A Sacred Trust - The UEP




A Sacred Trust - the UEP

"Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community." -- Andrew Carnegie

In 1942, the United Effort Plan (UEP), a religious charitable trust, was formed by the Fundamentalist Mormons living in Short Creek. The trust, which still operates today, owned all real estate in the area and assigned men tracts of land to live on. Families could build houses on the property but the buildings remained the property of the UEP. In exchange for being provided land to build on, the men participated in "work projects" and gave tithings of their earnings to the UEP. People were living the "United Order" and were happy. Land was being consecrated to the UEP in order to build up the Kingdom of God and decades later, the UEP became an enormous entity. The United Effort Plan still controls almost all of the property in the polygamous towns of Hildale and Colorado City, as well as other outlying areas in Utah, Nevada and Bountiful, Canada. The recent discord and "house swapping" in the Hildale/Colorado City community opened a can of worms regarding who has the right to live on UEP land. Then trust-owned buildings and assets started "disappearing" and UEP land was being secretly sold. Today there's a court fight over who will control the estimated $100-200 million dollars in assets held by the UEP trust. The Utah and Arizona Attorneys General became concerned about whether or not the UEP trustees were protecting the beneficiaries' interests. The two AG's went to court and had the trustees, including Warren Jeffs, removed and now a fiduciary is in charge of the UEP trust until new trustees are appointed. These news articles about the UEP fiasco are listed in chronological order.


FLDS church selling land in Hildale
Outsiders say land deals signal leaders' plan to leave Southern Utah; 60 more acres obtained in Colorado
By Rachel Olsen The Spectrum Originally published Friday, October 29, 2004
ST. GEORGE -- The financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints recently sold land in Hildale and people outside the church think they know why. The sale and purchase of land reinforced what some outside the church have believed -- that the FLDS leaders and elite will leave followers behind in the land they called sacred. The United Effort Plan and Trust is the financial arm of the church, which is based in the twin communities of Hildale and Colorado City, often referred to as Short Creek. Polygamy is a basic tenet of the church, led by Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed prophet. Rod Parker, an attorney for the FLDS church, said the sale or transfer of property is not an uncommon practice for an entity. In the past he said a move to land purchased in Texas was partly because of pressures from Utah authorities. Over the course of more than a year, an agent for the FLDS church, David Allred, purchased approximately 120 acres in Montezuma County, Colo. Read more


Utah, Arizona target polygamist's finances
By Joseph A. Reaves The Arizona Republic Originally published February 19, 2005
The self-proclaimed prophet of the nation's largest polygamous community could lose his greatest powers under a motion filed in a Salt Lake City court. The motion seeks to remove Warren Jeffs as head of United Effort Plan, a private trust that controls virtually all land, housing and financial assets in the twin towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah. The move is the latest and potentially most significant crackdown against the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a breakaway sect, which, unlike the mainstream Mormon religion, practices polygamy. "What we've really done is start a process, but it's a big thing," said Roger Hoole, the attorney who filed the motion late Thursday in Utah's 3rd District Court. Hoole represents seven defendants from a previous lawsuit against the sect. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and his counterpart in Utah, Mark Shurtleff, are working closely with Hoole. Shurtleff's office filed papers in support of Hoole's motion this week. Goddard said his office planned to do the same early next week. "The trust has been this apparently impenetrable insulation around the FLDS," Goddard said. "We have an opportunity now to get the court to do the right thing." Because the trust owns virtually all land and housing, Jeffs decides who lives in Colorado City and Hildale. He uses that power as one way to control his estimated 6,000 to 10,000 followers. Read more


Fighting Over FLDS Church Assets
The multi-million dollar assets of the Fundamentalist LDS Church appear to be used to build a massive temple in Texas. Now, state authorities are wading into a lawsuit to seize that money.
By Ben Winslow KSL NewsRadio 1160 Originally broadcast March 10, 2005
(KSL News) -- Utah and Arizona's Attorneys General are getting in the middle of a fight over the assets of the Fundamentalist LDS Church. They've filed court papers to have a say in who ultimately controls the multi-million dollar United Effort Plan. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says the trust controls almost all of the property in the polygamous towns of Hildale and Colorado City. "The concern is that it doesn't look like the trustees are protecting the beneficiaries anymore if they won't even show up in court to try and defend a lawsuit that's going after the assets of that trust. So that's the state's interest." FLDS leader Warren Jeffs has not responded to the lawsuit, filed by former members. His lawyers have withdrawn from the case.


Utah, Ariz. target polygamist
State officials seek to curb leader's funds
By Joseph A. Reaves The Arizona Republic Originally published April 18, 2005
Lawyers representing the attorneys general of Arizona and Utah plan to be in court today in Salt Lake City to support moves to strip the head of the nation's largest polygamist community of his greatest political and financial assets. A civil hearing in Utah's 3rd Judicial District Court will be largely procedural, but represents a significant step in efforts to curb the power and influence of Warren Jeffs, self-proclaimed prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Jeffs, 49, commands unquestioned loyalty from an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 FLDS followers clustered in two communities astride the Arizona-Utah state line north of the Grand Canyon. He controls virtually all property, jobs and political influence in the twin towns through a religious and charitable trust known as the United Effort Plan. Today's court hearing involves a request to consolidate motions filed by two different groups seeking to remove Jeffs from control of the UEP. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and his Utah counterpart, Mark Shurtleff, filed formal notices earlier this year to be recognized as "interested parties" in the cases. The attorneys general told the court they feared the trust's assets were in danger of being siphoned off and used by individuals rather than for the good of sect members. Read more


Courts To Take Control of FLDS Financial Empire?
By Ben Winslow KSL NewsRadio 1160 Originally broadcast May 26, 2005
The Utah Attorney General's Office is asking a court to take control of the vast financial empire of the Fundamentalist LDS Church. The action comes as the heat is turned up on the southern Utah polygamous church. Former FLDS members are suing the church's United Effort Plan. Mark Shurtleff says that means all the real estate, cash, and corporations that members kick in could go into default. "All their property is in the trust. Somebody needs to step up and protect them and that is what we’re asking the court to do today." The church isn’t fighting the legal action. The FLDS church's United Effort Plan is estimated to be worth 200 million. Shurtleff says he believes FLDS leaders may have already liquidated some of the money. "We are doing this for one purpose and one purpose only, to protect the members of the FLDS church." FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs is the target of an ongoing criminal probe.


Shurtleff wants to freeze FLDS trust fund
Attorney general seeks to suspend Jeffs' authority
By Jennifer Dobner The Associated Press Deseret Morning News Originally published May 27, 2005
The state Attorney General's Office has asked a court to freeze assets of a southern Utah polygamous church's trust fund and replace its top leaders — including reclusive prophet Warren Jeffs — with an independent third party. The state is seeking the immediate suspension of Jeffs' authority, along with that of five other trustees, over the trust fund for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The trust, called the United Effort Plan, controls church property and assets. The trust fund has been estimated to be as much as $100 million, but no one knows for sure, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Thursday. A hearing on the state's request is scheduled today in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court. Church members formed the trust during the 1940s, willingly turning over their property to the church, so that all could share in the community's assets. FLDS members in good standing are allowed to build homes on trust land but are considered tenants at will by church authorities. Recent court rulings have held that dissident members of the FLDS church must be reimbursed for improvements made to trust property. The "unjust enrichment" ruling was most recently applied to Colorado City resident Ross Chatwin, an excommunicated member of the polygamous church. Shurtleff said Thursday's move is necessary because there is evidence that trustees have recently started to divest some trust assets and are not acting in the best interests of all church members. Read more


Judge hears request to hamstring polygamous trust
By Travis Reed The Associated Press Tucson Citizen Originally published May 27, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY - A judge on Friday heard a request from the state of Utah to prevent leaders of a polygamous church from allegedly dumping assets from a charitable trust below market value and transferring them to insiders. It was unclear when 3rd District Judge Robert Adkins would rule on the request to appoint an independent party to oversee the assets, loosening the grip Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader Warren Jeffs has on several-thousand member enclave's assets. The Attorney General's office asked that an independent fiduciary be appointed and given the authority to investigate where the assets have gone. Virtually all property in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., was at one time transferred to the United Effort Plan trust to be shared by church members. The reclusive church president, considered a prophet by followers, has been accused of leveraging that control to oust members that might threaten his authority. It's unclear exactly how many assets the trust has or how many people are entitled to benefit from it, but Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has estimated it holds some $100 million. Six people are listed as trustees, but investigators believe Jeffs exercises almost sole authority, as he allegedly does in determining which church members are assigned wives and children in the isolated border towns the church dominates. At a 3rd District Court hearing set for June 22, the Attorney General's office will ask a judge to entirely remove all current trustees. The hearing Friday was an effort to "stop the bleeding" in the interim, assistant attorney general Tim Bodily said. Read more


FLDS Church Faces Court Challenges
KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast May 27, 2005
New developments today in the Attorney General's case against the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Late this afternoon, a judge approved the state's request for independent parties to temporarily take control of the polygamous church's assets, spelling serious legal and financial trouble for prophet Warren Jeffs and his supporters. The trust, which controls FLDS church property and assets, has been estimated to be worth as much as 100 million dollars. Tim Bodily/Asst. Attorney General: "THE STATE IS NOT NECESSARILY ASKING THE ASSETS TO BE FROZEN, IT JUST TO ASK THAT CERTAINLY THE ASSETS NOT CONTINUALLY BE DISBURSED. THERE'S REAL PROPERTY THAT HAVE SUBSTATIAL VALUE THAT'S WITHIN THE TRUST THAT HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED RECENTLY ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION AND WE BELIEVE IS APPROPRIATELY PROPERTY OF THE TRUST AND ITS BENEFICIARIES." The Attorney General's Office will ask a judge at a hearing set for June 22nd to entirely remove the polygamous leaders as trustees.


IN THE THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT IN AND FOR SALT LAKE COUNTY, STATE OF UTAH

IN THE MATTER OF THE UNITED EFFORT PLAN (Dated November 9, 1942, Amended April 10, 1946, and Amended and Restated on November 3, 1998); and its TRUSTEES including known trustees TRUMAN BARLOW, WARREN JEFFS, LEROY JEFFS, WINSTON BLACKMORE, JAMES ZITTING and WILLIAM E. JESSOP a/k/a WILLIAM E. TIMPSON and DOE TRUSTEES I THROUGH X.

Read the UTAH ATTORNEY GENERAL'S PETITION FOR (i) REMOVAL OF CURRENT TRUSTEES AND APPOINTMENT OF NEW TRUSTEES; (ii) THE SUSPENSION OF THE CURRENT TRUSTEES PENDING A HEARING ON THEIR REMOVAL; (iii) AN INVENTORY, ACCOUNTING AND FINAL REPORT OF THE CURRENT TRUSTEES; (iv) THE APPOINTMENT OF A SPECIAL FIDUCIARY; (v) A HEARING FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF NEW TRUSTEES PROPOSED BY INTERESTED PARTIES; (vi) SPECIAL NOTICE FOR HEARINGS

Read the NOTICE OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND RESPONSE TO PETITIONS

Read the EX PARTE ORDER GRANTING REQUEST FOR SPECIAL NOTICE OF HEARING

Read the PRIVATE BENEFICIARIES' PETITION FOR (i) REMOVAL OF CURRENT TRUSTEES AND APPOINTMENT OF NEW TRUSTEES; (ii) SUSPENSION OF THE CURRENT TRUSTEES PENDING A HEARING ON THEIR REMOVAL; (iii) AN INVENTORY, ACCOUNTING AND FINAL REPORT OF THE CURRENT TRUSTEES; (iv) THE APPOINTMENT OF A SPECIAL FIDUCIARY; (v) A HEARING FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF NEW TRUSTEES PROPOSED BY INTERESTED PARTIES; (vi) ALL AVAILABLE RELIEF UNDER UTAH CODE 75-71-1001(2)(i); AND (vi) SPECIAL NOTICE FOR HEARINGS

Read the EX PARTE TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER APPOINTING A SPECIAL FIDUCIARY AND SUSPENDING THE TRUSTEES


Buildings disappear after court freezes polygamous sect's assets
By Jennifer Dobner The Associated Press Tucson Citizen Originally published June 2, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY - Just after a court order freezing some assets of a southern Utah polygamist sect, several buildings believed to be owned by the religious order were dismantled and moved, a likely violation of the judge's ruling. In Hildale, Utah, an 18,000-square foot warehouse-type building, once the location of Cozy Log Homes mill and construction company, was dismantled over the weekend, said Sam Brower, a private investigator employed by several church dissidents. And in Colorado City, Ariz., a 34-foot by 130-foot building near an elementary school was uprooted from its concrete foundation and moved - somewhere - over the weekend. "They cleaned it out," said Brower, who videotaped and photographed some of the work over the weekend. "I gave them a copy of the (temporary restraining order) and told them they had no authority to even be there any longer, that the trustees were no longer in charge." Last week a 3rd District Court judge installed a Salt Lake certified public accountant as the special fiduciary for the United Effort Plan Trust, an arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, temporarily removing the fund's six trustees, including the reclusive church leader Warren Jeffs. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff petitioned for the order, arguing that church leaders have systematically sold off land in the trust to a small, select group of people, leaving most members without trust benefits. Read more


Attorney general reassures Hildale of Utah's motives
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published June 4, 2005
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said residents of Hildale don't need to be afraid about a court motion granted last Friday that appoints a special fiduciary and suspends the trustees of the United Effort Plan. Shurtleff said the action his office took last week against the UEP trustees is to protect church members' interests and the state is not seizing property. "There are private parties that have sued the trust and the trustees have not come forward and the lawsuits have gone into default," Shurtleff said. "We are stepping up to protect the interests of the beneficiaries because Warren Jeffs has not." Along with Jeffs, other UEP trustees include Leroy Jeffs, Winston Blackmore, James Zitting, Truman Barlow and William E. Jessop, a.k.a. William E. Timpson. The UEP was formed in the 1940s and members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints contributed to the fund in exchange to become tenants at-will on church-owned property by church authority. Shurtleff said no one knows for sure what the assets of the UEP are, but it has been estimated to be between $100 million and $200 million. Although there are several trustees listed for the UEP, Shurtleff said several have been excommunicated from the FLDS church. Right now, none of the trustees have been removed until they have their day in court, but they have no authority to conduct any business in behalf of the trust. Tracking the assets will be a complex paper trail because much money has been spent. Read more


Hearing Today on FLDS Church Assets
KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast June 6, 2005
(KSL News) Hearings begin today to determine who will have control over the frozen assets of the Fundamentalist LDS Church. Last month, a judge approved the Utah Attorney General's request for independent parties to take control of the polygamous church's assets. That ruling follows scrutiny from state officials in both Utah and Arizona. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says it wanted the church's assets frozen so FLDS leader Warren Jeffs and other leaders couldn't liquidate them.


Search Is On For FLDS Leader Warren Jeffs
By John Hollenhorst KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast June 6, 2005
Law enforcers, have been unable to find polygamist leader Warren Jeffs ... and, serve court papers, freezing his church's financial trust. But, critics say ... Jeffs' followers, are already out-flanking the court order ... by 'looting' the trust's assetts. John Hollenhorst joins us ... from the Matheson Courthouse. A judge today extended his order, freezing the financial trust for another ten days. It's reportedly worth perhaps 100 million dollars. The trust includes most of the land, buildings and businesses in the polygamist twin towns of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah. It's the financial backbone of Warren Jeffs and his Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In the wake of lawsuits against Jeffs, and claims by the Attorney General that the trust is mismanaged, a judge ordered the assetts frozen. But critics say Jeff's followers have started looting those assetts on a daily basis. MARLENE MOHN, LAWYER FOR FORMER MEMBERS: "BUILDINGS ARE DISAPPEARING OVERNIGHT. Read more


Restraining order on UEP extended
No trustees appear for hearing in Salt Lake City
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published Tuesday, June 7, 2005
The temporary restraining order against the United Effort Plan and its trustees will remain in effect for another 10 days, a representative from the Utah Attorney General's Office said Monday. Tim Bodily, assistant Utah attorney general, said Monday that the next court date would be June 22. At that time, his office will ask the court to grant a final resolution by requesting that the UEP trustees be removed and a special fiduciary be appointed. None of the trustees or attorney representing the UEP attended the court hearing Monday morning in Salt Lake City. UEP trustees include Warren Jeffs, Leroy Jeffs, Winston Blackmore, James Zitting, Truman Barlow and William E. Jessop, reportedly also known as William E. Timpson. The UEP was formed in the 1940s, and members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints contributed to the fund. The FLDS church dominates the twin communities of Hildale and Colorado City. The church, which teaches polygamy as one of its doctrines, is led by Jeffs, the group's self-proclaimed prophet. Members of the church recently built a complex in a secluded area of Texas. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff asked for the temporary restraining order to be put in place to prevent UEP trustees from transferring assets, including land, equipment or funds, out of the trust. But despite the order, one 18,000-square-foot building that housed Cozy Log Homes manufacturing reportedly was dismantled and moved over the weekend, after the signing of the court order May 27. Since then, Colorado City resident Ross Chatwin alleged that other UEP buildings have been cleaned out, but not much is being done to prevent it. "There are things being taken from projects and businesses," Chatwin said. "Since the temporary restraining order, it has been done a lot, and people are working nights stripping buildings, making things disappear." Read more


PUBLIC NOTICE - NOTICE OF PETITION AND HEARING
Legal Announcements Cortez Journal Originally published June 9, 2005
Third Judicial District Court, in and for Salt Lake County, State of Utah Case No. 053900848 IN THE MATTER OF THE UNITED EFFORT PLAN TRUST, and its TRUSTEES, including known trustees, TRUMAN BARLOW, WARREN JEFFS, LEROY JEFFS, WINSTON BLACKMORE, JAMES ZITTING, WILLIAM E JESSOP a/k/a WILLIAM E. TIMPSON, AND DOES TRUSTEES I THROUGH IX. Notice is hereby given that on May 26, 2005, the Utah Attorney General filed a petition for (i) removal of current trustees and appointment of new trustees; (ii) the suspension of the current trustees pending a hearing on their removal; (iii) an inventory, accounting and final report of the current trustees; (iv) the appointment of a special fiduciary; (v) a hearing for the appointment of new trustees proposed by interested parties; (vi) special notice for hearings and for such other and further relief as the Court deems necessary and appropriate. Notice is further given that on May 26, 2005, Richard L. Holm, John W. Nielsen and Merril T. Stubbs filed a petition for (i) removal of current trustees and appointment of new trustees; (ii) suspension of the current trustees pending a hearing on their removal; (iii) an inventory, accounting and final report of the current trustees; (iv) the appointment of a special fiduciary; (v) a hearing for the appointment of new trustees proposed by interested parties, (vi) all available relief under Utah Code § 75-7-1001(2)(i); and (vii) special notice for hearings. Read more


Indictment Could Force Polygamist Out of Hiding
By Paul Foy The Associated Press KPHO News 5 - Phoenix Originally broadcast June 10, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- An indictment charging Warren Jeffs with arranging an underaged polygamous marriage could force the reclusive church leader out of hiding, making him answer a series of civil complaints as well, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Friday. Shurtleff said his office has been unable to serve Jeffs with court papers severing his control over a wealthy trust that controls the polygamous border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. Shurtleff's process server was turned away at a Texas ranch where Jeffs is believed to be sequestered. But Jeffs couldn't as easily resist criminal charges, and Arizona is likely to ask Texas authorities to execute an arrest warrant, Shurtleff said. Shurtleff has brought Jeffs' Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints under increasing pressure amid allegations of sexual abuse, forced marriages and welfare fraud, and Shurtleff applauded Mohave County, Ariz., for finding the evidence to file charges against Jeffs. "He's going to be held accountable for the charges. That's the bottom line," Shurtleff said. "This sends a message that Warren Jeffs is not above the law." Once in Arizona's custody, Jeffs will be required to answer an order issued by a Utah court approving a temporary takeover of the United Effort Plan, the church trust estimated to hold $100 million in assets. Read more


Judge Orders Jeffs Not to Sell Off FLDS Assets
The Associated Press KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast June 16, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A judge today granted a request from the Utah Attorney General's Office to prevent the reclusive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs from selling off assets of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Several pieces of trust property were sold last year. And the Utah Attorney General's office says some church members could be at risk of losing their homes because Jeffs is not contesting two lawsuits, and the trust assets could be taken by the courts. Next week, Shurtleff will ask the courts to permanently remove Jeffs and others as trustees and install others to run the trust. Jeffs hasn't been seen in a year, and is believed to be living at a church compound in West Texas. In Third District Court today, former FLDS member Winston Blackmore said he was no longer a United Effort Plan trustee and that Shurtleff is doing the right thing. Blackmore leads a group of church members who live in a community called Bountiful, just outside the border town of Creston, British Columbia. He tells The Associated Press that the original spirit of the UEP Trust has been lost and that church members and their families need to be protected.


Former FLDS trustee lauds efforts to protect church trust
By Jennifer Dobner The Associated Press Denton Record-Chronicle - Denton, TX Originally published June 16, 2005
A former high-ranking member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said Thursday he's siding with the state of Utah in a battle to strip reclusive leader Warren Jeffs of authority over church assets. "Something has to be done to protect the beneficiaries of the trust," said Winston Blackmore, subpoenaed for the hearing over the United Effort Plan Trust because he was once listed as a trustee. Blackmore has fled the southern Utah polygamous enclave and now runs a Canadian offshoot of the church near Creston, British Columbia. Jeffs is no longer defending himself or the trust in lawsuits, and the state has alleged that he's selling off assets to keep them from being frozen. All the land in the twin border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., was at one time given to the trust and intended to benefit all of the sect's estimated 6,000 to 10,000 members. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's office has sought to take control of the trust, arguing Jeffs has liquidated assets to church insiders at below-market value — to the detriment of lower-level members. "The whole spirit of the trust changed," Blackmore said. Read more


Who will control sect's $100 mil?
Judge may decide fate of polygamist group's holdings today
By Mark Shaffer The Arizona Republic - Flagstaff Bureau Originally published June 22, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY - Its leader has been indicted on charges of sex crimes, and financial documents in its school system have been seized in a search for criminal activity. But the biggest blow yet to the polygamist sect that controls the twin towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, could come today when a Utah judge is expected to decide whether the sect leaders who control the purse strings to a more than $100 million trust will retain their positions as trustees. Tim Bodily, an assistant Utah attorney general, said that if none of the leadership of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, including indicted leader and trustee Warren Jeffs, shows up in court this morning to challenge a preliminary injunction that froze trust funds, it will become a permanent injunction. That would mean that independent trustees would then take over what is expected to be an exhaustive task of trying to figure out what to do with the money in the United Effort Plan, a trust with utopian, socialistic ideals based on communal sharing in 19th-century Mormon settlements in Utah and Arizona. Read more


FLDS Leader Removed from Church Trust
The Associated Press KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast June 22, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A judge on Wednesday stripped reclusive polygamist Warren Jeffs and five other church leaders as managers of a trust held by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Neither Jeffs, nor trustees Truman Barlow, LeRoy Jeffs, William E. Jessop (aka William Timpson), or James Zitting appeared in Third District Court on Wednesday to object to their removal. Trustee Winston Blackmore, who runs an offshoot of the FLDS church in Bountiful, Canada, was present, but says he doesn't object to a change in trustees, which hold sway over trust which Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has said could hold as much as $100 million. The court order signed by Judge Glenn Iwasaki on Wednesday permanently removes all six men as trustees and prevents them from managing any aspect of the United Effort Plan Trust, including liquidating its assets. A hearing was scheduled July 21 to appoint new trustees. Eight people -- most of whom were once members of the FLDS church -- are being nominated as new trustees, although in its current form, only five members can be selected. The state stepped in last month and had the assets frozen and temporary control given to an outside firm because it was feared Jeffs was liquidating the assets. Read more


Judge strips polygamist leaders of $150 million trust
By Mark Shaffer The Arizona Republic - Flagstaff Bureau Originally published June 22, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY - A Utah probate judge on Wednesday stripped the powerful polygamist leaders of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, from the financial trust that oversees the neighboring towns in a move expected to bring about widespread changes in the nation's largest multiple-marriage sect. A hearing was scheduled for July 21 to appoint a new board of trustees over the towns' United Effort Plan trust. That board is expected to be considerably different from the polygamist patriarchs, none of whom appeared in court Wednesday to defend their trustee positions, who have financially controlled the town since the trust was formed 65 years ago. Among the seven replacement trustees proposed are two former polygamist wives - Margaret Cooke and Carolyn Jessop - who fled Colorado City with their children; and two former prominent residents of the town - Rayo Johnson and John Nielsen - who had disputes with sect leaders and were banished from the area, losing their families in the process. The trust is worth an estimated $150 million and includes about 700 homes and 30 businesses within the two towns along with land holdings in the area. Some former Colorado City residents have claimed that as much as $50 million already has been siphoned from the trust by the sect's leader, Warren Jeffs and his most loyal followers. Read more


After Fleeing Polygamist Community, an Opportunity for Influence
By Nick Madigan The New York Times Originally published June 29, 2005
HILDALE, Utah, June 23 - Carolyn Jessop escaped in the dead of night, her eight frightened children in tow. The town she fled had been her home for her entire 35 years. It was the nation's largest polygamous community, run by an offshoot of the Mormon Church that she described as a "dangerous and destructive cult" that oppressed its women and children. "Women in the polygamist culture are looked at as property, as a piece of meat," said Ms. Jessop, formerly one of seven wives of a motel owner, whom she was forced to marry when she was 18 and he was 50. "We're not looked upon as human beings with rights. The women are basically baby-producers. It's a difficult thing to break away from. You don't contest it." But in a twist that might have seemed inconceivable when she ran away two years ago, Ms. Jessop and another escapee, Margaret Cooke, stand poised to join the board of a sect trust that owns almost all the property here and in adjoining Colorado City, Ariz. The board, like everything else, has always been run exclusively by men. That women might share power with men over a place known for female submission - the makeup of the board will be finalized in a court hearing on July 21 - is almost revolutionary in the communities, home to as many as 8,000 sect members. Read more


Terry Goddard and Mark Shurtleff Request Applicants to Serve As New Trustees for United Effort Plan Trust
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard Press Release AZAG.gov Originally released July 1, 2005
(Phoenix, Ariz. – July 1, 2005) Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff issued an official notification for all residents in Colorado City/Hildale area who live or work on property held by the United Effort Plan Trust that may be eligible to serve as a trustee or to propose others to serve as trustees. The Utah Court issued an order on June 22 finding that there was enough evidence to remove the current UEP trustees and suspend activities of the trust until new trustees are appointed. A hearing will be held on July 21 before Judge Constantino "Deno" Himonas to either appoint new trustees or establish a procedure to follow in the appointment of new trustees. The following people have already indicated their interest in serving as trustees: Lee Van Dam; Rayo S. Johnson; Carolyn Jessop; Winston Blackmore; Don Timpson; Roger Williams; Margaret Cooke; Richard L. Holm; Merrill J. Harker and George R. Hammon. Read more


News Release
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff For Immediate Release July 1, 2005 Contact Paul Murphy: (801) 538-1892
JUDGE TO CONSIDER NEW U.E.P. TRUSTEES
A Utah judge will soon consider new trustees to oversee the United Effort Plan Trust. The action comes after a judge issued an order removing the current trustees. The judge determined that the former trustees failed to protect the trust against pending lawsuits after the issue was raised by the Utah Attorney General's Office. The trust property at risk includes the homes and property of residents living in Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona. Judge Constandinos "Deno" Himonas will consider appointing new trustees at a hearing on July 21. If suitable trustees are not proposed, the judge could establish a process to name trustees or expand the role of the special fiduciary. "This hearing is a window of opportunity for anyone involved with the trust to try and protect their interests," says Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. Read more


Utah AG sets hearing for trust
By Jennifer Weaver The Spectrum Originally published July 2, 2005
CEDAR CITY - The Utah Attorney General's office has set a hearing for July 21 to appoint new trustees to oversee the estimated $150 million United Effort Plan Trust, the financial foundation of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. "Under law, I have the responsibility to protect beneficiaries of charitable trusts," Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said during a telephone interview. "If trustees are breaching their duty to those beneficiaries, by law, we step in and notify the court and ask the court to take steps to protect the individuals and beneficiaries. "This is not the first time we've done it, but we did it in this case because we found Warren Jeffs and other trustees had violated their duties to the members of the FLDS church." Judge Constandinos "Deno" Himonas will consider petitions appointing new trustees to the property trust set up by the patriarchs of the polygamist sect 65 years ago who based their ideals upon communal living principles. The trust includes 30 businesses, 700 homes and the property of nearly 10,000 residents living in Hildale and Colorado City. Read more


AGs talk UEP trust plans at meeting
Approximately 80 people gather in Colorado City
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published July 9, 2005
COLORADO CITY - About 80 people showed up for a meeting Friday between the Utah and Arizona attorney general's offices, along with child protection agencies and community members. While the meeting, held monthly in various locations, went well, those who attended said the real action came after the meeting when six Mohave County Sheriff's Office vehicles and a helicopter from the Arizona Department of Public Safety showed up in town. Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith and Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan were not available Friday afternoon for comment, but a woman at the sheriff's office did say that an investigation was under way. She said the office would not be more specific until next week. The monthly meetings are closed to the media, and those attending Friday's meeting declined to speak to reporters afterward, but officials at the meeting said they were pleased with the turnout and the questions asked by those in attendance. Tim Bodily, Utah assistant attorney general, attended the meeting to explain about the United Effort Plan trust and pending legal action. "There's a lot of confusion," Bodily said of the trust issue. "New trustees will be appointed in less than a month, but it will take longer to fully resolve the issues." Read more


Judge recuses himself from UEP case
Former DSC president Huddleston among possible new UEP trustees
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published July 13, 2005
ST. GEORGE - Third District Court Judge Constandinos Himonas recused himself from a court hearing to appoint new trustees for the United Effort Plan Trust, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The hearing, scheduled for July 21, was to appoint new trustees after Judge Glenn Iwasaki signed an order last month permanently removing FLDS church leader Warren Jeffs, Leroy Jeffs, Winston Blackmore, James Zitting, Truman Barlow and William E. Jessop, a.k.a. William E. Timpson, from the trust. Himonas, who was not available by telephone, separated himself from the case in a letter to the court after a petition was filed by the law firm of Christensen and Jensen requesting the appointment of outgoing Dixie State College President Robert Huddleston, local certified public accountant Gregory Kemp and Dr. Craig Booth as the new trustees. All three men are represented by the law firm of Jones, Waldo, Holbrook and McDonough, which once employed Himonas. Paul Murphy, spokesman for the Utah Attorney General's office, said the petition was presented on Friday. Until then, Himonas was planning to hear the case. "The hearing date and time may be changed and we want to make sure people know when that is if they want to be involved, but other than that, we have no real concerns," Murphy said. Read more


Judge Will Select Overseers For FLDS Church Trust
The Associated Press KUTV Channel 2 Originally published July 13, 2005
Third District Court Judge Denise Lindberg will preside over a case involving who controls the trust fund for a polygamist church on the Utah-Arizona border. Lindberg's appointment Wednesday came after another judge, Constandinos Himonas, recused himself because of a potential conflict of interest when deciding who should be installed as new trustees for the United Effort Plan, the trust for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The change in judges came as Utah and Arizona authorities continue to crack down on plural marriages and other areas of concern in the twin towns of Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz., where the church is thought to have its stronghold. Also on Wednesday, attorneys general from Utah and Arizona announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of church President Warren Jeffs, who is on the lam after being indicted in Arizona with conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. Read more


Hearing to consider UEP trustees postponed
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published July 15, 2005
ST. GEORGE - A hearing scheduled for July 21 to consider new trustees for the United Effort Plan Trust, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has been postponed. Originally, 3rd District Court Judge Constandinos Himonas was to preside over the hearing. However, Himonas recused himself earlier this week after his former law firm - Jones, Waldo, Holbrook and McDonough -agreed to represent several people proposed as trustees. The case has been reassigned to Judge Denise Lindberg, but Lindberg is unavailable on July 21. Paul Murphy, spokesman for the Utah Attorney General's Office, said earlier this week that a delay in the hearing was possible because of Himonas' recusal. "The idea of another judge having that date conveniently open would have been unexpected," Murphy said. "Hopefully, the hearing will take place within the next month." As the newly appointed judge, it will be up to Lindberg to decide if more people can petition the courts to become trustees. Read more


Judge sets new date to consider trustees for polygamist church
The Associated Press KOLD News 13 - Tucson Originally broadcast July 20, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY A judge has set an August fourth hearing date to consider new trustees for a polygamist church. Also today, Third District Judge Denise Lindberg set the parameters on who can be considered an "interested party" to propose trustees for the United Effort Plan. That's the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The state had the assets frozen, and church President Warren Jeffs and other trustees were permanently removed. People were earlier allowed to nominate themselves or others as new trustees, but the judge has narrowed the parameters of who is allowed to do that. They include: - The Corporation of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. - The recently removed trustees. - The attorneys general of Utah and Arizona, and - All trust beneficiaries, including those who filed lawsuits against the trust. Lindberg said the beneficiaries include anyone who has consecrated time, talents or resources to the plan.


Determining who owns what in UEP
Editorials The Spectrum Originally published August 1, 2005
It appears that there may be some questions about who owns what in Colorado City and Hildale. It is important right now that everyone step back and wait for things to be worked out legally before trying to stake any claims. The property and assets of the United Effort Plan of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are currently frozen under court order in Utah. New trustees will soon be appointed by the court to determine how things should be handled. In the meantime, it is unwise for anyone, regardless of what rights they feel they may have, to be moving into empty houses, remodeling or tearing down houses or taking property. The time will come when everyone will get their chance to prove their legal claim to various assets within the UEP. We recognize that this is a difficult time of change for many in the FLDS community. Several men from the community were recently arrested in Arizona and both Utah and Arizona are seeking to arrest FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. There are residents in these two isolated, polygamist communities who may feel uncomfortable trusting outside authorities. However, at this time, trust in the legal system is what is needed most - not actions that can heighten the tensions that already exist. Read more


FLDS trust stuck in limbo
Judge to consider names of potential trustees and their role
By Nancy Perkins and Leigh Dethman Deseret Morning News Originally published Wednesday, August 3, 2005
ST. GEORGE — A Utah judge should hold off on appointing new trustees to oversee the United Effort Plan Trust and its extensive land holdings, according to a report filed Tuesday in 3rd District Court. A judge is expected to consider the names of several potential trustees Thursday in a hearing in Salt Lake City. Objections have been filed against nearly every person mentioned in the high-profile case. Bruce Wisan, a court-appointed special fiduciary for the UEP, said the proposed trustees would find little cooperation from those who live on trust land owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. "Every party who has filed a petition nominating trustees in this case is viewed as a dissident, apostate and/or anti-polygamy crusader," Wisan said in the 26-page report, adding that proposed trustees should fully disclose conflicts of interest and other information so the court can evaluate the background of each candidate. Utah Assistant Attorney General Tim Bodily agreed. "Many of the trustees that have been proposed now are all primarily coming from dissidents, or people that have a particular point of view that may not be shared by most of the people that reside on trust property," Bodily said in a phone interview Tuesday. "As a result, the court needs to be careful, we think, in making sure that they will appoint people that will represent the broad interest of the trust and also have the qualifications to do that. That's why we're (also) asking the court to take more time." Read more


Battle Breaks Out Over FLDS Empire
John Hollenhorst Reporting KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast August 3, 2005
Fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs may be gone, whereabouts unknown, but he's not forgotten. In fact, a huge legal battle has broken out over the $100-million dollar empire he once controlled and then walked away from. Tomorrow a judge will be asked to make some very tough choices. In the polygamist community of Hildale and Colorado City thousands of people live in homes they don't actually own. The real estate is owned by the United Effort Plan Trust, an arm of the FLDS Church run by Warren Jeffs. But the problem is, the community is not united. It's split into factions, splintered in bitter rivalry, especially since Warren Jeffs took power. Carl Holm, Former FLDS Member: "There's people in that that are loyal to Warren Jeffs and people that are not, people that are just trying to get by and live their lives." With Jeffs now a fugitive, the courts will likely appoint trustees to make such decisions as who gets to live in the houses. But various factions can't agree on dozens of nominated trustees. Tim Bodily, Assistant Attorney General: "Well there's no question there are some differences in religious beliefs at some level. And certainly there are substantial differences as to how the property should be administered and managed and who should live on it or not. And that is very bitter at some level." Read more


Name of former UEP trustee found on papers
Documents include building permit, six other permit applications
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published August 4, 2005
COLORADO CITY - The signature, or a facsimile of the signature, of an ousted United Effort Plan trustee has turned up on one building permit and six other permit applications - one as recently as July 22 - filed in this polygamist community. The permits, issued for work on homes owned by the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, all bear the signature or a likeness of the signature of former UEP trustee William E. Jessop. Colorado City building official David Darger, who issues the permits and applications, said he has "no desire to comment on the permits issued." Town clerk Joseph Allred said he doesn't know who William E. Jessop is but said he assumed that Jessop was an agent for a trustee. Allred said he was never notified of a May 27 court order removing the former UEP trustees, which included Warren Jeffs, Truman Barlow, Winston Blackmore, LeRoy Jeffs, James Zitting and Jessop, who is also known as William Timpson. Allred said he isn't sure what he would do when asked if the city would continue to accept permit applications with Jessop's signature. "I guess we will decide at that time," Allred said. Utah Assistant Attorney General Tim Bodily said his office is aware that Jessop's signature is turning up on documents as a U.E.P. trustee and that he is concerned. Read more


Frontier communal idea may be taking last gasp
By Mark Shaffer The Arizona Republic - Flagstaff Bureau Originally published August 4, 2005
COLORADO CITY - It once had been a common concept among far-flung Mormon villages throughout the frontier West. A united order of like-minded individuals lived on communal property and donated the returns from their labor to a general fund to benefit all living in the community. In the southern Utah town of Orderville, the people even ate under one roof. The utopian way of life survived into the turn of the 20th century in the northern Arizona community of Joseph City after brief turns in Snowflake, Sunset and other Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints settlements. But 100 years later, the last vestige of the united order, the so-called United Effort Plan in the twin polygamist towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, is in the cross hairs of the Utah court system. The leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a polygamist sect that has no affiliation with the mainstream Mormon Church, were all stripped of their trustee positions on the United Effort Plan board on June 23. A hearing is scheduled today in Utah District Court in Salt Lake City to consider appointing a new board of trustees. The new board could decide to dissolve the trust and put the property in the hands of the sect adherents who have lived on it for years. Read more


Court hearing today to appoint new UEP trustees
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published August 4, 2005
COLORADO CITY - Pennie Rae Petersen left her Mesa, Ariz., home Wednesday evening to catch a flight to Salt Lake City to attend a court hearing today in 3rd District Court before Judge Denise Lindberg to appoint new trustees to the United Effort Plan. "Some of the names proposed are not law-abiding citizens," Petersen said. "I think whoever is chosen as trustees should have their background checked out." The United Effort Plan, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is made up of land and other assets amassed by church members primarily living in the Hildale and Colorado City area. Petersen was born and raised in the polygamist community, which was formerly known as Short Creek. Although she no longer resides there, she has family that does. Over the years, they have contributed land and money to the trust. Petersen said some of the proposed trustees are apostates - those who are no longer part of the FLDS church - and would not be accepted by people still living in the twin cities. Read more


Utah to ask court for delay in naming FLDS trustees
The Associated Press Arizona Daily Sun Originally published August 4, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Utah Attorney General's office will ask a judge on Thursday to delay appointing trustees to manage the funds of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, after dozens of objections have been raised to the list of proposed candidates. In June, the court permanently removed church leaders from management responsibilities of the United Effort Plan Trust, which has an estimated worth of more than $100 million. The Utah attorney general sought the removal, saying the trustees, including reclusive church leader Warren Jeffs, had liquidated some trust assets and left others vulnerable by failing to defend lawsuits filed against Jeffs. Church members formed the trust during the 1940s, willingly turning over their property to the church, so all could share in the community's assets. Thursday's request to 3rd District Court Judge Denise P. Lindberg stems in part from concerns about who has been proposed to serve as a trustee, Assistant Attorney General Tim Bodily said. He will ask the court to require each of the 19 candidates to list their potential conflicts of interest and a detailed plan of how they would administer the trust. Read more


Judge delays ruling on trustees for polygamist church until October
The Associated Press KVOA News 4 - Tucson Originally broadcast August 4, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY A Utah judge has decided she will not name new trustees for the polygamist church on the Utah-Arizona border until October. Judge Denise Lindberg was to have named new trustees for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints today. But she agreed with a Utah attorney general's request to instead have the people nominated as trustees provide more information. Those nominated must have that documentation - including their intentions as trustees - to her by August 24th to be considered. Lindberg said today she also was not prepared to even determine how many trustees there should be. She did, however, give the independent auditor installed earlier this summer to temporarily manage finances more power to conduct his investigation into the church's assets, estimated at 100 million dollars.


Judge stalls decision on UEP trustees
Lindberg allows more time to see if pro-FLDS church people will apply
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published August 5, 2005
ST GEORGE - A judge delayed appointing new trustees to the United Effort Plan Trust, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Thursday afternoon, but expanded the authority of court-appointed special fiduciary Bruce Wisan. The hearing, held in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City before Judge Denise Lindberg, lasted three hours. Lindberg not only postponed naming new trustees until at least Oct. 25, she narrowed the pool of trustees. After the hearing, Wisan said one of his concerns was that out of the pool of 19 potential trustees, none were pro-FLDS. Because the UEP is primarily made up of FLDS church members, mostly residing in the Hildale and Colorado City area, Wisan said it would be a benefit to have some pro-FLDS people as trustees. "The judge indicated that she would open the pool back up if pro-FLDS people wanted to be considered," Wisan said. "I'm not sure if any active members (of the FLDS church) would be willing to serve." Read more


Decision on trustees is delayed
By Jennifer Dobner The Associated Press The Arizona Republic Originally published August 5, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY -- A judge on Thursday ordered people who want to be trustees for the polygamist church on the Utah-Arizona border to give the court a detailed look at their qualifications and an explanation of their intentions. Judge Denise Lindberg was scheduled to name trustees Thursday for the United Effort Plan Trust, which holds the real estate assets of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. But the Utah attorney general's office and a court-appointed independent auditor evaluating the trust asked the court to delay, seeking more information about nominees after objections were filed to most names. Lindberg agreed, saying she was not yet prepared to appoint anyone. "I don't have all the information I want to have," Lindberg said, noting that decisions made about the multimillion dollar trust will affect numerous lives. Read more


United Effort Plan Timeline
The Spectrum Originally published August 5, 2005
May 24 – The Arizona Attorney General’s Office serves a criminal search warrant on Colorado City Unified School District No. 14. Agents take boxes of financial records, other documents and computer equipment. The attorney general’s office is preparing a petition to present to the State Board of Education to put the school district into receivership based on a law passed by the Arizona State Legislature. The new law will take effect August 12. May 27 – Utah Attorney General Mark Shutleff announces that 3rd District Court Judge Robert W. Adkins issued a temporary restraining order suspending the authority and power of the trustees of the United Effort Plan trust, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Adkins found that there was sufficient evidence to show that trustees had not acted with reasonable care to protect trust property and defend against pending lawsuits. June 9 – The Mohave County Attorney’s Office indicts Warren Steed Jeffs, the prophet of the FLDS church, on two class-six felony charges, which include sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. Read more


Twisted logic in polygamy case
Trustees must have true respect for laws on marriage
Opinions The Arizona Republic Originally published August 11, 2005
Who would you pick for trustees of a pot of money worth more than $100 million that was established for a polygamous cult and put in jeopardy by its indicted and missing "prophet"? More polygamists? If you think the answer is obvious, you are in for a surprise. Polygamists are on the list of people a Utah court is considering as replacements for Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints "prophet" Warren Jeffs and his cronies. Jeffs and Co. were stripped of their trusteeships to stop them from looting the trust's assets, which are the sole resource of 10,000 or so cult members living in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City. One of those on the replacement list is Winston Blackmore, former leader of a polygamist cult in Bountiful, British Columbia. The Vancouver Sun says he is being investigated by Canadian authorities for sexual exploitation of underage girls. It is no secret that Jeffs' Arizona-Utah cult practices polygamy by inflicting the robust sexual appetites of older men on teenage girls who are raised to "keep sweet" and do what men tell them. Read more


UEP land may be sold next month
$2M offer has been accepted by Utah corporation
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published Saturday, August 27, 2005
An issue involving 1,311 acres of land in Apple Valley that were under the United Effort Plan and then transferred to a company believed to have ties to a polygamous church leader may be resolved next month with the sale of 436 acres and a clear title on the remaining property. Bruce Wisan, the court-appointed special fiduciary for the UEP - the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which teaches polygamy as part of its doctrine - said an offer of $2 million for 436 acres has been accepted by Advantum Inc., a Utah corporation. Wisan said this was an offer that William R. Jessop, registered agent for Aspen Management Investments, LLC, had entered into with Advantum before attorney Roger Hoole filed a notice of interest on the sale of the property, which stopped the contract from going through. Hoole, of the Salt Lake City law firm Hoole and King, has been acting on behalf of several former members of the FLDS Church known as the "Lost Boys," young men who say they have been exiled from the FLDS church. Hoole wanted to stop the sale because he said it was not in the best interest of the beneficiaries of the UEP. Wisan said the court will have a hearing on that sale Sept. 20. If the sale goes through, the money, with the exception of $425,000, would go into a fund to be used by Wisan on behalf of the UEP . The $425,000 would be given to Aspen Management to pay an outstanding debt with attorneys Rod Parker and Scott Barry. Read more


Judge to consider purchase of UEP land in southern Utah
By Nancy Perkins Deseret Morning News Originally published September 20, 2005
ST. GEORGE — A $2 million offer to purchase 436 acres of land in southern Utah could benefit the United Effort Plan Trust and its beneficiaries, said Bruce Wisan, the court-appointed special fiduciary in charge of the UEP until new trustees are appointed. Third District Court Judge Denise Lindberg is scheduled to hear motions filed by lawyers on both sides of the contentious issue this morning. Several people who are either suing the UEP or vying to be one of the new trustees oppose the sale. Each of them is asking Wisan to accept a different, higher offer for the property, which he has declined to do for various reasons. Read more


Sale of UEP land approved
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published September 21, 2005
ST. GEORGE - Third District Court Judge Denise Lindberg approved the sale Tuesday of 436 acres of land once owned by the United Effort Plan, which gives the UEP money in its coffers, and returned another 715 acres to the trust, which has been under the control of a court-appointed special fiduciary since May. Lindberg approved the sale of 436 acres for $2 million to Advantum Inc., a residential building construction company based out of Pleasant Grove. She also returned ownership of 715 acres to the UEP, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, whose leader, Warren Jeffs, is wanted on charges of sexual offenses against children. The acreage is located in the Apple Valley area of Washington County. In September 2004, the land was transferred from the UEP to a company called Aspen Management. In May 2005, the land was transferred into the names of several other companies. Read more


Overseer Of UEP Trust Seeks Delay On New Trustees
By Jennifer Dobner The Associated Press Fort Worth Star-Telegram Originally published November 6, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY The court-appointed auditor trying to track down the loose assets of a polygamist sect will ask a judge on Monday to hold off on appointing a new panel of trustees for the community trust. Bruce Wisan, an independent accountant, said he was still unraveling the United Effort Plan, a trust that owns real estate and other assets thought to be worth more than $100 million. Wisan was appointed in May to oversee the United Effort Plan when the judge stripped control from six trustees who served the now-fugitive leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Third District Court Judge Denise Lindberg was scheduled to select from a slate of 23 nominations for trustees at a hearing Monday, but Wisan's attorneys filed a motion last month asking her to delay making the appointments. The attorneys general of Utah and Arizona support the motion. "There are just some pretty technical issues, some tax and legal issues, that need to be resolved before getting involved in this," said Wisan, who has spent months trying to document church assets in southern Utah and elsewhere. Read more


Hearing to consider UEP trustees
Motion filed because of alleged attacks by court-appointed fiduciary
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published November 7, 2005
A law firm representing a group of proposed trustees to the United Effort Plan Trust, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, filed an ex parte motion Friday afternoon. The ex parte motion for leave to file responsible memorandum was filed by Jerome Romero with Jones, Waldo, Holbrook & McDonough, who are the attorneys for nominee trustees Robert D. Huddleston, Craig L. Booth and Gregory A. Kemp - collectively known as the "Huddleston Group." The hearing to consider new trustees to oversee the UEP Trust is scheduled for today after 3rd District Court Judge Denise Lindberg delayed appointing trustees during an Aug. 4 hearing. According to the court filing, the motion was made for the reason that the Huddleston Group and their council of record have been the subject of attacks by not only various petitioning parties who have nominated other proposed trustees, but by the supposedly neutral court-appointed special fiduciary Bruce Wisan. Read more


Judge working on reform of FLDS trust
The Associated Press KPHO News 5 - Phoenix Originally broadcast November 7, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY - A Utah judge is working to reform the United Effort Plan trust that holds the real estate assets of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Judge Denise Lindberg says the civil and religious aspects of the trust must be separated. The judge says she also plans to appoint an advisory board to help the court-appointed accountant catalogue trust holdings. An accountant testified in court today that he's concerned about paying taxes on the trust properties in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona. The court has taken control of the trust and reclusive FLDS leader Warren Jeffs has ordered church members not to cooperate with authorities. That includes paying taxes. Some believe Jeffs is still collecting large sums of money from members and is using the money to build the FLDS ranch in Texas.


Judge issues order on UEP Trust
The Spectrum Originally published December 14, 2005
ST. GEORGE — Third District Court Judge Denise Lindberg issued an order this morning for administration of the United Effort Plan, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and establishes a new board of advisors. Former Dixie State College President Robert Huddleston heads the list of new advisory board members to work with a court-appointed Special Fiduciary who will administer UEP funds and holdings. Other board members are Margaret Cooke, Carolyn Jessop, Rayo Spencer Johnson, John Nielsen and Don Timpson. Warren Jeffs, the leader of the FLDS church, is being sought on state charges of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. He is also wanted on a federal warrant as a fugitive from justice. For more, see tomorrow’s edition of The Spectrum/Daily News.


Court gives decision on UEP trust
Wisan appointed fiduciary; six others to oversee polygamous sect's trust
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published December 15, 2005
Third District Court Judge Denise P. Lindberg handed down her decision Wednesday on the United Effort Plan trust by appointing a board of advisors to assist court-appointed special fiduciary Bruce Wisan and clarified the purpose of the trust. Lindberg decided that the trust will be governed by a 1998 document instead of the original papers drafted in 1942 and that the trust - the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - was intended to establish a charitable trust and must be reformed to support lawful charitable purposes. Those on the advisory board appointed to assist Wisan are Margaret Cooke, Robert Huddleston, Carolyn Jessop, Rayo Spencer Johnson, John Nielsen and Don Timpson. Timpson, a resident of Colorado City, said he likes the general direction of the advisory board and looks forward to working with the special fiduciary. "I think that the judge is doing the very best she can given the circumstances and situation placed before her," Timpson said. Read more


Judge lays out overhaul of church trust
By Jennifer Dobner The Associated Press The Olympian - Olympia, Washington Originally published December 15, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY — A judge on Wednesday outlined a plan for reforming the trust of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and appointed a six-member advisory board to temporarily assist a court-appointed accountant. Third District Judge Denise Lindberg has been working on an overhaul of the United Effort Plan trust for almost two months. Among the issues she sought to resolve were which of two trust documents — one from 1942 and one from 1998 — should stand as the controlling framework for a new trust and which elements of the trust need reform. The trust was created in 1942 as a charitable mechanism for FLDS church members, who willingly turned over their property so all could share in the community’s assets. In May, the Utah attorney general’s office asked the courts to remove the controlling trustees, including reclusive church leader Warren Jeffs, because they were not using the trust for charitable purposes and had left the assets vulnerable to liquidation through lawsuits filed against the FLDS church or its officers. Read more


Court starts new era for twin towns
IN OUR VIEW The Spectrum Originally published December 19, 2005
A 3rd District Court judge's decision last week both closes and begins a chapter for many of the people who call Hildale and Colorado City home. Judge Denise P. Lindberg named new trustees to oversee the United Effort Plan, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The polygamous church dominates the two border towns. And its leader, Warren Jeffs, is evading authorities who are seeking him on charges that he fostered an atmosphere of abuse of young girls by forcing them into marriages with much older men. The UEP took on added significance in the wake of Jeffs' legal troubles. The Utah Attorney General's Office stepped in months ago to remove Jeffs and his followers from the list of trustees to prevent a liquidation of assets that would help him hide from authorities. The naming of the new trustees gives people living there a fresh start. Read more


Plundering the Faithful
Polygamists continue to pipe big money to their fugitive prophet as their towns face financial ruin
By John Dougherty Phoenix New Times Originally published Thursday, December 29, 2005
Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs continued to elude a nationwide manhunt at the end of 2005 as the fundamentalist Mormon municipalities he controls along the Arizona-Utah border headed toward financial disaster. Jeffs, 50, was named to the FBI's most wanted list last August after he fled the largest polygamist community in North America to avoid prosecution on seven felony counts brought by a grand jury in Mohave County, Arizona. The charges, filed last June, allege that Jeffs illegally performed the "spiritual" marriages of three underage girls to already-married men and ordered the men to consummate the unions. Jeffs is the prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a breakaway sect of the Mormon Church that still practices polygamy. The mainstream Mormon Church gave up polygamy in 1890 as a condition of Utah's obtaining statehood. In the months since the indictments, evidence that the economy of the polygamist communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, is plunging toward collapse is obvious. Many businesses have closed or moved out, the Colorado City and Hildale governments are facing serious financial problems, the electric utility jointly owned by both towns is in default on $21 million in bonds and the Colorado City public school district has been forced into receivership. Read more


Disappearing equipment prompts investigation
By Jennifer Dobner The Associated Press San Diego Union-Tribune Originally published January 4, 2006
SALT LAKE CITY – A criminal investigation is under way in Colorado City, Ariz., after a grain elevator system thought to be part of a fundamentalist church trust was dismantled and moved over the New Year's holiday weekend. Mohave County sheriff's investigator Gary Engels said he photographed workmen using a crane to dismantle the equipment on Saturday at the Four Square Feed Store. The store sits on property held in the United Effort Plan trust, where members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have collectively held their property since the 1940s, he said. In June, a state judge assumed control of the trust, removing the six church leaders serving as trustees and essentially freezing trust assets, including property, buildings and equipment. The removal of the equipment could be a violation of that court order, Engels said. Read more


Grain elevator ownership in dispute
Fiduciary of United Effort Plan Trust asks sheriff to investigate
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published January 5, 2006
COLORADO CITY - The ownership of a grain elevator that was taken down over the holiday weekend is in dispute and is being investigated by Mohave County investigator Gary Engels. Bruce Wisan, the special fiduciary appointed by the courts to oversee the United Effort Plan Trust, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, said he received a telephone call Saturday that the grain elevator at Four Square Farm Store was being dismantled. Wisan said he was in Mesquite when he received the call and started to drive up to Colorado City. He then received a call that the workers had left the site, so the issue was postponed. "We were not absolutely sure if anything was taken and had reason to believe that it was interrupted on Saturday. We were in discussion with the police to resolve this (after the holiday) and some time Monday, between 4 and 6 a.m., somebody finished the job and took the rest of the grain elevator. Read more


FLDS polygamists urged to pay property taxes
Delinquent taxes must be paid in order for members to stay
By Nancy Perkins Deseret Morning News Originally published Wednesday, January 18, 2006
ST. GEORGE — Residents of twin polygamous towns on the Utah/Arizona border must pay property taxes on land they do not own or face forfeiting any future right to live on the property, according to a notice mailed last week to each occupant. Most of the land in Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Washington County, belongs to the United Effort Plan Trust, or UEP, which once was controlled by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its leader Warren Jeffs. A Utah judge seized control of the trust and removed its trustees last year after they failed to protect the UEP and its $100 million in assets from numerous lawsuits. The judge appointed Bruce Wisan, a certified public accountant, as special fiduciary over the UEP. A new advisory panel was also appointed to assist Wisan in reforming the trust. "Voluntary property tax payments are an indication of a UEP land occupant's interest in continuing to reside on land owned by the UEP," state the notices, which were placed in individual postal boxes last week. "Those who do not indicate their interest in maintaining UEP lands by paying property taxes on the homes they occupy may eventually forfeit that opportunity." Read more


Attorney: Order prohibits removal of any UEP property
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published January 28, 2006
Attorney Jeffrey Shields is hoping that a court-issued temporary restraining order sends a clear message to anyone contemplating removing buildings, equipment or fixtures from United Effort Plan property: Don't. The temporary restraining order issued by the 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City on Friday clearly states that no one is entitled to remove any property from UEP land unless permitted by Bruce Wisan, special fiduciary of the UEP, or by order of the court. Now with the order in place, those who remove or aid in the removal of property - which includes buildings, fixtures and heating, cooling, electrical, sewer and plumbing components - face contempt of court charges. "Now, with the court order, you take nothing," said Shields, an attorney for Wisan. "Before people were just taking it. This way, the police don't have to make a determination (of who owns the property). Read more


Judge asked to stop FLDS taking assets
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Following the disappearance of a grain elevator system from the polygamous border town of Colorado City, Ariz., a judge is being asked to block the removal of property from land belonging to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. A 3rd District Court judge has scheduled a hearing for today in Salt Lake City on a request for a preliminary injunction. It would halt the removal of property attached to real estate owned by the United Effort Plan Trust. A temporary restraining order signed last week by Judge Denise Lindberg said that includes "buildings, fixtures, modular homes, heating systems, cooling systems, electrical systems, plumbing systems, water systems, elevator systems and any other affixed equipment." Removal of any property requires written permission by the court-appointed special fiduciary of the UEP Trust, Bruce Wisan. In January, a grain elevator system was seen being dismantled and taken from a storehouse in Colorado City. Anti-polygamy activists documented it and the Colorado City Town Marshal's Office was notified. Despite that, the farm equipment vanished in the middle of the night. Read more


Judge grants order preventing FLDS property removal
Witnesses said equipment had been taken from land
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Thursday, February 2, 2006
A judge has granted a preliminary injunction blocking the removal of property from any land belonging to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' financial arm in the polygamous border towns of Hildale, Washington County, and Colorado City, Ariz. Judge Denise Lindberg signed the order Wednesday, saying she hoped it would "halt what appears to be a very deliberate effort to harm the assets of the trust." It came after witnesses testified in 3rd District Court about equipment being pilfered in the middle of the night, farms and buildings being cleaned out or disappearing altogether. "All of the equipment's gone. They stripped it completely," said Isaac Wyler, a former member of the FLDS Church. He witnessed the dismantling of a grain elevator system last month. Photographs were used as evidence in court Wednesday. "There were two big cranes and at least 15 guys there, hurrying fast," Wyler said. Read more


Jeffs May Be Receiving Funding from Nevada Farm
John Hollenhorst Reporting KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast February 22, 2006
Over the last two years, polygamists have quietly revved up a huge farming operation in a remote part of Nevada. Investigators believe it's now a major source of revenue for the church run by fugitive polygamist Warren Jeffs. They're also trying to figure out if equipment, and even buildings, have been illegally moved there from the Utah-Arizona border. It seems ironic that Warren Jeffs' empire has been expanding as his legal troubles deepen. Ever since he was charged with felonies and disappeared, a big question has been, "Where does his group's money come from?" Now we may know part of the answer. If you take an imaginary trip over the arid landscape of Nevada, using the computer program Google Earth, you can find a huge oasis, green crop circles, formed by 30 or so enormous irrigation sprinklers. This time of year it's snowy, but the scale of the operation is still apparent. A prominent Las Vegas businessman leased the land two years ago to the Harker family. Private Eye Sam Brower says they are polygamist farmers in Utah. Sam Brower, Private Investigator: "They're zealously loyal to Warren Jeffs." Read more


Utah group lands in Nevada
Polygamists in violation of order
By Cy Ryan Las Vegas Sun Originally published February 25, 2006
CARSON CITY -- A polygamist group has put down roots in Lincoln County, according to a Salt Lake City television station, which reported this week that farm equipment owned by the group had illegally been moved into the state. Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has communities along the Utah-Arizona border, allegedly are working a 3,000-acre alfalfa and potato farm 30 miles north of Pioche. KSL-TV in Salt Lake City reported that equipment was moved to Lincoln County, violating a court order. The church is tied up in lawsuits by former members, and church leader Warren Jeffs is a fugitive, wanted on felony charges filed by Utah officials and the federal government. The report said the farm is funding a church compound in Texas and estimated that the operation could be making a considerable amount of money. Joseph Harker, who operates what's known as Atlanta Farms, denied the charges in a phone interview with the Sun on Thursday. "This is all bogus," Harker said. Read more


Report of FLDS compound generates attention in S.D.
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published March 10, 2006
ST. GEORGE - Custer County Sheriff Phil Hespen said the onslaught of media calls he received Thursday morning was "typical hype" as he fielded telephone calls about members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints church's newest compound in Pringle, S.D. Hespen said it's not against the law to build a compound and that the people who are living there are quiet people. "They own a piece of property, that's it," Hespen said. "We've got the Hells Angels that own property here and the Banditos. They've got more felons than that church." But Hespen said if he was given proof instead of hype that Warren Jeffs - the prophet of the FLDS Church and a fugitive from justice - was there, he would pick him up. "What if Osama bin Laden was there? Santa Claus may live there," he said. "We deal in proof, in facts. Give me the actual facts instead of hype. Hype sells newspapers." While Hespen isn't concerned, the 100-acre piece of property purchased in 2003 by David Allred was listed on the building permit as a hunting retreat, the same way the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado, Texas - where the church has recently completed work on a temple - started out, said private investigator Sam Brower. Read more


Play by rules we all follow
Opinion The Spectrum Originally published March 14, 2006
The residents of the towns of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz., have been given the opportunity to take private ownership of the properties they have been living on and taking care of their whole lives. However, they don't seem to be willing to take advantage of the situation. Most of the properties in the twin border towns had previously been under the control of the United Effort Plan (UEP) of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Under that scenario, people who had spent their entire lives building up a home could be forced off their land at the whim of church leaders. However, with the UEP facing lawsuits and leaders from the FLDS Church not responding, the state of Utah was able to step in and take over as trustee of the Plan. The state wanted to make sure that those who had kept up the homes and properties of the UEP would have their chance to rightfully claim them. Despite this opportunity for property ownership, trustee Bruce R. Wisan reports that the response of FLDS members and their leaders has been "wholesale lack of cooperation and hostility." He also claims that police officers in Hildale and Colorado City have been uncooperative. Read more


UEP fiduciary dogged by challenges
Attempts to enforce court order on polygamists' trust meets resistance
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published March 15, 2006
HILDALE - Access problems and non-payment of property taxes have been issues for court-appointed special fiduciary Bruce Wisan. Wisan, who was put in charge of the United Effort Plan trust, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has been struggling to maintain the trust property, which has been hampered by the lack of cooperation by the Colorado City Marshal's Office. Last week, Wisan said, it took a threat to take down a fence and control box to gain access to a cave set up in the hills behind the Hildale City Office that was rumored to have dynamite stored in it. Wisan said dynamite was found at the site, but added it was purchased legally, registered with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and was properly stored. "It was all done according to regulations and it was protected, but if we had been leveled with on the front end, we may not have gone in," Wisan said. Read more


Polygamists Canada-bound?
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Friday, March 31, 2006
Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs continues to urge his followers to abandon the polygamous border towns of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz., and may now be creating a new colony in the Saskatchewan province of Canada. The disclosure came Thursday in 3rd District Court from the man appointed to oversee the FLDS Church's financial arm, known as the United Effort Plan (UEP) Trust. "There's talk about maybe moving there and building a community," court-appointed special fiduciary Bruce Wisan said after the hearing. He did not know where in Saskatchewan the FLDS Church may be going. The polygamous group already has a community known as Bountiful, in British Columbia, and enclaves have been discovered in Pringle, S.D.; Pioche, Nev.; Eldorado, Texas; and Mancos, Colo. During the hearing, Wisan said he had been told as many as 40 percent of the FLDS communities may be moving to "a very remote, pristine area to start over again." Church members would move to the new communities by invitation only. "It's the very righteous, the cream of the crop," he said. The problem is, many more will be left in the dying communities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz. Read more


There are two sides of the property story
Letters to the Editor The Spectrum Originally published March 31, 2006
In response to The Spectrum editorial: "Play by the rules we all follow." Play by the rules? The first rule is that there are two sides to everything. News releases by the so-called state appointed fiduciary of the United Effort Plan say that he is trying to give titles to property. Who in America would pay taxes on property which they: Do not own. Have no legal claim to. Will not be given titles because they might contribute the property to the church of their choice. Cannot be secure on the premises with the police, fire, EMT, city government, schools, sewer, water, power, streets, courts and all other forms of local government being dismantled by an occupying force. That's all we an ask of any citizen - polygamist or not. Ann Wright Centennial Park, Ariz.


Pressure put on polygamist sect officers; Saskatchewan site possible
The Associated Press Aberdeen American News - Aberdeen, South Dakota Originally published March 31, 2006
SALT LAKE CITY - Pressure is being put on law enforcement officers in the twin polygamist communities of Colorado City, Colo., and Hildale, Utah, to cooperate in the investigation into possible theft of assets from their sect's trust fund. And in another development, a special fiduciary court appointed to run the fund said the sect's fugitive leader reportedly was urging certain followers to move to Saskatchewan in Canada. Also, an attorney for the fiduciary said that it appears the sect's new outposts in Pringle, S.D., Colorado, Texas and Nevada were not built with trust funds, but resources from the fund may have been diverted to the enclaves. Attorney Jeff Shields told 3rd District Judge Denise Lindberg on Thursday that it appeared the outpost properties were bought in 2003 - before the court appointed Bruce R. Wisan to manage the trust - with monetary and labor contributions by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Read more


Council gives trust appointee chilly reception
By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published April 11, 2006
COLORADO CITY, Ariz. - Bruce Wisan, the court-appointed special fiduciary for the United Effort Plan Trust, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, received a chilly reception at the Colorado City Council meeting Monday night. Last month, a representative asking in Wisan's behalf requested time on the council agenda to discuss the surveys being done on properties in the twin cities of Colorado City and Hildale to determine actual lot lines in the polygamous communities. The request was ignored so Wisan and Clinton Peatross, with Bush & Gudgell, Inc., an engineering firm doing the survey, were only allowed to discuss the plans during the public comment section of the meeting, which is limited to three minutes. Wisan, asking for another minute, told the council