SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Judge Denise Lindberg of 3rd District Court told representatives of the FLDS today: pay up, or else. The ultimatum was given over the required monthly payments that everyone in the twin towns of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona were supposed to be making to the United Effort Plan Trust. The UEP trust owns just about everything in the towns, but is in the red by 2.5 million dollars. It needs cash to pay the bills.
So last year the judge, would took control of the trust away from FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs four years ago, authorized a monthly payment – something similar to the dues of a homeowner’s association.
For two months, Judge Lindberg said, the FLDS paid. Each family paid their leaders, and their leaders made a lump sum payment to the Utah Attorney General’s office. Then the FLDS payments stopped. Now they’re 6 months behind. They owe more than $385,000.
In a status conference Wednesday on a possible settlement with the FLDS, the judge told their representatives they’ve got until Monday to pay half of the outstanding amount with the rest due by June 15th. “I absolutely demand… this is an order of the court,” she said. “Those payments need to be made forthwith. There will be no withholding of payments. Period.”
Judge Lindberg was also unhappy with settlement negotiations. She was told by some attorneys representing the interests of non-FLDS people living in the towns that they were being kept in the dark.
In fact, that was the reason for a protest yesterday on the steps of the state capitol. Non-believers people complained a deal with the FLDS could subject them to “religious tyranny.” Many remember not all that long ago, people were kicked out of their homes on the whims of Warren Jeffs. They don’t want that to happen again.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff who has taken the lead in negotiating with the FLDS, tried to assure protesters he is protecting their interests in the negotiations.
But in 3rd District Court, Bill Richards, the assistant Attorney General of Arizona said, “Emphatically… there has been no agreement reached that we would sign off on. 'The letter of intent' that was apparently crafted after I left on Friday… we do not agree with it.” He told the judge, “We see substantial constitutional problems. We see significant jurisdictional problems, significant trust law problems. More than anything, we see significant equitable problems with the proposal on the table.”
The judge told everyone to go back to the negotiating table and come up with a written proposal for her to review in two weeks.
