Religious Figure Arraigned in Drug Case

A prominent member of the Phoenix temple where six Buddhist monks and three other people were slain execution-style two months ago was arraigned in Los Angeles federal court Wednesday on drug charges.

Lamthong Sudthisa-Ard was arraigned on 1979 charges of conspiracy and importing drugs. According to Carol Levitzsky, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office, he failed to show up for the fourth day of a trial and vanished. She said, however, that the trial went on and that Sudthisa-Ard and a co-defendant were convicted.

Last week, he was arrested in Phoenix after being recognized by a member of the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Detail, according to Drug Enforcement Administration officials who assisted in arresting Sudthisa-Ard. He waived his right to extradition to California.

U.S. Magistrate-Judge George H. King ordered him held without bail and said Sudthisa-Ard, 53, would make his next appearance before U.S. District Court Judge Laughlin E. Waters, who handled the original trial.

In Phoenix, he went by the alias of Thong Cam Smith, according to the DEA. He frequently was in the spotlight in the wake of the grisly killings, serving as an unofficial spokesman for the Wat Promkunaram temple, where the monks, a 71-year-old nun, a temple helper and a 16-year-old trainee were slain.

Sudthisa-Ard fielded reporters’ questions about Buddhism, the nature of the temple and related matters.

He owned a restaurant called The Spicy Thai, which he offered as a gathering place for temple members and visiting officials, including the Thai ambassador to the United States.

John Albano, a DEA spokesman in Phoenix said he knew of no connection between Sudthisa-Ard and the Aug. 10 killings.

In mid-September, five Tucson men were arrested by a multi-agency task force headed by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office. Four of the men have been held for a Dec. 16 trial.

Authorities say they are looking for four other suspects and believe that the motive for the killings was robbery.

In September, Maricopa County Sheriff Tom Agnos said the suspects went to the temple expecting to find a great deal of valuables and money, but found little. Investigators have said that a number of valuable statues and artifacts were left untouched.