"I think this is the first time county law enforcement has used the federal racketeering statute to shut down a criminal enterprise," said Jesse Trentadue, who represented Uintah County in the case. "Apparently the way (Burbank, Campbell, Stevens and Smith) have treated people, it's a bit of comeuppance."

Friot was brought in from Oklahoma to hear the case after all of the federal judges in Utah recused themselves because they were listed in Burbank's lawsuit. He awarded the county $63,000 in damages and directed Trentadue to file a request for attorney's fees within 14 days. He also required Burbank and Stevens to sign releases for the arbitration judgments they'd filed with the state before leaving the courtroom.

When contacted on Friday for comment, Campbell, who uses the name Spirit Walker and maintains that he is still the chief of tribal law enforcement for the Wampanoag Nation, said Friot failed to understand that it was Stevens alone who chose to retaliate against local officials with phony judgments.

"There's two individual groups here," Campbell said, claiming that the Wampanoags "dismissed" Stevens from the tribe in 2005. "We have nothing to do with Dale Stevens, but yet he keeps dragging us into this mess."

Campbell added that his group, which he said is seeking federal recognition, is in no way affiliated with the Order of the White Light or the Western Arbitration Council. He said his group's only goal is to offer a place where other unaffiliated individuals with American Indian heritage can come together and "take part ... in what we have been given under international law to maintain our culture."

Campbell, Stevens, Burbank and Smith could now face federal criminal charges. However, Friot's ruling that the four men had committed numerous violations of state and federal law — including racketeering, mail fraud and conspiracy — was based on a finding of the preponderance of the evidence. For a criminal conviction, prosecutors would have to prove any case against the men beyond a reasonable doubt.

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E-mail: geoff@ubstandard.com