Vickie Singer expects to be released from federal prison June 6 after serving 3 1/2 years of a five-year sentence for her role in the 1988 bombing of an LDS Church stake center in Summit County.
Singer called attorney Steven Kuhnhausen on Thursday and told him she had been given a tentative release date of June 6, Kuhnhausen said. She is looking forward to returning to the Singer farm in Marion, Summit County, and being a mother to her children, he said."She wants to get those kids back in line," Kuhnhausen said. "She has said that in 1,000 words over the course of the last several months. She's been real concerned about what's been happening with Ben. She's going to go up there and lay the law down for them."
Singer was taken to the federal prison in Pleasanton, Calif., Oct. 10, 1988.
Little has been heard from her since her attorney, Kathryn Collard, told the media in July 1989 that Vickie Singer was "incredibly homesick." Some people can't adjust to prison life, Collard said. "I guess she's one of them."
Hans Benjamin Singer, Vickie Singer's 18-year-old son, appeared in federal court Thursday on a federal charge stemming from the discovery of a pipe bomb in his truck last October. He appeared in U.S. District Judge Thomas Greene's court for what should have been a conference to schedule a trial on the charge.
Instead, Kuhnhausen and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Schwendiman outlined for Greene an arrangement that would keep him from going to prison on the charge if he is convicted.
According to the agreement, the federal government would indefinitely delay prosecution on the charge of possession of the pipe bomb if Benjamin Singer would continue to hold down a job and obey all local, state and federal laws.
He currently works in Park City repairing snowmobiles in the winter and hot-air balloons in the summer, Kuhnhausen said. The agreement, which has not yet been approved by U.S. Attorney Dee Benson, may also include some opportunity for vocational education.
"If he successfully completed the vocational training, the charges would be dismissed," Kuhnhausen said. "It's kind of like getting probation before you go to court. If you complete your probation, you don't have to go to work."
The agreement was prompted by Benjamin Singer's good behavior since October and his pregnant wife's dependence on him for support. His wife, Gayle, appeared in court with him Thursday.
Police found the pipe bomb in Benjamin Singer's truck following an Oct. 13 traffic accident when his truck struck a tree and was demolished. Police conducted a routine search of the truck before towing it and discovered the pipe bomb between the seats.
Kuhnhausen told the court the bomb had been lying around the Singer farm since before the 1988 bombing of the LDS stake center in Kamas. It was overlooked during a search following the Singer family's 13-day standoff with police in January 1988, he said.
"Everyone I've talked to - the Singer family and friends - have seen it sitting up there. They just thought it was an innocuous object, a piece of metal with tape wrapped around it. Apparently they didn't know what it was."
The pipe bomb contained smokeless gunpowder and rifle primer. It was connected to a fuse and wrapped with black electrical tape, said John Minichino, resident agent in charge of the Salt Lake Office of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.
The federal government charged Benjamin Singer with possession of an unregistered destructive device, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine. He entered a plea of not guilty to the charge.
Since his release after a brief stay at a halfway house in October, Benjamin Singer has been living at the family farm with his wife and sisters. The court released him on the condition that his employer supervise him and provide an adult role model for him.
Vickie Singer's older son, John Timothy Singer, is serving state and federal prison sentences for his part in the bombing, siege and the Jan. 29, 1988, shooting death of state corrections officer Fred House.
Vickie Singer's son-in-law, Addam Swapp, and his brother, Jonathan Swapp, are also serving state and federal sentences for their parts in those incidents.