Family members deny charges in Arthur Bennett case

Friday, April 9, 1999 | 2:23 a.m.

The four were charged with conspiracy in an indictment by a federal grand jury Wednesday. The four include Bennett's mother, Ellen, 67; his ex-wife Amelia, 45; and his two brothers, Scott, 39, and David, 41.

The family members say they bought Bennett's story that the government faked his death because he was carrying out undercover missions, including killing South American drug lords.

Marine Staff Sgt. Arthur Bennett faces murder and other charges in connection with allegedly faking his own death in a trailer fire near here Feb. 3, 1994.

He also faces a military court-martial on charges he sexually molested the daughters of fellow Marines.

And he is facing prison time in Utah after pleading no contest to sexually assaulting three teen-agers, two of them his own daughters.

"My whole life is destroyed," said Bennett's brother, Scott, after being released from custody Thursday afternoon. "My career is destroyed. My family is destroyed."

The arrests came a day after Arthur Bennett, 45, and the four relatives were indicted on charges of conspiring to defraud the United States government out of more than $300,000 in insurance money and other benefits.

Bennett's mother and two brothers, who live in Las Vegas, said they have known for months that federal prosecutors wanted them. They said they offered to surrender, but were arrested instead.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leavitt released Bennett's four co-defendants on their own recognizance Thursday, setting an April 16 arraignment.

The mother and brothers spoke out after their release, saying they knew Arthur Bennett was alive after he was declared dead in 1994.

They said Bennett told his family that military officials were staging his death and giving him a new identity to protect him.

"He said he was a mercenary down in South America," Scott Bennett said. "He told us he was down there killing drug lords."

Although he described his brother as a con artist who told many lies, Scott Bennett said he believed the story because his brother had a lengthy military career and was awarded numerous medals.

"I still believe it," said Ellen Bennett.

The mother admitted receiving the $200,000 proceeds from an insurance policy on her son's life.

"I didn't think I was doing anything wrong," she said.

Scott Bennett said he borrowed some money from his mother but did not know it came from the insurance proceeds.

David Bennett denied receiving any insurance money.

The mother and two sons accused three other family members of falsely testifying against them in the conspiracy case.

Ellen Bennett said she believes government officials turned against her son Arthur after allegations surfaced in 1997 that he was molesting girls.

He had moved to Hurricane, Utah, where he changed his name to Joseph Benson, raising his three daughters with his ex-wife, Amelia. His true identity was learned when he was arrested on charges of molesting three girls in Hurricane, including two of his daughters.