A man who was once one of the top leaders of the Fundamentalist LDS Church is under investigation in Canada.
One of the purported wives of polygamist Winston Blackmore told the Deseret Morning News that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is wrapping up an investigation of Blackmore.
"We've heard just a little bit," Edith Barlow said Wednesday. "We're expecting (something to happen) within the next couple of weeks."
RCMP officers confirmed to the Deseret Morning News there is an investigation but said no criminal charges are imminent.
"Our investigation is continuing, but that's all I can say about that," Staff Sgt. John Ward said from the RCMP's Vancouver office.
Blackmore was once the No. 3 man in the FLDS Church, leading the community of Bountiful, in British Columbia. He was ousted by Warren Jeffs, the fugitive leader of the polygamist group. Hundreds of followers in Bountiful remained loyal to Blackmore and split from the FLDS Church.
The FBI placed Warren Jeffs on its Ten Most Wanted list on Saturday, offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. Utah and Arizona authorities have charged Jeffs with crimes related to performing child bride marriages, forcing teenage girls into polygamous marriages to older men. Federal authorities have charged Jeffs with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Utah's attorney general confirmed his office is conducting an organized crime investigation into Jeffs and the FLDS Church. Sources tell the Deseret Morning News that Blackmore has been cooperating with investigators looking into Jeffs, the FLDS Church and its financial arm, the $110 million United Effort Plan Trust. Recently, Blackmore sent out a newsletter urging his followers to pay their property taxes.
Attempts to reach Blackmore for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Blackmore's purported wives have been questioned by RCMP investigators.
"They were trying to prosecute Winston and using us to prosecute him," Barlow said. "When we realized what was going on, it made us angry. We're the ones that are putting him in jail."
Barlow said Canadian authorities can't make a case for poly- gamy against Black- more, because she and other sister-wives are not legally married to him.
Meanwhile, Canadian authorities are applying pressure to the polygamous enclave just over the Idaho border.
Barlow and two of her sister-wives, Marsha Chatwin and Zelpha Chatwin, received letters from Canadian immigration officials demanding that they leave the country.
Barlow applied for citizenship under humanitarian reasons in 2003. She was denied citizenship in 2005 and reapplied. Just last month, she received the letter.
"My church is in Canada. My social . . . everything is here in Canada," she said. "I have five little children that are mine. I am the sole caregiver. If I leave, what kind of a life is that for them?"
Barlow said she believes that it is because of her relationship with Blackmore. Canadian immigration officials said they cannot discuss individual cases.
"We do recognize same sex, but that is singular partners," said Denny Falls, a spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada. "Not multiple partners."
Barlow said she grew up in the FLDS Church, but because of the split does not believe she would have much help from family members still within that polygamous group. The Utah-based pro-polygamy group Principle Voices said it is trying to arrange some support should the women be deported from Canada.
"We're concerned about Winston's family," Principle Voices' Mary Batchelor said Wednesday. "They have suffered a great deal of pain and anguish over the last several years since they were cut off from the FLDS; they have been divided from their families and have had to pick up the pieces on their own."
Falls said if citizenship is denied, it can be appealed to Canada's federal courts. Right now, the women are considering hiring a Canadian immigration lawyer to contest the decision. If they leave, Barlow said 16 children would be motherless. Blackmore does not want the children to leave the country, where they would lose benefits provided by Canada.
"He says they have the right to have their mothers here," Barlow said. "He's fighting teeth and toenail to help us."
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com