The Provo Daily Herald today reports that, at the request of Utah's Attorney General, a court has placed the assets of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) under the control of an outside auditor. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said this step was necessary to prevent FLDS leader Warren Jeffs from liquidating the assets of the religious sect. As described in earlier postings (1, 2, 3), FLDS is currently in the crosshairs of numerous enforcement officials because of its promotion of polygamy, as well as for alleged padding of public school payrolls and other financial irregularities.
In a surprising move, the Daily Herald suggests that the way to deal with the issue of polygamy is to legalize it, and instead concentrate on prosecuting related crimes such as domestic violence, child abuse, statutory rape and welfare fraud.
