Flds - Follow The Money

[mollymalone]

Where do the funds come from that fund the approximately 10,000 FLDS members?
Federal Contracts, Construction contracts within the state of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, investments, tithing
and....your tax dollars.

THE FLDS EMPIRE "The then-prophet, Leroy "Uncle Roy" Johnson, reigned over an empire that now
includes interests in construction, real estate, hotels and restaurants, banking, and Bolivian Tin
mines."

"WELFARE AS CREATIVE BUDGETING"
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/f/f39ad.html
Jon Krakauer, author wrote in his book "Under the Banner of Heaven" that fundamentalist leaders in Colorado
City view the whole process as "creative budgeting." He says that they regard it as a "virtuous act."
Flora Jessop: ""They are told to go on welfare. It's called 'bleeding the beast' and they find it amusing that
Satan is supporting God's work."

[Floh]

I understand — from a post somewhere — FLDS made contributions to some politicians which would have quelled some serious questioning, IMO. is this so?

[mollymalone]

US Welfare & Benefits - Utah & AZ

1. Food stamps
2. Housing assistance
3. Medical assistance
4. Eyeglasses
5. Dental assistance
6. Fuel assistance
7. babysitting assistance

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/33519.html
Being responsible for the temporal needs of the members of the UEP, Bishop Fred Jessop encouraged anyone who was
eligible to take advantage of government assistance in the form of welfare and the WIC (woman-infant-child) programs.
Reportedly in 2003, "thirty-three percent of the town's residents receive food stamps compared to the state
average of 4.7 percent" resulting in more than $6 million a year in public funds being funneled into the community
of Colorado City, Arizona.

http://www.rickross.com/reference/p...olygamy103.html
"This subsidy is destined to rapidly expand. With each passing year, as the FLDS population grows, the cost to state
taxpayers rises. In addition to the $6 million going to FLDS-controlled governments, Arizona is footing the bill for
health care in Colorado City. Nearly everyone in the area receives state-managed health-care benefits, costing
taxpayers another $8 million annually."

"Taxpayers are also feeding the huge families resulting from polygamous marriages. More than half the population on the
Arizona side of the area receives food stamps, worth more than $2 million a year. Another $500,000 a year goes
to help pay for child care.

[mollymalone]

Question: Laurie, are the residents of Colorado City actually exempt somehow from state rules for public education?

Laurie Allen: They are, and the state exempts them from just about everything. They don't enforce the
law in that town. For example, in Phoenix, if a woman goes on welfare, she has to name the father of her child,
and there are many other things she has to do. In Colorado City, they don't have to - they just give them the money.
In Salt Lake City, if a mother is on welfare, she has to have her kids in school, getting a proper education.

That's not the case in Colorado City - they just give them the money. We know that approximately $30 million in
taxpayer money goes to support the FLDS alone. And most of the men have jobs in that town, and they don't report
the income. They call it "bleeding the beast" - take all the money from the taxpayers and give it to the prophet.
That's what they're taught. And it was the same in the LeBaron sect - they didn't have welfare in Mexico, but many
would be stateside and sending the money to Mexico.

[mollymalone]

http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy5.html
Note: The source for this article was "Polygamy on the Dole: Welfare aids the illegal lifestyle of many families in Utah-Arizona
border community" Salt Lake Tribune/June 28, 1998, By Tom Zoellner

Welfare is often how polygamist communities like Hildale in Utah and Colorado City in Arizona substantially support themselves.
Polygamists often use food stamps to feed their families. Former polygamist Benjamin Bisline said, "If it wasn't for government
subsidies, these people couldn't survive. There are people here with 15 wives on welfare.

Colorado City and Hildale were on a list of the top ten towns with a population over 2,000 in the Intermountain West for
reliance upon Medicaid (health care for the poor) in 1998. And in that same year the same towns draw from the Women,
Infants and Children (WIC) program (food for low-income mothers) could only be equaled by Western Indian reservations
and impoverished inner cities. 33% of Hildale and Colorado City residents were using food stamps in 1998. To put this
into perspective, respectively Arizona's average was 6.7% and Utah's 4.7% during that same period.

[mollymalone]

http://www.rickross.com/reference/po...polygamy5.html
Less Hildale households receive food stamps than many Utah towns. However, more aid comes to Hildale as a community because
of the number of children that live in each household. During one month in 1997 35 households received a total of $22,375 for
393 people, while another Utah town Parowan, got half that amount for 165 residents. The largest household in Parowan was seven members, while Hildale recorded a household of 37 people receiving food stamps.

According to federal paperwork, Colorado City is filled largely with unwed mothers without any visible spousal support.
Polygamous women are treated as single mothers. "In terms of food-stamp eligibility, she's not in a recognized marriage situation,
and she'd be considered a single mom with kids,'' said Mason Bishop, spokesman for the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

According to Arizona records the Cooperative Mercantile Exchange, the one grocery store in Colorado City, collected $26,466
from the WIC food program in December 1997. Hildale has its own WIC office rented to the government for $400 a month in
1998. In an affidavit Hildale's town attorney stated, "There is a large amount of foot traffic in and out of [the WIC] office.''

[mollymalone]

http://www.rickross.com/reference/po...polygamy5.html

Hildale received $405,006 from federal housing grants to remodel 19 homes on FLDS land.

Trailers are parked next to mansions. Half the place seems to be under construction. This is because the FLDS dislikes mortgages.
Nobody can get financing for a house, so homes are built when money is available.

Public money was used to remodel 19 homes according to Utah state records. People who received this money were
picked by Hildale city officials. FLDS leader Fred Jessop approved each one according to court records.

[mollymalone]

http://www.beyondborders.org/Publications/BB%20newsletter%20Winter%2005%20Final.pdf

MONEY: WELFARE
Since the celestial wives of Bountiful are not legally married by the government, they all register as single mothers and
receive the child tax credit. Moreover, American girls shipped to Canada apply to immigrate here based on Section 25(1)
of the Immigration and Refugee Act which allows females who give birth here to become permanent residents.

Then they are eligible for health care, daycare subsidies, welfare, Canada Pension, Old Age pension, Canada child tax
benefit and the BC family bonus.

[mollymalone]

http://www.apologeticsindex.org/f/f39ad.html

Multiple wives, who were married in church, but not in the eyes of the law, began applying for state assistance. Food Stamps
and Federal programs like WIC, which provide nutritional assistance to low-income women and children, were also tapped.
So were healthcare dollars through Arizona's AHCCCS program, which provides most of the medical insurance for
residents in Colorado City AZ. Last year over 4,000 residents were enrolled, reportedly costing the state about $8 million
a year.

[mollymalone]

Mayor Barlow

He conceded though that welfare payments made polygamist life better for FLDS families. But he felt those receiving benefits
from the WIC program are actually doing "the thing that Americans do." Barlow claimed the community could get along without welfare if it had to. "We would survive, but we wouldn't survive at the level we are now. Like the rest of America, if it weren't
for the aid of the government, many people would be at a lower lifestyle," he said. Unemployment though is almost zero in both Hildale and Colorado City, according to U.S. Census records. So why do 33% need food stamps? Barlow said this is because they "don't have high-paying jobs.''

MOLLY SAYS:Not everyone else in America is collecting benefits, and a huge majority don't have high paying jobs.

[mollymalone]

Yearning for Zion Ranch

http://rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy481.html

San Angelo Standard, Texas/June 24, 2006 By Matt Phinney

"The group has faithfully paid its property taxes since buying the land, and this year's note should be the biggest yet.

The massive building was appraised for the first time this year and stands at a preliminary value of about $8 million.
The entire YFZ Ranch north of Eldorado, where the building is located, has an assessed value of nearly
$18 million, according to preliminary numbers by Schleicher County Appraiser Scott Sutton.

If the numbers at the YFZ ranch stand, the group's tax bill would be about $450,000. The sect paid about $200,000 last
year. All entities in Schleicher County offer an incentive for taxpayers to pay early. They get a 3-percent discount if the
bill is paid in October, 2 percent in November and 1 percent in December. The YFZ Ranch paid its taxes in October last
year, and in December in 2004 when it purchased the land, Sutton said.

According to the state tax code, property owned by religious organizations may qualify for a property-tax exemption
if the organization files for an exemption and shows it qualifies for the discount. Eligible property includes places of
worship and residences of clergy, according to the code.

Sutton said the group has never filed for an exemption.

[mollymalone]

http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy5.html

Colorado City had one radio station in 1998, KCAA. A program "In the Spotlight,'' is hosted by Tom Barlow. He often criticizes
the federal government. On one show he blasted the "welfare state" and national debt. But Barlow, a trucker, admits
to taking welfare to support his family and sees no contradiction.

"This society we're in has got us in a trap,'' he said. He claims, "The dependence we have on such things as hydroelectric
power and fossil fuels has got people in a situation where it's about impossible to raise families without government help.
We're in a trap because we have to obey a lot of stupid laws from the state of Utah and federal government.''

The radio station itself actually sits on FLDS land and received $445,00 from the "Colorado City Improvement Association"
(president and trustee is FLDS Presiding Bishop Jessop) to build and operate.

[mollymalone]

I understand — from a post somewhere — FLDS made contributions to some politicians which would have quelled some serious questioning, IMO. is this so?
Floh, the 10,000 members vote as their prophet or leaders want them to. It's been rumored that they've voted for Orrin Hatch,
who has claimed to have friends in Hilldale and has not seen any abuse.. If I can find that article again I will post it.

[mollymalone]

http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy5.html

Another town controlled essentially by one religion was denied services and public money.
This was the Oregon City of Rajneeshpuram, run by cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, a "guru" from India.
A federal judge ruled in 1984 that allowing the community to incorporate would amount to promotion
of a specific religion. However, Hildale was chartered before that ruling.

Yet in 1985, a year after the Rajneeshpuram decision in federal court, Arizona allowed Colorado City to
incorporate anyway, which made the town eligible to receive state and federal grants.

Since then it has received over $1.8 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to pave
streets, upgrade fire equipment and build a water-storage tank. Hildale got $94,000 for its fire station. And the
government-financed airport on the edge of Colorado City cost $2.8 million.

MOLLY says: That's the one many in the FLDS considered as Jeff's private airport.

[mollymalone]

http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy5.html

Jeffs, who succeeded Leroy Johnson in 1986 is credited with the financial acumen that brought the FLDS into a new,
modern era. Janet Johansen said, "He knew of all the breaks available and how to get around regulations and all the
loopholes. Rulon Jeffs is the one who moved the group in that direction. He's the money man.''

[mollymalone]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5716417.html

Holm, 55, a Utah businessman who left the sect years ago after contributing more than $5 million in cash and property.
"The Texas compound is supposedly for some of the elite that were culled out of the common folks and riffraff who were
left here to work and send money to the elite over there." "A while back, even two or three years ago, they were asking $500
to $1,000 a month from each family. And they had scores of men go down there and do the building. They worked for nothing,"

Jeffs raised additional millions by selling properties owned by the church's community trust, called the United Effort Plan,
and by persuading sect businessmen to kick in large sums."We're talking about tens of millions. And you've got to remember
the Texas compound isn't the only one he has," Bistline said. "There's one in South Dakota, a small one in Colorado and others in Canada."

There are people in the organization who are very skilled at producing money. There was one business, Western Precision,
that did things for the military. That was bringing in millions," he said. "That's where the money came for Texas.
They're not making any out there."

[mollymalone]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5716417.html

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has reported that John Nielsen, a former employee of Western Precision, which is now called
NewEra Manufacturing, claimed as part of a civil lawsuit that sect members were made to work for little or no wages and
that up to $100,000 in monthly profits were donated to Jeffs or the church.

"Significant assets were sold by the FLDS church just prior to the land in Texas being purchased, including a property in
Utah called the Steed Ranch, which sold for a little over $8 million, and a couple of other parcels in Apple Valley, (Utah),"
Hoole said. "That money didn't stay in Short Creek. It's probably a very safe assumption that it went to Texas."

[mollymalone]

http://www.childbrides.org/taxes_KSL_bank_loses_money.html

The Bank of Ephraim made high-risk business and consumer loans in the polygamist community on the Arizona border
and lost more than three quarters of a million dollars last year.

Bank of Ephraim Chairman Carl Barton described its lending relationship with residents of the twin polygamist communities
of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, as "very unique."

[mollymalone]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/17/polygamy.pentagon/index.html

The U.S. government paid more than $1.7 million in defense contracts over the last decade to companies owned by leaders
of Warren Jeffs' polygamous sect, with tens of thousands allegedly winding its way back to Jeffs and his church.

CNN has learned that between 1998 and 2007, the United States Air Force and Defense Logistics Agency purchased more than
$1.7 million worth of airplane parts from three companies owned by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, which practices polygamy.

Those companies are Utah Tool and Die, Western Precision and NewEra Manufacturing. Today, the companies all operate under
the name NewEra Manufacturing, a company based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that says it supplies precision components
"for the aerospace, military, medical, recreational and other commercial entities."

"It was my understanding that Western Precision was paying roughly $50,000 a week into the coffers of the church,"
former sect member Richard Holm said. "It would have been close to $200,000 a month." Holm said he helped build
Western Precision.

[Floh]

Yearning for Zion Ranch

http://rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy481.html

San Angelo Standard, Texas/June 24, 2006 By Matt Phinney

"The group has faithfully paid its property taxes since buying the land, and this year's note should be the biggest yet.

The massive building was appraised for the first time this year and stands at a preliminary value of about $8 million. The entire YFZ Ranch north of Eldorado, where the building is located, has an assessed value of nearly $18 million, according to preliminary numbers by Schleicher County Appraiser Scott Sutton.

If the numbers at the YFZ ranch stand, the group's tax bill would be about
$450,000. The sect paid about $200,000 last year. All entities in Schleicher County offer an incentive for taxpayers to pay early. They get a 3-percent discount if the bill is paid in October, 2 percent in November and 1 percent in December. The YFZ Ranch paid its taxes in October last year, and in December in 2004 when it purchased the land, Sutton said.

According to the state tax code, property owned by religious organizations may qualify for a property-tax exemption if the organization files for an exemption and shows it qualifies for the discount. Eligible property includes places of worship and residences of clergy, according to the code.

Sutton said the group has never filed for an exemption.

Of course not because they would have been required to turn over their secret paperwork, wouldn't they?

[mollymalone]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/17/pol...gon/index.html

A court affidavit signed by a man whose father was the president of Western Precision makes similar allegations.
During 2003, the amount being sent to the storehouse and the FLDS was around $100,000 per month,"
John Nielsen said in the October 26, 2005, affidavit. "I have personal knowledge that checks sent to the FLDS
Church/Warren Jeffs by [Western Precision] are payable to the FLDS Church and/or Warren Jeffs."

[mollymalone]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/17/pol...gon/index.html

Private investigator Sam Brower, who monitors the sect, said money earned through business dealings
with the U.S. government was used to build Jeffs' compounds across the country, including the one
recentlyraided in Eldorado, Texas. Brower says dozens of companies tied to FLDS are working on
contracts with federal or local governments. The Pentagon would confirm only it had contracts with three.

[mollymalone]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/17/pol...gon/index.html

The companies have not been charged with wrongdoing. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell emphasized
that point."The Department of Defense awards contracts on the basis of who can most effectively meet
our requirements for supplies or services at the most reasonable cost to the taxpayer," he said.
"We do not consider religious affiliation or marital status when selecting vendors, but illegal activity is
certainly cause for termination of a contract and perhaps even debarment, which could prevent a
contractor from doing business with department ever again."

[mollymalone]

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A313592
From government construction sites like one at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve to one at the Clark County Wetlands Park,
a river is running. But it's not water that flows from these places. It's money, taxpayers' money.

And a whole lot of it is going to JNJ Engineering. The company has nearly $10.5 million in government contracts
with the City, County and Water District. Spokesperson J.C. Davis says $9.6 million of that is with the Water District
alone. "They keep getting contracts because they keep bidding on contracts."

JNJ Engineering's Jacob Jessop and his family live in a million-dollar home on Gilbert Lane in northwest Las Vegas
and another one in Hildale, Utah.

[mollymalone]

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A313592
Nevada law requires government to award its contracts to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
JNJ often undercuts the next lowest bidder by tens or hundreds of thousands, and their bids are also often hundreds of
thousands less than the government engineer's own estimate.

Flora Jessop says there's a reason for that. "A lot of what happens in these corporations is they use their children as the
labor force and so they don't have to pay wages. And each one of those boys, while collecting a paycheck, never see
that paycheck. That money is sent directly to the prophet." "I used to work for construction companies, too, and we'd
get paid one check, and then we'd turn another check over to them after we'd sign it back over to them," said Isaac.
"So, their records showed like it should be even though that's not how it was."

[Floh]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/17/polygamy.pentagon/index.html

The U.S. government paid more than $1.7 million in defense contracts over the last decade to companies owned by leaders
of Warren Jeffs' polygamous sect, with tens of thousands allegedly winding its way back to Jeffs and his church.

CNN has learned that between 1998 and 2007, the United States Air Force and Defense Logistics Agency purchased more than
$1.7 million worth of airplane parts from three companies owned by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, which practices polygamy.

Those companies are Utah Tool and Die, Western Precision and NewEra Manufacturing. Today, the companies all operate under
the name NewEra Manufacturing, a company based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that says it supplies precision components
"for the aerospace, military, medical, recreational and other commercial entities."

"It was my understanding that Western Precision was paying roughly $50,000 a week into the coffers of the church,"
former sect member Richard Holm said. "It would have been close to $200,000 a month." Holm said he helped build
Western Precision.

Well, now. from what we've so far learned it's almost certain children were a part of production of goods for the nation and this is surely wrong.

[mollymalone]

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A313592

Neither the Water District, nor the County, nor the City, have any mechanism in place to check on contract compliance.
They don't require employee lists, dates of birth, or social security numbers, so they don't know whether proper wages
are being paid, and they don't know how old the workers are. The only way that would be checked out is if someone
complained to the Labor Department.

That's something Flora Jessop says will likely never happen because of the oppressive culture that FLDS members grow up in.
"Every one of the people working for JNJ Engineering were born into this group. They own them."

Paragon Contractors Corporation, another Hildale, Utah FLDS construction company, was fined more than $10,000 by
the U.S. Department of Labor for employing minors aged 12, 13 and 15, and failing to pay them for their work.

[Floh]

Floh, the 10,000 members vote as their prophet or leaders want them to. It's been rumored that they've voted for Orrin Hatch,
who has claimed to have friends in Hilldale and has not seen any abuse.. If I can find that article again I will post it.

Looking forward to it. i remember way back when making a post about Orrin's comments, but b*gg*red if i can find it now! :crazy:

[mollymalone]

Well, now. from what we've so far learned it's almost certain children were a part of production of goods for the nation and this is surely wrong.I think I remember reading where one of the young girls who was being difficult was sent to work in this company or one other, but the boys were definitely used in the construction and other heavy industries.

[mollymalone]

http://www.eldoradosuccess.com/YFZ%20Pages/YFZ022405a.html

While the Utah legal action won’t immediately affect Jeffs’ far-flung holdings in Colorado and Texas, the implication is clear.
If new trustees are appointed to head the UEP Trust, efforts will soon follow to prove that UEP assets were diverted to
purchase property near Mancos, CO and here in Schleicher County where Jeffs’ followers are busy constructing a new
community, complete with a massive temple, on the YFZ Ranch.

In order to get such proof, a financial forensic specialist would be needed and sources close to the attorneys in this case
tell the Success that it is likely that Judge Roth will be encouraged to appoint just such an expert to follow the complex
money trail.

Money is power and the UEP Trust reportedly has plenty of it — as much as $120 million by some accounts.
The trust also controls almost all land and housing in and around Colorado City/Hildale, giving Jeffs incredible power
of the day-to-day lives an estimated 8,000 FLDS members who live there.

[mollymalone]

http://www.ktar.com/?sid=803901&nid=6
``When they began to basically clamp down on this group for its illegal activities, it had accumulated assets in excess of $200-million dollars," he said. ``So this was a group that grew very rich, very powerful, often through taxpayers' money."

[mollymalone]

Molly says: In 2000, there was a huge bust up within the FLDS which caused the collapse of the PUBLIC school system
in Colorado City, AZ. The school district was dominated by those loyal to Warren Jeffs and key positions within the
school district were filled by Flds members. Jeffs ordered that the children and teachers be withdrawn from the school
and they did. Those loyal to him were labeled "First ward" and those opposed "Second ward."


60% of all incoming money was spent outside the classroom.
http://www.ktar.com/?sid=803901&nid=6

By the start of the 2001 school year, the district's enrollment fell from 950 students to 300. The state of Arizona has a kind of
"stop-loss" policy for public schools. Commonly known as the "rapid decline" program, it was designed to help struggling rural
schools when military redeployment or severe economic downturn caused a sharp drop in enrollment. The program continues
to fund such schools at previous enrollment levels, allowing the district to gradually ease into a smaller budget.

The first-ward-dominated school board seized on this program, funnelling the extra money to Jeff's followers.
First ward teachers may have resigned, but the support staff roster was packed with loyal first ward janitors,
secretaries and bus drivers- in fact, the student-to-staff ratio was 3 to1. Student-to-staff ratios outside the district
averaged 26 to 1. First ward bus drivers were soon earning $30,000 per year while remaining second ward teachers
started at $20,000. [B]60% of all incoming money was spent outside the classroom. Loyal Jeffs followers drove
district-owned Ford Excursions and Chevy Suburbans. District administrators travelled and dined in restaurants
using school funds.

Because most of the land in the Twin Cities area belonged to the United Effort Plan, it had never been traded on the open
market. This made land values very difficult to assess for tax purposes. This in turn allowed District Administrators to claim
an impoverished tax base for their school system. Even more state money rolled in. Over time, using a complex series
of lease transactions, the FLDS church siphoned off these public monies to fund a system of private schools/religious
academiesteaching FLDS doctrine.

[Floh]

Molly says: In 2000, there was a huge bust up within the FLDS which caused the collapse of the PUBLIC school system
in Colorado City, AZ. The school district was dominated by those loyal to Warren Jeffs and key positions within the school district were filled by Flds members. Jeffs ordered that the children and teachers be withdrawn from the school and they did. Those loyal
to him were labeled "First ward" and those opposed "Second ward."


60% of all incoming money was spent outside the classroom.
http://www.ktar.com/?sid=803901&nid=6

By the start of the 2001 school year, the district's enrollment fell from 950 students to 300. The state of Arizona has a kind of "stop-
loss" policy for public schools. Commonly known as the "rapid decline" program, it was designed to help struggling rural schools when military redeployment or severe economic downturn caused a sharp drop in enrollment. The program continues to fund such schools at previous enrollment levels, allowing the district to gradually ease into a smaller budget.

The first-ward-dominated school board seized on this program, funnelling the extra money to Jeff's followers. First ward teachers may have resigned, but the support staff roster was packed with loyal first ward janitors, secretaries and bus drivers- in fact, the student-to-staff ratio was 3 to1. Student-to-staff ratios outside the district averaged 26 to 1. First ward bus drivers were soon earning $30,000 per year while remaining second ward teachers started at $20,000. [B]60% of all incoming money was spent outside the classroom. Loyal Jeffs followers drove district-owned Ford Excursions and Chevy Suburbans. District administrators travelled and dined in restaurants using school funds.

Because most of the land in the Twin Cities area belonged to the United Effort Plan, it had never been traded on the open market. This made land values very difficult to assess for tax purposes. This in turn allowed District Administrators to claim an impoverished tax base for their school system. Even more state money rolled in.

Over time, using a complex series of lease transactions, the FLDS church siphoned off these public monies to fund a system of private schools/religious academiesteaching FLDS doctrine.

Well the money surely didn't go towards Warren Jeffs' style of dress — what has he been spending it on? :eek:

[mollymalone]

Well the money surely didn't go towards Warren Jeffs' style of dress — what has he been spending it on? :eek:
Jets, restaurants, wigs... computer and electronic surveillance equipment .. you name it, just look at the list in court records of items recovered from the ranch.

[mollymalone]

http://www.ktar.com/?sid=803901&nid=6

5% of the land in the Twin Cities area was owned by the United Effort Plan Trust, the financial arm of the FLDS church. Families lived
as tenants in homes assigned to them by FLDS leaders. They worked in businesses built by labor 'donated' to the FLDS church.

Jeffs himself lived in a walled compound in Hildale- until he became a fugitive.
http://www.freewillblog.com/index.php/weblog/comments/5712/
photo of jeffs home in colorado city

The assets of this empire included a 55,000 square foot factory, valued at $6 million, that produced precision parts for airlines and defense contractors, a $220,000 Cessna 210 airplane and private airport and numerous private schools. All were property of the FLDS church.

[mollymalone]

http://humaniststudies.org/enews/?article=1&id=243

Of course, contributions to the beast's existence are anathema, so paying one's taxes is a grave sin. Any FLDS member
caught paying property taxes faces excommunication. This has resulted in the nonpayment of more than $1 million
in property taxes of individual FLDS property owners living in Colorado City.

[Floh]

Jeffs himself lived in a walled compound in Hildale- until he became a fugitive.
http://www.freewillblog.com/index.php/weblog/comments/5712/
photo of jeffs home in colorado city

The assets of this empire included a 55,000 square foot factory, valued at $6 million, that produced precision parts for airlines and defense contractors, a $220,000 Cessna 210 airplane and private airport and numerous private schools. All were property of the FLDS church.

OMG! :eek: :eek: :eek:

what a link! :eek: :eek: :eek:

[mollymalone]

http://humaniststudies.org/enews/?article=1&id=243

The beast can be bled in other ways. The government allows benefits to be paid to child-care providers who are related to their charges, so one wife can be paid for taking care of another wife's children. Both Colorado City and Hildale have received enormous sums for city projects that benefit mostly FLDS members. Colorado City received $2.8 million for an airport that serves only FLDS members.

[mollymalone]

OMG! :eek: :eek: :eek:

what a link! :eek: :eek: :eek:I'm sorta like Fox, I'll post the link.. you decide. LOL

[Floh]

http://humaniststudies.org/enews/?article=1&id=243

The beast can be bled in other ways. The government allows benefits to be paid to child-care providers who are related to their charges, so one wife can be paid for taking care of another wife's children. Both Colorado City and Hildale have received enormous sums for city projects that benefit mostly FLDS members. Colorado City received $2.8 million for an airport that serves only FLDS members.


All this information about the money is astounding — truly so! :eek:

[Floh]

I'm sorta like Fox, I'll post the link.. you decide. LOL

:clap: :clap: :clap:

[mollymalone]

http://www.ktar.com/?sid=803901&nid=6

October 2005, Fred Barlow Jeffs, then Marshall of Hildale and Colorado City, wrote a letter to Warren Jeffs. "I rejoice in the peace that comes over me when I follow the directives you have sent to me...I have felt a unity between the peace officers. They have all stated to me their desire to follow the directives that are placed before us...I want to fill the position that you would have me fill and do the job the way that you would like it done."

Not laws. Directives. From a fugitive. Not a constitution or legislature.

According to Mohave County, Arizona investigator Gary Engels, by 2007 FLDS doctrine had long since replaced federal and state law. In a CNN interview, Engles said:" It's my experience...that these police officers are not real police officers. They're enforcers for the FLDS church. They're enforcers for Warren."

Officials in the Twin Cities have a long record of resisting state and federal law. There are stories of subpeonas not being served; of suspects being tipped off and then fleeing into the desert. Women attempting to escape forced polygamy know already that the police will simply enforce the 'directives' of the FLDS church. Non-FLDS residents complain that their civil rights are routinely violated.

In an NPR interview, Engels stated: "These people don't have the right to voice their opinion. They don't have the right to criticize."And, in a CNN interview: "I would just love to see the whole community brought back into the United States, where everybody has equal rights."

"The plain fact is that a fundamentalist, fanatical religious sect nearly succeeded in establishing an independent homeland on sovereign U.S. soil, funded by U.S. taxpayers and enforcing religious law.

Civil rights enshrined in the Constitution were ignored. Freedom of religion was non-existant. This disturbing example must be made an temporary aberration lest it become a precedent. Unless it is "brought back into the United States," the Twin Cities area could one day serve as the model for some other, better-funded, fanatical group

[galvino]

Molly- Thanks so much for all these links! I think you are most qualified to compile thr "FLDS Financials For Dummies" Book I so long for, but until then I am happy going thru these posts and starting the first of what I perceive will be MANY flow charts!

Now if someone could start with a family tree.....

[mollymalone]

http://helpthechildbrides.com/articles/prescottcourier.htm
"The FLDS Prophet, Rulon Jeffs, ordered the faithful to stop all contact with heathen and apostates -- which meant anybody who is not FLDS. So about 650 children left the 950 student system. "Even though all the church¹s children left, the School Board has remained 100percent FLDS. Remember this as you read."

This is a very poor school district, and the board never tried to build its own schools. Instead, they leased space in buildings
owned by the FLDS church. After the edict in 2000, the district did not need as much space, so even though some leases were paid up for several years in advance, the board relinquished most of it. Now the church has that space for its own schools.

Every negotiation was a sweetheart deal which favored the church at the expense of the taxpayers. Next, the school board pleaded poverty to the newly created Arizona School Facilities Board.The facilities in Colorado City were indeed bad, so in 2001 the state built them a new $6 million K-12 school, and we taxpayers paid for it.

[Floh]

Molly- Thanks so much for all these links! I think you are most qualified to compile thr "FLDS Financials For Dummies" Book I so long for, but until then I am happy going thru these posts and starting the first of what I perceive will be MANY flow charts!

Now if someone could start with a family tree.....

The very idea! :eek:

[mollymalone]

http://helpthechildbrides.com/articles/prescottcourier.htm
At about the same time, Arizona launched a program to provide a financial cushion for schools in the event of a rapid
decline in enrollment --something usually caused by a major employer shutting down. After the FLDS suddenly removed
two-thirds of the students, the Colorado City district qualified. They have received about $1.5 million per year for the
past three years under this 'rapid decline' program, and will for three more years -- about $9 million total.
So we paid again.

FLDS teachers were forbidden to teach the heathen and apostate kids, so most of them moved to the new church
schools. Most other employees stayed, and the public school district remains the largest employer in the area. It
still has 100 employees, for only 300 students now -- an outrageously high 3 to 1 ratio. Every student is now bussed
to the new school from outlying areas."

"Starting with the Prophet¹s edict in 2000, the FLDS have crafted a scheme that defrauds Arizona taxpayers on several
levels, and it seems that nobody even realizes it. Or nobody cares. District School Supt. Alvin Barlow has been in his job
longer than any other superintendent in the state, so he¹s knowledgeable. (Incidentally, he also has four secretaries
and four administrative aides.)

"Barlow goes to state surplus property sales and gets school equipment and supplies on the cheap, then shares them with
the church schools."

[mollymalone]

http://helpthechildbrides.com/articles/prescottcourier.htm

One of the perks of being a public school official in Colorado City is free transportation. The district owns 15 vehicles (mostly big SUVs, vans, and pickups) which are assigned to various administrators and principals who happen to be FLDS. They¹re supposedly for official business, but they get a lot of personal use with the district paying for fuel, maintenance, and insurance. Free use of a large vehicle is a great benefit for a polygamist family.

This little 300 student district also bought an airplane last year -- a used Cessna 210, for $220,000 -- so the officials can get to meetings easier. Then they contracted with the son of the school board president to fly it for them.

[mollymalone]

Molly- Thanks so much for all these links! I think you are most qualified to compile thr "FLDS Financials For Dummies" Book I so long for, but until then I am happy going thru these posts and starting the first of what I perceive will be MANY flow charts!

Now if someone could start with a family tree.....
:chicken: I love genealogy but even I ain't going there!!:crazy:

[Floh]

http://www.ktar.com/?sid=803901&nid=6

October 2005, Fred Barlow Jeffs, then Marshall of Hildale and Colorado City, wrote a letter to Warren Jeffs. "I rejoice in the peace that comes over me when I follow the directives you have sent to me...I have felt a unity between the peace officers. They have all stated to me their desire to follow the directives that are placed before us...I want to fill the position that you would have me fill and do the job the way that you would like it done."

Not laws. Directives. From a fugitive. Not a constitution or legislature.

According to Mohave County, Arizona investigator Gary Engels, by 2007 FLDS doctrine had long since replaced federal and state law. In a CNN interview, Engles said:" It's my experience...that these police officers are not real police officers. They're enforcers for the FLDS church. They're enforcers for Warren."

Officials in the Twin Cities have a long record of resisting state and federal law. There are stories of subpeonas not being served; of suspects being tipped off and then fleeing into the desert. Women attempting to escape forced polygamy know already that the police will simply enforce the 'directives' of the FLDS church. Non-FLDS residents complain that their civil rights are routinely violated.

In an NPR interview, Engels stated: "These people don't have the right to voice their opinion. They don't have the right to criticize."And, in a CNN interview: "I would just love to see the whole community brought back into the United States, where everybody has equal rights."

"The plain fact is that a fundamentalist, fanatical religious sect nearly succeeded in establishing an independent homeland on sovereign U.S. soil, funded by U.S. taxpayers and enforcing religious law.

Civil rights enshrined in the Constitution were ignored. Freedom of religion was non-existant. This disturbing example must be made an temporary aberration lest it become a precedent. Unless it is "brought back into the United States," the Twin Cities area could one day serve as the model for some other, better-funded, fanatical group


The children's welfare is the very crux of the matter, IMO, of the FLDS raid. if not that small thing, the bleeding of the TAXPAYERS must surely make all sit up and pay attention! :waitasec:

[mollymalone]

http://helpthechildbrides.com/articles/prescottcourier.htm

"How would you like for the state to pay your food bill, especially if you had dozens of mouths to feed? Would $2,000 a month be OK? This is not uncommon in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Some families get more."

"According to state and federal guidelines, what counts is the number of people living together. Consequently, they're usually eligible for food stamps, child care, and medical care at government expense." About half of the fundamentalists receive food stamps, compared to five percent statewide. This costs the state and federal governments over $3 million a year for those polygamists in Arizona.

Five years ago there were no Colorado City children getting child care assistance, but last year there were about 200 -- which cost the state another $600,000. These benefits can be paid to care-providers who are related to the children, so sometimes one wife can get paid for taking care of another wife¹s kids.

Colorado City gets back about eight dollars in benefits for every dollar the residents pay in state taxes, while for the rest of Mohave County it¹s about one for one.

[galvino]

Floh- I agree with you ABSOLUTELY!

[Floh]

Floh- I agree with you ABSOLUTELY!
:blowkiss: :blowkiss: :blowkiss:

[mollymalone]

The children's welfare is the very crux of the matter, IMO, of the FLDS raid. if not that small thing, the bleeding of the TAXPAYERS must surely make all sit up and pay attention! :waitasec:Well, I certainly hope that with those children in the state's care, once the've sorted out who belongs to who that the states of Utah and AZ get a handle on who should be collecting benefits and who should not. For example, if a child/children were sent to Texas to be raised there by someone else by a man and his wife/wives, and they are still collecting monies, without having the custody and care of the children that their welfare money is cut off. That money should be paid towards the care of the child.

What gets me is that there are many of the women who do work outside the home as teachers in the public school or other "approved" jobs while they're probably collecting benefits off the taxpayer.

[Truly]

Floh, the 10,000 members vote as their prophet or leaders want them to. It's been rumored that they've voted for Orrin Hatch,
who has claimed to have friends in Hilldale and has not seen any abuse.. If I can find that article again I will post it.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0605/S00364.htm

Molly, is this the one you're looking for? I believe you posted this yesterday.

Orrin Hatch and Sen. Bob Bennett represent Hildale, UT.

And Colorado City, AZ, just across the border, is represented by Senator John McCain and Sen. John Kyle.

Things that make you go hmmm...

[mollymalone]

http://helpthechildbrides.com/articl...ottcourier.htm


In the well publicized case of Tom Green and his five wives in Utah, the state documented that the Green family received $647,000 between 1989 and 1999 Then they estimated that the grand total (for a longer period) was over $1 million -- just for this one family.

[mollymalone]

http://helpthechildbrides.com/articl...ottcourier.htm

Also, the Arizona Auditor General¹s office has begun an investigation into practices of the Colorado City School Board. They routinely use the schools' credit cards and vehicles for personal use. They spend funds extravagantly, such as buying an airplane, and then make the students raise money to go see The Wizard of Oz.

The students and teachers (none of whom are FLDS any longer) claim that the board members (who are all FLDS) are running the district primarily to benefit the private FLDS schools instead of its own schools. County school officials told state officials that the district is spending state funds improperly, but nothing more has happened. It¹s an 'ongoing investigation.'

[mollymalone]

http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news/story/585189.html
If the allegations of polygamy and children abuse are proven true, then the proper authorities should terminate their government contracts and tax breaks," said U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, a Waco Democrat whose district stretches from Hood and Johnson counties southward past College Station.
U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Flower Mound, said he too is concerned about the situation.

"These recent discoveries raise many serious questions," said Burgess, whose district includes most of Denton County and part of Fort Worth. "I hope a full and thorough investigation is conducted and completed as soon as possible."

[galvino]

Dateline starts now on polygamy!

[Floh]

http://www.scoop.co/nz/stories/HL0605/500364.htm

Molly, is this the one you're looking for? I believe you posted this yesterday.

Orrin Hatch and Sen. Bob Bennett represent Hildale, UT.

And Colorado City, AZ, just across the border, is represented by Senator John McCain and Sen. John Kyle.

Things that make you go hmmm...

Going "hmmm..." a lot, but holding myself back as it should be reserved for the political pavillion, i think?

i'll make one snarky remark in that it IS remarkable the the biggest CPS story in the history of the USA has not, to my knowledge, been spoken of by any of the potential presidents of the country or even :silenced: :silenced: :silenced: :silenced: :silenced: :silenced: :blushing: THE current president!

still my mouth! :silenced: :silenced: :silenced: :blushing:

[mollymalone]

Polygamous sect hid in plain sight of Eldorado By Corrie MacLaggan
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sunday, April 13, 2008

The church group pays 14 cents a gallon to deliver its liquid waste to Eldorado's sewer plant, City Secretary Carolyn Mayo said. In October, Mayo noticed an increase in the amount of waste the group trucked in. Instead of three loads a week in a 3,000-gallon tanker truck, it was five loads a week, she said. The monthly bill approached $10,000.[/B]

In 2004 and 2005, the ranch applied for permits to discharge sewage into an essentially dry creek, said Terry Clawson, a spokesman for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. There was a lot of concern in the community about doing that," Clawson said. Ranch residents withdrew those applications and applied instead for a permit to treat wastewater and apply it to farm land, Clawson said. They got that permit in November 2007 but
haven't completed their sewage plant, he said.

[mollymalone]

http://www.scoop.com.nz/Stories/HL0605/500364.htm

Molly, is this the one you're looking for? I believe you posted this yesterday.

Orrin Hatch and Sen. Bob Bennett represent Hildale, UT.

And Colorado City, AZ, just across the border, is represented by Senator John McCain and Sen. John Kyle.

Things that make you go hmmm... :blowkiss: You're a sweetie! Yes! That's it!! Thanks!
Edited to add: I saw another one about Hatch too.

[Truly]

:blowkiss: You're a sweetie! Yes! That's it!! Thanks!
Edited to add: I saw another one about Hatch too.

LOL on the word sweet! :blowkiss:

And since I messed up the link, here it is after I finally managed to type it correctly:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0605/S00364.htm

Another very important piece of information from this same article:


You've got Rodney Parker, FLDS's registered agent for the FLDS corporations. He's a former Bush I Associate Deputy Attorney General who was on the immediate staff of the Deputy Attorney General of the US from 1988-89. Parker's now an attorney with the Utah law firm Snow, Christensen and Martineau, which represents the state of Utah.

[mollymalone]

In addition to the YFZ Ranch at Eldorado Tx, Hilldale, Utah and Colorado City, AZ, there are other properties the FLDS own and operate.

http://utahbooks.com/Polygamy_Groups.htm
Pinesdale, Montana, is an incorporated city located just north and west of Hamilton in the beautiful Bitter Root Valley. Pinesdale boasts about 1000 inhabitants. Marvin Jessop and his brother Morris are the priesthood leaders who preside over the town’s elected officials. Pinesdale, like Colorado City and Hildale, has received government grants towards the improvement of the town. And according to reliable informants inside Pinesdale, like Colorado City, plural wives are sent into nearby Hamilton to apply for welfare as single mothers. The informant reported that welfare checks are often taken directly to the priesthood leaders.

[mollymalone]

MOLLY SAYS: For every one story you hear like this, there are thousands more. Each family has had to pay money they earned....if they got a paycheck, over to the church, either the entire paycheck, or a tithe of 10 percent, and then above and beyond that whatever "donations" they were required to give. This occurs not only at Bountiful, but within the US FLDS properties. This is one way the FLDS leaders scam their followers and fill their coffers.

"Teressa Wall testified for her sister Elissa Wall in the Warren Jeffs trial.
She and her husband worked at a post-and-pole-manufacturing mill in Sundre, Alta.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/features/polygamy/story.html?id=883c7513-2c69-4b5a-b826-3d7da9a9bf66&k=59252
Roy got paid $1,000 a month. Of that, 10 per cent had to be paid in tithes. More went to special "donations." With the end of the world coming, Winston ordered frequent practice "famines."
Families were told to stock up. Then, for three months they could not buy any groceries. Grocery money had to be handed over to the church. During one of those "famines," Teressa and her family lived for weeks on only a five-gallon bucket of rice."

[mollymalone]

LOL on the word sweet! :blowkiss:

And since I messed up the link, here it is after I finally managed to type it correctly:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0605/S00364.htm

Another very important piece of information from this same article:
The very same Rodney Parker who's representing the FLDS in Texas, the very same attorney who says abuse doesn't occur within the sect, and that the girls are exaggerating their claims and the boys are all 18 or over and were into lifestyle choices that didn't mesh with the FLDS doctrine. Yeah, that Rodney Parker.

[mollymalone]

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/04/18/news/top/doc48095d0a7405a514684976.txt

"The land for the compound was purchased by an FLDS leader close to Warren Jeffs, who has headed the church, headquartered in the twin border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz." "Sheriff Wheeler said the buildings at the Pringle site are “exact replicas” of the ones at Eldorado."

"Custer County officials say the compound complies to the letter with county building regulations and pays its taxes on time. The Pringle compound is much smaller, with five lodges and a number of other buildings sitting on 140 acres in rough country in southwestern Custer County. Sheriff Wheeler has estimated the compound could hold 75 to 100 people."

"Another allegation raised about FLDS communities elsewhere has been that “spiritual” wives have drawn state welfare benefits. But that is not happening at the Pringle compound, according to Emily Currey, a spokeswoman for the South Dakota Department of Social Services.“The folks in the Pringle compound do not receive any benefits or assistance from the Department of Social Services,” Currey said this week. Currey said she did not know how many children are living in the compound. Six children at the compound are registered with the Custer School District for home schooling, district officials said."

MOLLY SAYS: That doesn't mean they aren't collecting from a nearby state. I've heard of cases where I live where persons would file in the two adjoining states. Although those instances were prosecuted, I'm sure there are still cases that are occurring. The FLDS leaders have figured out a lot of angles on how to cheat the system.

[mollymalone]

"The FLDS Church has additional developing communities near Benjamin Hills, Mexico (south of Nogales in the state of Sonora) and the other near Encinada, Baja (south of Tijuana)."

[mollymalone]

MOLLY SAYS: Although some may say this does not relate to following the money I believe it does, because it
concerns the officers of the Law who's salaries were paid by the taxpayers. Since they operated primarily as FLDS
enforcers instead of upholding the law, I'd consider those officers collecting money a form of fraud and abuse of power

Charged with protecting and serving their community, Colorado City police have long had a reputation for protecting and serving
church interests instead. The force, which covers Hildale as well, is reportedly handpicked by FLDS leaders. Call 911 here, say
state investigators, and it is the same as calling the FLDS.

Former police employees and state investigators say officers either ignore molestation allegations or send them to the church
rather than to outside prosecutors. Paul Musser, a former dispatcher for the Colorado City police, was eyewitness to the daily
activity of the station. "Sex crimes were handled very delicately, very discreetly," he said. "They were taken to the prophet."
Sam Roundy, a polygamist and former Colorado City police chief, moonlighted as a church security officer.

He told investigators from the police standards boards of Arizona and Utah who were evaluating his training that between
20 and 25 times he failed to report child sex abuse cases as required by law.

As a result, state child welfare agencies were often unaware of molestation allegations and unable to help or intervene on
behalf of possible victims. Another result was the reluctance of victims to call police in the first place. "I never once
considered going to the police," said Sara Hammon, 30, who told of enduring years of sexual abuse at the hands of her father
and rothers. "Going to the police would have been going against the whole town. Everyone was [molesting]. The church never
said it was all right, but it was treated nonchalantly."

[mykodiak]

:sick: All I could think while watching Dateline tonight was that somebody in the FLDS has NBC in its pocket. That report was disgusting.

[mollymalone]

Excellent article regarding the public servants paid salaries by taxpayers who routinely denied civil rights to fleeing FLDS girls, women, children and boys.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-sect12may12,0,3267921.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Court records, undisclosed investigative reports and interviews by The Times
over the last year show that church authorities flout state and federal laws and systematically deny rights and freedoms, especially to women and children. "The fact that this has been going on all these years, and the fact that justice has not been there to protect women and children … from amazing civil rights violations — it is an embarrassment," said Utah Atty. Gen. Mark Shurtleff. "I don't want to indict the states of Utah and Arizona, but mea culpa — we are responsible."

[mollymalone]

:sick: All I could think while watching Dateline tonight was that somebody in the FLDS has NBC in its pocket. That report was disgusting.ABC hasn't been too swift in their reporting either.

[galvino]

AGREED, Zodiak!!!!

Why doesn't CNN or someone show Banking on Heaven, or a follow the $ trail expose- I bet that'll get some folks riled up!

[galvino]

They need webslueths working for them so they can get their facts straight!

[mollymalone]

MOLLY SAYS: Some might say this isn't relevant to the money issue. Again it's a public official, who's salary is paid for by taxpayer dollars. The leniency in sentencing by this official beggars the question, who's he working for? The FLDS or for justice for victims?http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy448.html

On both sides of the state line, lenient sentences for sex abuse cases are a common complaint. Sometimes the leniency shocked even defense attorneys. Jim McGhee, attorney for Dan Barlow Jr., was stunned by his client's 13-day sentence. "I saw it as a victory, but the fact that he spent 13 days in jail for molesting five daughters is pretty amazing," he said. "The fact that the judge went along with it is one of the most surprising things."

Mohave County Superior Court Judge Richard Weiss, who presided over the case, said it was really just "a little bit of breast touching." During the father's sentencing proceedings, Judge Weiss was told that Johnson may have molested the man's daughter more times than he admitted in court."

[mollymalone]

http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy339.html

The longtime leader of the Bountiful group, Winston Blackmore, has been deposed by Jeffs. Jeffs has since evicted men who were loyal to Blackmore, and reassigned their wives and children to men who were loyal to him. But Blackmore, long known as the Bishop
of Bountiful, has refused to leave the community. It is his supporters from Hildale and Colorado City who Idaho officials believe are moving into Boundary County, to be closer to their spiritual leader.

"Idaho's Department of Health and Welfare is investigating possible welfare fraud and child brides in Boundary County, which has about 10,000 residents, but has found no evidence that is occurring, spokesman Tom Shanahan said. Idaho law enforcement
officers likewise say they have no reports of laws being broken, and are not even sure how many polygamists have moved into
the county. "There's lots of talk about underage brides, but no one seems to be able to produce one,'' said Boundary County
Sheriff Greg Sprungl. Idaho legislators have formed a special committee to examine persistent claims that child brides are being transported through the state, as part of exchanges between Bountiful and Utah."

The FLDS members in Idaho have bought big parcels of land that accommodate several large houses, and built a school for their children, Palmer said. Located at the foot of dramatic Skimmerhorn Mountain, Bountiful has existed for more than 50 years.

[mollymalone]

Edited to add: THIS IS CRAWFORD COLORDADO, NOT TEXAS (Sorry!)

http://www.kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=8160175
"It was shortly after the siege on the Eldorado, Texas compound, that residents in Crawford noticed a large fence going up around a piece of property near town."

"A woman we spoke with, who wishes to remain unnamed, says she met a few of the men who live on the property. She says they told her they are from Texas and they recently moved here. She says they told her they just want to keep to themselves. Other neighbors in Crawford tell us they think more than 100 people live there. They say multiple families are living there and the kids don't go to local schools. Another neighbor tells us they've noticed windows on the property are blocked out and covered up with bricks."

[mollymalone]

EDITED TO ADD: THIS IS CRAWFORD,COLORADO, NOT TEXAS (Sorry!)

http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=90002

*Photos*
(Sheriff) "He says the people living there admitted they are members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). He says he does not believe they are polygamists, but the topic did not come up during their visit. McKee says he toured a building and found no evidence of criminal activity and there will be no criminal investigation at the property owned by Neph Barlow. "

just wanted us to be able to look at the property and assure his neighbors that he doesn't have any type of criminal activity going on there and it's just him and his family and hired hands that are working on the property at this time," McKee told reporters at a news conference in Delta.

Neighbors living near Barlow's property, contacted 9Wants to Know after a privacy fence was built, raising concerns. [B]The more than 7-foot-tall fence blocks the property's view of a nearby mountain range that neighbors describe as beautiful.

[mollymalone]

http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=90002
"Another FLDS compound is located in Mancos in Montezuma County."

"The property in Montezuma County shares similar characteristics with the property purchased last year in Delta County. 9Wants to Know has confirmed neither county requires building permits. Residents are able to build without notifying county officials. Both properties are miles from town and offer natural privacy or man made privacy. In Crawford the large privacy fence shields part of the property. In Mancos, mountain terrain and trees block much of the public's view. Huge fields separate homes on both properties from nearby roads and both parcels of land are large with room for growth."

[mollymalone]

EDITED TO ADD: THIS IS CRAWFORD, COLORADO, NOT TEXAS (Sorry!)The property was purchased in mid-2007

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/04/15/041608_1a_Barlow.html

"Delta County Commissioner Olen Lund said the owner of a Crawford ranch, Neph I. Barlow, confirmed he is a member of a polygamist religious group, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Lund said he and Delta County Sheriff Fred McKee toured the 35-acre ranch, located west of 3350 Road and south of B50 Road, at Barlow’s request." “They made it clear they are members of the FLDS, and they are followers of Warren Jeffs,” Lund said. “We asked the question, and that was the answer.”

"Records on file with the Colorado Division of Water Resources show there could be as many as three households planned for the ranch." "Kevin Rein, chief of water supply for the agency, said Barlow’s application to drill a drinking-water well on the property says it would be used to sustain three single-family dwellings, a garden and livestock. He said his agency approved the well permit in January. McKee said Barlow told the county he plans to build two more single-family homes on the property sometime in the future."

[mollymalone]

http://www.childbrides.org/colorado_YFZ_exclusive_by_Krakauer.html
Eldorado Success

"Fundamentalist named David Steed Allred paid $1,394,000 for two 60-acre parcels of land six miles north of Mancos, a small community in Colorado's southwest corner. Allred, moreover, is presently maneuvering to purchase a third 60-acre parcel lying between the other properties, which would give the FLDS Church a private inholding of 180 contiguous acres entirely surrounded by publicly owned National Forest."

"The man who purchased the FLDS property in Colorado, David Allred, is the same man who purchased 1,691 acres for the FLDS Church outside of Eldorado, Texas in November 2003. In both cases Allred told local residents that he was buying the properties to use as a corporate hunting retreat for entertaining clients."

"The new compound is situated 7,900 feet above sea level, in the densely wooded foothills of the San Juan Mountains, perhaps the loveliest and most rugged peaks in Colorado. Wild game is abundant. Jeffs may have been made aware of the place by Sam Roundy, the police chief of Hildale, Utah, whose father and grandfather were raised in Durango, Colorado, 20 miles east Mancos."

[mollymalone]

http://www.childbrides.org/colorado_YFZ_exclusive_by_Krakauer.html

Although its existence came to light less than a month ago, Allred actually purchased the first 60 acres of the Mancos property on July 11, 2003--for $669,000, under his own name--some four months before he purchased the Eldorado FLDS property. Allred bought a second 60-acre parcel for $725,000 on October 8, 2004--this time attempting to disguise the purchase by buying it in the name of a shell corporation called Sherwood Management, Inc., based in Mesquite Nevada. "Officials in Montezuma County, Colorado, initially began to wonder about Allred after Deputy Assessor Scott Davis visited the Mancos property to conduct a routine tax assessment. "During the ten years I've been doing this job, I'd never encountered someone who acted as secretive as Allred,"

The acreage acquired by the FLDS came with three existing homes and several barns and other outbuildings. In 2003 an FLDS construction crew transformed one of these barns into a fourth residence. When Brower and I visited the property on October 22 we discovered two additional residences that had just been built--handsome log homes, three stories high with green metal roofs, the larger of which measures approximately 5,000 square feet. Additionally, we saw at least four vehicles (including a BMW X5 sport utility vehicle registered to one of Allred's plural wives), http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/vehicles/2008/x5/30si/default.aspx?enc=Ff6d8/CVPlheSVvMy7kqE7VwFthTPPfYER64mg4hTKR3FFXYEqH7vVaH HbjMzylf a house trailer, excavating equipment, and building materials stockpiled for further construction." "Both of the new homes are secreted in dense stands of pine and aspen along the back property line, and are not visible from any road. Smoke was rising from the chimneys, but blinds were drawn tightly across every window."

[mollymalone]

http://www.childbrides.org/colorado.html

*Photo

"According to records examined Thursday at the Montezuma County Assessor's office, a nearby 60 acres was sold to Sherwood Management Group, Inc., Oct. 8. A deed of trust for that property, at 15976 County Road 39, is signed by David Allred and also lists him as the president of Sherwood Management, with a postal box address in Mesquite, Nev."

"Allred's initial purchase came to local attention when he declined to let Deputy Assessor Scott Davis into buildings at the 15252 address. Doing so is not illegal, but Davis said that, along with Allred's demeanor, prompted his suspicion.The Sherwood Management property in Mancos went for considerably above market value - $725,000 for agricultural property situated next to public lands. Its assessed valuation, for tax purposes, was $156,900, with a possible market value of $200,000, Davis said Friday."

"His office also said on Thursday that Sherwood Management secured a loan from the Jolujo Management Trust for $325,000, paying cash for the balance. The deed of trust shows a Medford, N.Y., postal box address for Sherwood's lender. A search by the Journal failed to turn up information about Jolujo Trust or a telephone number.

Calls to FLDS attorney Rod Parker were not returned Friday by deadline.

[mollymalone]

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8809492
The FLDS have other secluded settlements, including one in Mancos, Colo. But elsewhere, such as Mesquite and Las Vegas, Nevada, they have settled into established communities.


http://www.religionnewsblog.com/19430/polygamy-31
Amid the scrutiny FLDS members have left their homes in the twin cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., about 160 miles northeast of Las Vegas, for anonymity and the booming economy of southern Nevada. Many work in the construction industry for companies in Las Vegas, Henderson and Mesquite.

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/19430/polygamy-31

On Gilbert Lane, residents watched as several prebuilt homes popped up and residents who sometimes mingled with neighbors grew more reclusive. “You used to be able to see one little girl who used to come up to the glass window and wave at you,” Donahue said. “Then they immediately put paper up over the windows so she couldn’t. It was a little creepy.”The home’s residents wrapped a green mesh fence around the property, blocking what had been a clear view of the backyard, neighbors said. Donahue recalled stepping outside one night and seeing a man at the house loading a pickup.
“The minute he saw me, he closed all the doors on the truck, ran in the house and turned off all the lights,” she said. “It’s like they don’t want you to see what they are doing. All very mysterious.”

"Jacob Jessop, who owns the Gilbert Lane house, incorporated JNJ Engineering in Las Vegas in 2002. Engels, private investigator Sam Brower and others identified Jessop as an FLDS member. He visited Jeffs in the Clark County Detention Center after his arrest, according to visitor logs."

"The family on Gilbert Lane was ordered by city inspectors late last year to remove three small houses that appeared on his property. They were gone by January, but serenity hasn’t returned to Gilbert Lane. “Everybody’s moving because no one wants to be around the polygamists,” Corral said."

[mollymalone]

http://www.childbrides.org/colorado_abc7_pligs_selling_UT_AZ_parcel.html

"A polygamous sect on the Utah-Arizona border is selling 1,300 acres of surplus land to finance other purchases in Colorado and Texas. "It doesn't really fit in well with their community," Rodney Parker, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' attorney, said Tuesday. "They can use that money for these other projects." "The Arizona Strip parcel for sale doesn't border the church's base in the twin cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., where an estimated 10,000 members live. It's listed for $4.6 million.

[mollymalone]

NewEra Manufacturing (formerly Western Precision)

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/19430/polygamy-31

"Another major business owned by FLDS members in Las Vegas is NewEra Manufacturing, which was called Western Precision before moving from Utah to Nevada in July 2006." Before they moved to Las Vegas, it was the biggest employer in Colorado City,” Brower said. “They have a lot of government contracts.”

"The company’s founder, Wendell Nielsen, is one of Jeffs’ closest confidants, and company President John C. Wayman owned the Cadillac Escalade Jeffs was riding in when he was arrested, Brower said."

http://rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy444.html
Western Precision Inc., a high-tech machine shop that builds components for such products as bicycles, blood pumps and military aircraft. The firm, according to filings in a high-stakes court battle, once funneled as much as $100,000 a month to the FLDS church and its leaders.

"Lawyers for Bruce R. Wisan, the court-appointed overseer now managing the trust, claim Western Precision was a "priesthood project business." Its multi-million dollar building, fixtures and the land it sits on, they argue, are assets of the United Effort Plan Trust, which holds virtually all property in the twin cities. Wisan has supervised holdings in Utah, Arizona and British Columbia, valued at $111 million, since last May after the FLDS church, the trust and its leaders - among them fugitive leader Warren Jeffs - failed to answer two lawsuits that named them as defendants." "Wisan sued Western Precision a day after his appointment, alleging that months after the suits were filed former trustees wrongfully allowed the company to buy the property and building for $25,000 - a fraction of its real value, which he puts at $1.8 million to $5 million. The deal also didn't account for labor and materials contributed by FLDS members, he alleges."

Western Precision disputes Wisan's characterizations of the sale and the company's relationships with the FLDS church and the UEP trust. The company claims it paid fairly for the land, owns the building that it paid for mostly with its own or borrowed funds and that members contributed willingly to the project. Wisan has overstepped his authority and does not have the right to challenge the sale, the company claims. In doing so, he has jeopardized the community's largest employer and inappropriately taken sides in what is, at heart, a religious battle."

[mollymalone]

http://rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy444.html
Attorneys for Western Precision told The Salt Lake Tribune the company made donations to the FLDS church and its leaders in the past but has not done so for two years. It denies taking pay from employees for the church, as some allege. Based on court documents and interviews, that marks a sea change in Western Precision's previously instrumental role in supporting FLDS endeavors.

Funding the faith: Founded by Wendell Nielsen in 1981 in West Jordan, Western Precision is a lucrative enterprise with contracts spanning a range of fields: aerospace, military, automotive, mining, health and fitness and medical. The firm merged in 1992 with another machining business, Utah Tool & Die. Then-FLDS leader Rulon Jeffs, who was president of Utah Tool, didn't see the need for two competing machine shops, according to John Nielsen, one of Wendell's sons. Rulon Jeffs was put on Western Precision's payroll, said John Nielsen, who worked for Western Precision from 1981-1995. He also worked there 2002 to 2004, until he was ousted from the FLDS church. John Nielsen said his father met regularly with Rulon Jeffs and quarterly gave him checks for $10,000 or more. It wasn't the only support the company gave the church."

"Western Precision and several other FLDS-affiliated businesses jointly chartered a Lear jet to fly Rulon Jeffs to Canada and other places to tend church business, John Nielsen said. It also made contributions to Alta Academy, the now-defunct private FLDS school in Sandy that Warren Jeffs once led."

[mollymalone]

MOLLY SAYS: Western Precision was ordered to relocate to Hilldale, Utah after Rulon Jeffs predicted that Salt Lake would be destroyed at the time of the Olympics.

" FLDS faithful rushed to ready a new 55,266-square-foot facility for the company on 3.3 acres on Hildale, which Western Precision agreed to lease for $200 a year." " James K. Tracy, one of Western Precision's attorneys, said the company poured "in excess of $1 million" of its own money into the new facility and paid some companies for their work." "But numerous FLDS businesses and craftsmen in the community - General Rock & Sand, L&M Equipment, Amerock, electricians, plumbers, stucco crews - also donated labor and equipment to finish the building, court documents said. Work continued over the next two years, with volunteer crews spending Saturdays finishing up and modifying the facility."

"There was a time when Wendell [Nielsen, Western Precision's founder] was starving his employees so that he could give their money to the church," Blackmore agreed in an e-mail. "He would tell his employees that they couldn't make payroll" because of the company's contributions to church leaders. Some employees, Blackmore said, went for months "without a hundred dollars." "During at least one Saturday work project meeting - during which residents received voluntary community improvement assignments - a church leader announced Western Precision was contributing $50,000 a month, Holm said in a court document.

The company generated another $50,000 a month by getting employees to work for free on Saturdays, John Nielsen said. Stubbs makes similar claims in his deposition, describing wage cuts and donations Western Precision's employees made.

The company provides jobs for some 100 people who fill round-the-clock shifts. It is widely regarded for its quality work, in recent years garnering two awards as a defense contractor for its innovative business practices.

Western Precision said it sought to purchase its property, beginning in 2003, to calm vendors' concerns about its facility being on trust-owned land; it also wanted to be able to use the real estate as collateral for a $1 million loan. It wrapped up the deal in October 2004, receiving deeds to the land. The price it paid per acre is more than the $2 million Wisan got for 436 acres of UEP land he sold in nearby Apple Valley last year, the company argues.

[mollymalone]

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=508&sid=1072877
*Photo Wendell Neilson

"He's believed to be living in Las Vegas, where his old company operates under a new name, keeping up the flow of money. There's an unverified report Nielsen came back to town last weekend and convened a suit-and-tie meeting, inside a warehouse, surrounded by a fleet of vehicles.

"Former FLDS member Isaac Wyler Former FLDS member Isaac Wyler said, "Wendell Nielsen holds the money string. David Allred has the keys to the houses."

[mollymalone]

http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy636.html

"A dairy and alfalfa farm operated by members of a polygamous sect will be seized to satisfy an $8.8 million judgment against Warren S. Jeffs and the FLDS church. Harker Farms Inc., in Beryl, has until May 25 to either comply with or object to the seizure sought by Bruce R. Wisan, a court-appointed fiduciary overseeing the United Effort Plan Trust. Harker & Sons, the entity that operates the farm, faces the same deadline. The property to be seized includes land, cash and equipment. These assets will be used to pay the judgment and benefit the trust, which could keep the farm or sell it."
"The farm encompasses 400 acres."

Potatoes grown on the farm years ago were processed at a now-defunct processing plant in Colorado City, which, with Hildale, Utah, has been the home base of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Harker, a church counselor and UEP trustee, also oversaw other farming operations in the community." "Like many FLDS business operations, the farm was considered to be consecrated to the church. Harker arranged in 1997 to formally turn the farm over to the FLDS church, said Salt Lake Attorney Rod Parker, who helped Harker with his estate planning. In December of that year, Harker & Sons, which owned and operated the farm, was signed over to the church’s business arm."

[mollymalone]

http://www.childbrides.org/dakota.html
*PHOTOS

"A "prison-like guard tower" was also erected at the entrance to the compound." "Neighbors say that only one man, named Jerald, speaks for the estimated 60 people living here."


http://www.childbrides.org/dakota_kelo_Black_Hills_police_aware_of_Warren.htm l
Electronic gates near Pringle are the entrance to a 100 acre piece of land, home to a polygamist sect. On the ground ... a green metal roof is barely visible through the trees. But in the air ... you can see the layout of the compound.

http://www.childbrides.org/dakota.html
"Copies of deeds filed in Custer County, S.D., and obtained by The Associated Press indicate the land was deeded to Jeffs' loyalist, David Allred, president of Details Unlimited, based in Washington County, Utah, on Sept. 22, 2003."

http://www.childbrides.org/dakota_KELO_compound_in_Pringle_not_hidden_well_en ough.html
**PHOTOS

[mollymalone]

http://www.childbrides.org/dakota_RCJ_compound_still_growing.html

"Since October 2003, the group has built several structures on the property. More recently, United Land Management, a group tied to the FLDS, bought another 40 acres, owned by Kenneth and Marlene Boggs, adjacent to the compound. The compound bought 15 acres last March for $37,500 and on Oct. 13 paid $275,000 for 25 acres. The second piece of property includes a new 2,400-square-foot log home, according to documents at Custer County Courthouse. Compound members also have begun work on another, larger lodge, according to Custer County equalization director Les Struble. That building will total more than 14,000 square feet and contain 18 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms, according to documents filed at Custer County Planning Department. Group members have been building one or two lodges a year on the fenced-off, gated compound, Struble said. He estimated that the existing lodges are about 3,000 square feet each. "The existing ones are set up like a bed and breakfast," he said. They have large kitchen and living rooms, plus separate bedrooms and bathrooms. The lodges vary in size and have five to 10 bedrooms per building."

The property’s current assessed value is about $1.5 million, including the Boggs property, Struble said. After the new lodge is finished, the total assessment likely will rise to between $2.5 million and $3 million.
The compound will have a tax bill next year of about $30,000. After the new lodge is finished, the tax bill will rise to an estimated $50,000 or $60,000 per year, Struble said. "Struble said he talks with only two or three men on his assessment visits. They give only their first names."

[mollymalone]

For more articles about Pringle, SD. FLDS compound:
http://www.childbrides.org/dakota.html

[mollymalone]

Behind a half-opened door stand five unsecured rifles. As one of 350 independent schools in B.C., Bountiful receives a funding allotment from the provincial government of about $550,000 annually. This covers almost all the costs of the 200-student school. A 10 percent tithe from Bountiful followers covers the rest. Despite the rumours of sexual abuse of children within Bountiful, educational inspectors have not discovered evidence of a single problem. Academically, however, student achievement is lacklustre. A study of B.C.'s independent schools last year showed that over 50 percent of grade seven students in Bountiful rated "poor" in reading, writing, and math skills. Judged by what's on the school's walls, it is religion that's most important. Posters of Mormon prophets, some bearded, all stern, including the current clean-shaven prophet Rulon T. Jeffs, vie with scores of Biblical quotations.

"Winston does divvy up some of the school's education allotment to twenty single mothers-the celestial wives of polygamous husbands -- who each earn $700 a month as teaching assistants. He also runs a successful wood-treatment plant in nearby Cranbrook. But a lot of people survive on seasonal jobs: picking fruit, digging potatoes, processing chickens, doing some small-scale logging, or helping harvest the commune's estimated 1,000 hectares of canola and timothy. Unlike Colorado City, Arizona, where there are reported to be scores of UEP single mothers on welfare, Blackmore boasts that no one receives welfare in his community."

[mollymalone]

http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2008/apr/16/flds-linked-to-low-bid-construction-firms/
Among the most successful enterprises held by members of the sect are at least three construction and contracting companies based in Hildale, Utah, home of apparent sect leader Warren Jeffs. The largest of these is JNJ Engineering Construction, owned by sect member Jacob Nathan Jessop, for whom the company is named."

"Among the projects that JNJ Engineering has won in recent years:

$4 million to build a flood-control improvement project for Las Vegas. Construction began in February and is expected to last 11 months.

$2.4 million to revitalize or build 6,500 feet of walking trails, 1,500 feet of paved road and 16 picnic areas in a nature preserve for the Las Vegas Valley Water District in 2005.

$1.6 million to replace and upgrade the service lines between water meter and water mains. The Las Vegas Valley Water District awarded the contract in June 2005.

$880,500 to improve street drainage for the Pima County Regional Flood Control District in Arizona in a contract awarded in 2005."

[mollymalone]

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2709009

*Photos child laborers

"Another FLDS-linked company, Paragon, was hit with a permanent injunction a few weeks ago by a federal judge. It was for "repeatedly and willfully" violating child labor laws. We encountered a Paragon crew last week and saw no children. But the workers suddenly stopped and drove away as soon as they saw our camera."

[mollymalone]

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1354729/
"In addition, JNJ Engineering, a company owned and operated by FLDS leaders, has made millions of dollars in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported in September. The company won $11.3 million in contract work from the Las Vegas Valley Water District;

all but one of the project workers came from the twin towns of Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz., where most of the sect's 10,000 members live.

[mollymalone]

http://web.sccn2.net/FLDS/Started.htm
" approximately January 2004. Three - 3 story buildings on a three section ranch for a hunting retreat owned by " YFZ ( Yearning For Zion) Land Development".

Further investigation by Schleicher County Sheriff and Eldorado Success revealed the YFZ was a holding company for Warren Jeffs and the FLDS."

[mollymalone]

DAGROW TRUSS & COZY LOG HOMES

In Mesquite, FLDS members have run several companies, including Dagrow Truss and Cozy Log Homes."
"Nicholes said activity at Dagrow Truss slowed after Jeffs’ arrest last year, and FLDS workers have all but disappeared from Mesquite. An unidentified woman who answered the phone at Dagrow Truss said no one would comment." "A phone message to Cozy Log Homes went unreturned. One of the managing members of Cozy Log Homes, Kelly Fischer, was the first FLDS member to be tried in Mohave County on charges related to underage brides. He was convicted last year of sexual contact with a minor and sentenced to 45 days in jail."

HENDERSON BASED COMPANY

"Brower works for a law firm that is suing Jeffs and the church on behalf of women who allege they were sexually abused within the church, and on behalf of young men who were kicked out of the church." "He and Engels identified a Henderson-based company that made lanyards for Snugz, a Salt Lake City company. A lanyard is a cord that hangs around the neck to display security badges and event passes.""Jon Clave, 24, who worked for another company in the same warehouse in Henderson, recalled going into the factory to ask for the return of a borrowed forklift. Clave said he walked in on a room full of kids. Four or five boys, three girls. “They just sat there in dead silence. No one said anything,” he said. A few months later, the business closed and the workers disappeared." Snugz owner Brandon Mackay said FLDS workers were manufacturers for some of the company’s products when he bought it in the spring of 2005. He ended the relationship last year for business reasons, he said."

[mollymalone]

http://www.myeldorado.net/YFZ%20Pages/YFZ031705b.html

"Shem Fischer, who was once employed by a cabinet company in Hilldale, UT, alleges in the lawsuit that he ws wrongfully terminated from his job because he no longer adhered to the town's dominate FLDS faith."


MOLLY SAYS: The new settlement at Crawford Texas is supposed to have a "cabinet company." No idea if it was moved from Hilldale to Crawford, or if it is a separate company.

[mollymalone]

http://helpthechildbrides.com/articles/prescottcourier.htm

"The church-controlled United Effort Plan owns most of the property. A worthy family can be assigned a building space but they pay for building their own house on it, and then it belongs to the U.E.P. Homes are built piecemeal and expanded as necessary -- pay as you go, no mortgages. Since a home is rarely finished, the tax bill stays small. If a family leaves or is evicted, they own nothing. (Financial control also -- you stay "in harmony" with the Prophet or lose your home.)"

[mollymalone]

I have a question, the assesor said that the YFZ did not ask for an exemption. If a church asks for an exemption, do they have to provide any documentation that they are a church?

Does anyone really think they are a poor little sect?
I mean, being investigated for offshore accounts, having investments in tin mines in Bolivia, and all sorts of other venues, such as banks, restaurants etc.. the amounts they've been generating through public funds or contracts... that's a LOT of money they've been salting away...er..in Warren Jeffs case, frittering it away.

[Floh]

I have a question, the assesor said that the YFZ did not ask for an exemption. If a church asks for an exemption, do they have to provide any documentation that they are a church?

Does anyone really think they are a poor little sect?
I mean, being investigated for offshore accounts, having investments in tin mines in Bolivia, and all sorts of other venues, such as banks, restaurants etc.. the amounts they've been generating through public funds or contracts... that's a LOT of money they've been salting away...er..in Warren Jeffs case, frittering it away.

Just WHO could believe this group are poor?



Mollymalone: i must say your research on this thread is staggering! thank you so very much. my jaw continues to drop at all revealed on this money trail. :eek:

[mollymalone]

Just WHO could believe this group are poor?



Mollymalone: i must say your research on this thread is staggering! thank you so very much. my jaw continues to drop at all revealed on this money trail. :eek:Thank you. I started researching this because I was fascinated at how much money there really seemed to be flowing around the leaders while reports of other "lesser" members being barely able to exist were known.

I'm sure there are more articles on the net that I didn't find, but it's clear that this sect has a lot of money flowing into it's coffers.

Since they've decided not to register as a church or file for exemptions that churches are allowed it beggars the question of why? Would they have to release their financial worth to someone?

[i.b.nora]

The property that you say is in Crawford, Texas is actually in Crawford, Colorado.

[mollymalone]

The property that you say is in Crawford, Texas is actually in Crawford, Colorado.Oops! :blushing: Thanks, :blowkiss: I'll fix that! I had Texas on the brain... :)

[mollymalone]

MOLLY SAYS: I'm placing the lawyers here because it is an expense incurred by the FLDS.
These lawyers have been retained by the FLDS to represent them and attorneys like these aren't cheap.

http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2008/apr/10/teen-girls-from-yfz-ranch-near-eldorado-have/
Gerry Goldstein, the San Antonio attorney representing FLDS bishop Lyle Jeffs, a brother of former sect
leader Warren Jeffs Goldstein conceded, however, that the state has an interest in searching the
compound to investigate allegations of child abuse.

Dan Hurley, a Lubbock attorney representing compound leader Merrill Jessop, also declined to comment
on any of the affidavits that have been released detailing the alleged activities on his client's ranch,
saying he had yet to read them.

Attorney Richard Wright leaves the Tom Green County Courthouse after the first day of hearings
concerning the 400-plus children removed from the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado. Wright was the lead
defense attorney for Warren Jeffs.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2008/04/sect-married-girls-at-puberty.php
Patrick Peranteau, lawyer for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

[mollymalone]

MOLLY SAYS: I'm placing the attorneys here becuase that is an expense incurred by the FLDS and
attorneys like these are not cheap. Especially one who represents you time and again in numerous
court hearings or acts as your spokesman.

Rodney Parker has represented the FLDS in numerous cases and is currently the FLDS
spokesperson.

Rodney Parker, FLDS's registered agent for the FLDS corporations. He's a former Bush I Associate
Deputy Attorney General who was on the immediate staff of the Deputy Attorney General of the
US from 1988-989. Parker's now an attorney with the Utah law firm Snow, Christensen
and Martineau, which represents the state of Utah.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0604/S00117.htm
On the local level, the twin towns of Hildale-Colorado City, for instance, are organized as the United
Effort Plan (UEP). UEP is "unofficially" represented by attorney Rodney Parker.

Parker represented both the now-unseated Hildale polygamist Judge Walter Steed and
convicted Colorado City polygamist cop Rodney Holm. Parker is with the law firm of Snow,
Christensen and Martineau, which also represents the State of Utah.

Rodney Parker is also the registered agent of the FLDS Corporations and Twin City Academy, Inc.
in Hildale; all the above in good standing in the State of Utah.

CPS REMOVES CHILDREN
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3080462FLDS spokesman Rod Parker says the separation of
the mothers from their children was involuntary."Just because there's a logistical issue doesn't mean that
you can violate the constitutional rights of 500 parents and children," Parker said. "Well, that's a very
serious issue if this call turns out to be a hoax, and I think there's a lot of suggestion that that may
ultimately be what happened," Parker said.

[mollymalone]

Rodney Parker cont'd.

B]UEP EVICTION CASE & APPEAL[/B]
http://www.childbrides.org/lenore.html
http://www.childbrides.org/lenore2.html
Salt Lake City attorney Rodney Parker, representing UEP, argued that permission to stay on the land
depends on whether or not the Holms are church members

AN APPEAL
http://www.childbrides.org/lenore_spec_judge_rules_couple_can_stay.html
During the case presented to the Arizona Superior Court in May 2003, UEP Attorney Rod Parker
dismissed the story from Lenore Holm's daughter as irrelevant to the case and said the reason for
the eviction was not based on religion.

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/5625/flds-prophet-thins-flock
"the faith’s prophet excommunicated at least a dozen men....
Rodney Parker, a Salt Lake City attorney who has represented FLDS members, said he had been
informed of Saturday’s purge...

[mollymalone]

Rodney Parker cont'd.

http://rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy235.html
Concerned family members filed a missing person report Friday on the longtime bishop ....... Fred Jessop.
Jessop, 94, apparently hasn't been seen since December, but the missing person report was filed Friday
afternoon with the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

FLDS and UEP attorney Rodney Parker said the missing person report was a publicity stunt by those who
filed it.

Sex charge Case against Rodney Holm, former FLDS Police Officer
-two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old and one count of bigamy
http://www.childbrides.org/rodney_spect_defense_rests.html
Defense attorney Rodney Parker said his expert witnesses would be needed to explain religious concepts
and deeper understanding of a "door" he said the prosecution left wide open -- the door of polygamy.
"Polygamy is not on trial. Mr. Holm is on trial," said Assistant Attorney General Kristine Knowlton.
If he was not allowed expert witnesses, Parker said he believed the case should be declared a mistrial


THERE ARE MANY MORE INSTANCES WHERE PARKER WAS SPOKESPERSON -GOOGLE
"FDLS RODNEY PARKER" FOR MORE. IMO I'd say his work for the FLDS fattens his bank account.

[Leila]

Molly...........thanks for all your in depth research! Outstanding job! :clap:

After reading this thread, it leaves me angry and sickened that the FLDS has amassed a fortune, "bleeding the beast", and all the time breaking laws, raping children, physically abusing children, treating women as slaves and breeding stock! :mad:

[mollymalone]

In 2005 Judge Steed was removed from office.

COURT DOCUMENT:
http://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/supopin/Steed2022406.pdf

Steed is a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and it appears
that the Hildale City Council’s choice for his replacement will also be a member of the church,
albeit not a practicing polygamist.

The Utah Supreme Court wrote:

Judge Steed’s relationship with his three plural wives for more than twenty years clearly runs afoul of
[Utah’s bigamy statute]….Judges in this state are expected to abide by all of the laws applicable to
them. Civil disobedience carries consequences for a judge that may not be applicable to other citizens.
The dignity and respect accorded the judiciary is a necessary element of the rule of law. When the law
is violated or ignored by those charged by society with the fair and impartial enforcement of the law,
the stability of our society is placed at undue risk.

Steed has accepted the court’s decision, but he regrets that the court didn’t address the underlying
legal issues. In a statement, he said: “I had hoped that the court would see my case as an opportunity
to correct the injustices that are caused by the criminalization of my religious beliefs and lifestyle, and I
am disappointed that the court did not reach those issues in my case….I am hopeful that the court will
eventually consider the issue of polygamy as an aspect of personal privacy, marital rights and religious
freedom…I am proud of my efforts to bring the issue before the court and the people of Utah.”Steed’s
attorney, Rod Parker, says that the bigamy statute is never enforced and questions why his client has
been singled out.

[mollymalone]

http://rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy448.html
Officials also knew local laws in Colorado City and adjacent Hildale, Utah, were enforced by polygamous
police officers and administered by a polygamous judge — and that police routinely referred alleged sex
crimes to church leaders. Like some in the local police force, other area public officials also came from
the polygamous community. In Hildale, Judge Walter K. Steed spent 25 years adjudicating cases on the
local justice court. He had two wives when he was appointed, and later added a third.


http://www.sweenytod.com/rno/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1365

A small-town judge who has three wives should not be removed from the bench because his private
behavior has not tarnished the office he holds, the judge's attorney told the Utah Supreme Court on
Wednesday. Steed's attorney argued at Wednesday's hearing that while drug abuse, for example, might
be grounds for removal, Steed's private behavior in his home should not be. ''The question is whether
polygamy rises to a different level of disrepute than something else,'' attorney Rodney Parker said.

But those seeking to remove Steed argue that he shouldn't break the laws he took an oath to uphold.
''Judges are expected to live to a different standard,'' said Colin Winchester, the commission's
executive director.

Steed has served for 25 years in the southern border town of Hildale, handing down rulings in drunken
driving and domestic violence cases.

[mollymalone]

http://chris-cohen.blogspot.com/2005/11/mormon-utah-judge-married-to-3-sisters.html
A 14 month investigation of Judge Walter K. Steed of Hilldale, Utah has determined that Steed
violated the Utah law against bigamy by marrying three sisters. These marriages took place in
1965, 1975, and 1985. One sister per decade apparently. Judge Steed also has 32 kids, that's
quite a few Steeds.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109859540069
One issue is Steed's contention that the law allowing prosecutors to pursue people who consider
themselves plurally married but aren't legally married is unconstitutional. Utah's attorney general
and the Washington County attorney previously declined to file criminal charges against Steed.

http://www.childbrides.org/cops_SLCW_judge_not.html
If a Judge can have more than one wife what's stopping you?

[mollymalone]

http://www.getreligion.org/?p=3388
13. Mina April 13, 2008, at 11:47 am
Several FLDS police officers and a judge (Walter Steed, who signed commitment orders for husbands
who wanted their wives committed to mental institutions, allegedly to punish them) were (finally)
forced out of thier jobs a couple of years ago. The mayors of Colorado City have all been FLDS members
with multiple wives. The city councilmembers have all been FLDS. These officials had gone unchallenged f
or decades, and during that time they certainly had the power to subvert the law to protect their way of
life.....For more detail, see this link: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/09/21/polyg.media/index.html
**LINK NO LONGER WORKS DUE TO NO LONGER IN ARCHIVE**

[mollymalone]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-polygamyenclave-13may1206,0,6534347,full.story
Women and girls, needed as wives, are rarely pushed out. Instead, those who disobey face being sent to
mental hospitals. Pam Black said her now deceased husband, a Colorado City police officer, would hold
the phone and threaten to dial 911 whenever she refused his commands. "He would say he was going to
have me handcuffed and taken to an insane asylum," said Black, a former FLDS member. "That's all
a man had to do, call 911."

Sworn affidavits of FLDS women have accused law enforcement here of illegally transporting them
to mental facilities without due process. The affidavits were submitted as part of an Arizona state
inquiry into local police practices. In one instance described under oath, a woman fleeing her abusive
husband was picked up by the local sheriff's deputy, an FLDS member, and taken to a hospital in
Utah. According to the affidavit, the deputy called the prophet, not his law enforc