September 20, 2004

SALT LAKE CITY -- A family that runs a chain of troubled boarding schools has dumped bundles of money into Utah political campaigns over the past two years -- and may have been peddling influence with lawmakers to avoid regulation, a newspaper reports.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports in Sunday editions that lawmakers quietly killed a bill this year that would have allowed the state to regulate boarding schools. Since then, checks have flown into political coffers, and complaints surrounding the schools have swirled.

At the center of the storm are House Speaker Marty Stephens, who received a $30,000 check six days after the bill died from its biggest opponent, and the Majestic Ranch boarding school near Randolph, which has been has been investigated three separate times for alleged abuse, according to state Human Service officials.

That school is owned by Dan Peart, brother-in-law of World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools founder Robert Lichfield, who awarded Stephens the $30,000 check.

The ranch is among seven troubled-teen schools affiliated with World Wide in four states and two foreign countries. Several others have been shut down amid allegations of abuse or poor living conditions, including the Casa by the Sea facility near Ensenada, Mexico, closed last weekend by government officials.

Ken Stettler, director of the Utah Office of Licensing, told The Tribune he's convinced he had the votes to pass the bill giving his office regulatory authority over Majestic Ranch, if only Stephens and others had allowed it to come up for a vote.

"It still goes back to the old deal that, you know, if you are giving political contributions, then when the time comes and you need to call in your chips, you're going to have a listening ear, which is more than a lot of the citizenry has," he said.

After several years of relatively modest contributions, Lichfield, of La Verkin, and his network of family members and business associates opened their wallets to politicians -- all of them Republicans, and many of them Utah politicians -- starting in 2002. They donated no more than a couple of thousand dollars prior to Jan. 1, 2001, but since then have forked over $1 million.

Lichfield told The Tribune there was nothing nefarious about his sudden plunge into the political arena.

"We've been abundantly blessed, and when you're blessed, we feel you have a responsibility to bless others," he said, confirming that World Wide member schools gross more than $70 million annually.

Lichfield added that the family's charitable contributions, which he estimated at $3 million last year, dwarf its political donations.

Stephens, the outgoing House speaker whose bid for governor ended unsuccessfully in the May 8 Republican State Convention, did not return repeated requests from The Tribune for comment or a telephone message Sunday from The Associated Press.

However, Lichfield denied receiving undue influence, and shrugs off suggestion that he has become a political powerbroker.

"Believe me, the check had nothing to do with (the bill)," said Lichfield. "Marty Stephens was going to get a donation from me no matter what happened to (it). Marty Stephens is a quality guy."

"I'd like to use my means and resources to bless peoples' lives. Does that also imply influencing policy-makers to make good policies that support good family values, quality education and the things I believe in? Definitely. I'd like to have some influence in that," he said.