This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A 32-year-old Blanding man was sentenced to 24 months of probation Thursday for selling a sandal taken from American Indian land as part of an artifact-trafficking operation.
Tad Kreth was initially charged with 16 felonies in federal court, but pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in stolen artifacts.
In exchange for his plea, the remaining charges against him were dismissed.
Kreth apologized for his actions before U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart. He said he knew the sandal, which he sold to an undercover informant in 2008, was likely taken from American Indian grounds.
Kreth is among two dozen defendants charged for dealing in artifacts alleged to have been stolen from federal or tribal lands.
The group, arrested in a 2009 federal sting, sold the artifacts, including a turquoise pendant and a copper bracelet, to a government operative and Utah-based dealer, Ted Gardiner, who later committed suicide.
Most of the defendants have accepted plea deals.
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