While several Utah congressmen criticized federal authorities for the handling of last week's raid and arrest of 19 Utahns accused of collecting and trafficking archaeological objects, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff delicately deflected liability for the controversial sting over the weekend by saying his office played no role and he "heard nothing about it beforehand."

Although Shurtleff, who has announced his plans to challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, for the Republican nomination next year, briefly defended his federal colleagues' right to carry out the operation, he told the Deseret News his office had "strained relations with the U.S. Attorney's Office for about a year and a half."

But apparently that was news to U.S. Attorney for Utah Brett Tolman.

Tolman, a third-year U.S attorney, disputed any estrangement between the offices, saying the agencies have been close partners in several ongoing operations, including going after child predators and tackling mortgage fraud.

"The attorney general has not reached out to me over the past year and a half to resolve any perceived problems," Tolman wrote in a prepared statement. "To suggest that I am not working closely with Utah officials is just plain wrong."

Tolman said he met with Shurtleff on Monday and had a very productive meeting.

Paul Murphy, spokesman for the Utah Attorney General's Office, who said there were concerns about communication and cooperation between agencies, added, "I think today's meeting was a chance to air that out. My guess is that both offices will be talking a lot more in the future."

During the meeting, Murphy said Shurtleff threw his support behind Tolman's ambitions for the next year and Tolman recommitted to strongly pursue the prosecution of Brian David Mitchell in the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart.

E-MAIL: jhancock@desnews.com