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John Hollenhorst ReportingOver 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."
Brower has been probing the Jeffs group for years on behalf of former members who are suing Jeffs. He says well over 3,000 acres of alfalfa hay are under cultivation in Nevada. He won't specify the evidence, but Brower says much of the money made there goes to the church of Warren Jeffs.
Sam Brower, Private Investigator: "He needs a large cash flow to support his extravagances - his buildings in Texas, the temple that he's constructed - and there is no cash flow in Texas."
Thirty miles from the farm, in the old Nevada mining town of Pioche, some wonder if polygamists will use their cheap labor pool to outbid locals for construction jobs.
Spencer Hafen, Lincoln County Commissioner: "If they want to stay out there and farm, that's one issue. But if they want to come in and bring more people, I'll have a real issue with that."
The timing was good for a big move into the hay business. Prices are way up, over $100 a ton.
Spencer Hafen, Lincoln County Commissioner: "As long as hay stays high, they have a real potential to make a lot of money." Q: "Into the millions, per year?" A: "Into the multi-millions, I would dare venture."
Investigators are trying to figure out if some of the farm's vast fleet of equipment and buildings might have been taken from the group's base community of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah.
If so, that might be illegal. Last year, most of the twin-towns' property, homes and equipment were placed under court control. Court-appointed fiduciary Bruce Wisan says he's investigating the Nevada connection.
Bruce Wisan, Court-Appointed Fiduciary: "And we're pursuing that information as it becomes available. And as we determine the facts, we'll take appropriate action."
Harker family members who run the farm refused our request for interviews. However, we did speak to Sterling Harker, who was president of Harker Farms in Utah until Jeffs kicked him out of the group. He says the expansion into Nevada is definitely Jeffs' handiwork.
