing set by Himonas to appoint new United Effort Plan trustees on July 21 has been canceled. Lindberg has not set a new hearing date, said Nancy Volmer, a spokeswoman for the state courts.

Himonas recused himself after a petition was filed Friday requesting the appointment of outgoing Dixie State College President Robert Huddleston, certified public accountant Gregory Kemp and Dr. Craig Booth as new trustees.

The three are represented by a law firm which once employed Himonas.

"We're willing to participate in this activity if the judge selects us," Huddleston said Wednesday.

Donald B. Cox, 69, and James M Pipkin, 60, both petitioned for the appointment of Huddleston, Kemp and Booth.

The petition states Cox and Pipkin reside in Hildale in homes they built on UEP land and that Cox also helped buy a large parcel of land in Hildale that is now owned by the UEP. Neither is a member of the FLDS church.

Kemp's accounting firm, Kemp, Burdick, Hinton and Hall, handles the yearly audits for Hildale and Colorado City.

An additional petition was filed by the Phoenix-based advocacy group Child Protection Project. Former FLDS-member Flora Jessop and polygamy critic is the group's executive director.

The petition cites objections to the current list of proposed trustees and nominates it's own: Jessop, former FLDS members Pam Black, Laurene Jessop, Janet Johanson, Tracy Barlow and Carl Holm, as wells as Ward Jeffs, the elder brother of Warren Jeffs.

Also nominated by the organization are former Mohave County, Ariz., state senator Linda Binder, who sponsored legislation to prevent young girls from being forced into plural marriages, and current Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson.

Since the UEP was formed in the 1940s, members of the FLDS church have contributed to the fund. No one knows for sure how much the trust holdings are worth, but Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has estimated that the trust may be valued at about $100 million.

 
KUTV.com
Originally published July 13, 2005
 
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