It was difficult to find anyone in Arizona who was talking Thursday about the land development deal at the center of a federal indictment against David Wittig, chief executive of Westar Energy Inc., and Clinton Weidner II, former president of Capital City Bank.

The indictment says Weidner concealed a $1.5 million loan he took from Wittig to acquire a 50 percent stake in Scottsdale Sierra Eagle Ridge LLC in April 2001.

Phones for Gordon Wasson, the companyâÂÂs attorney, and an officer, Michael Earl, werenâÂÂt in service Thursday.

No one was answering the phone at Sierra Homes, whose Scottsdale address is listed as the home of Sierra Eagle Ridge LLC. Tim Burns, Sierra Homesâ land acquisition expert and a Sierra Eagle Ridge officer, did not return messages left on his cell phone.

The limited liability company was created in March 2001, about a month before Weidner purchased his stake.

Sierra Homesâ Web site promises a coming 21-home development on 1 acre in the Eagle Ridge area of Scottsdale, a neighborhood surrounded by upscale golf courses.

According to the site, Sierra Homes acquires land and designs custom homes for each location. The lowest prices listed were in the $300,000 to $400,000 range, with the top end reaching more than $2 million.