Charges filed against FLDS trust fiduciary

Criminal charges have been filed against the court-appointed special fiduciary of the Fundamentalist LDS Church's real-estate holdings arm, accusing him of criminal solicitation.

Six misdemeanor charges were filed against Bruce Wisan, accusing him of soliciting one of his employees to trespass on private property in Colorado City, Ariz. Four misdemeanor counts also were filed in Moccasin, Ariz., Consolidate Court against Jethro Barlow, accusing him of the same. The charging documents were included in a recent civil filing by lawyers representing FLDS members.

The charges stem from the conviction of Isaac Wyler, an ex-FLDS member who has been employed by the fiduciary to serve property-tax notices in the polygamist border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City. Wyler was convicted last month of misdemeanor trespassing and placed on two years' probation for going into some homes occupied by FLDS members while attempting to serve tax notices.

News of the criminal charges surprised Wisan's attorney, Jeffrey L. Shields, who said they haven't been served with any papers.

"To my knowledge, he hasn't been issued anything," Shields said Tuesday. "I just saw what was in the pleading. I've got to see what the facts are."

In a report to the Colorado City Council, town manager David Darger said, "The charges are not merely related to isolated instances, but are a culmination of a situation spinning out of control."

The ongoing feud threatens to derail settlement talks scheduled next week over the land in the FLDS towns. Tensions have been simmering ever since all sides agreed to a "stand down" on lawsuits over the UEP Trust. Recently, the Arizona Attorney General's Office filed to have portions of the court-ordered stay lifted so that Wisan could sell assets to pay debts and ongoing expenses of the trust.

"This request is required because a substantial portion of the monthly assessments of those residing on United Effort Plan Trust property are not being paid, and because the stay of litigation and the lack of funding for trust administration prevent the special fiduciary from properly responding to 'self-help' activities involving trust properties occurring in the Colorado City and Hildale communities," assistant Arizona Attorney General William Richards wrote, referring to a series of $100-a-month fees still unpaid and the recent arrests of two FLDS men accused of plowing over a field without permission. Charges were ultimately dropped, attorneys for the FLDS members claim.