Thursday, April 23, 1998 | 10 a.m.
The sentencing of William J. "James" Brown, the husband of a North Las Vegas City Council member, was as anti-climactic as the charges themselves.
The criminal case against Brown -- on gross misdemeanor counts of filing false sales tax returns -- had mushroomed out of a Metro Police investigation over the sale of base chemicals used to produce methamphetamine.
But the drug case fizzled into a minor tax charge that resulted Wednesday in a suspended one-year sentence and three years probation.
While Metro pursued Brown, he said his sale of base chemicals was part of a cooperative effort with Drug Enforcement Administration officials.
Although Brown pleaded guilty in February to two counts of filing false tax returns for 1996 and 1997, he was reluctant in court Wednesday to say the problem was anything more than a bookkeeping error.
But under questioning by District Judge Don Chairez, Brown admitted that his tax problem resulted, in essence, from his "skimming" of proceeds.
Brown originally was pursued on a variety of drug charges after Metro detectives said that half of the methamphetamine labs raided in the months prior to the September probe had chemicals purchased from his company, Lab-Kem Supplies.
In a written statement released after the sentencing, Brown said he had been working with the DEA "as a good businessman to help in the war on drugs."
Brown blamed his lax supervision of an employee for the problems that led to police scrutiny.
Brown said the criminal case "has been a long and unpleasant period in our lives ... a horrible strain on my family and our business."
While events surrounding the case have led to a recall movement against City Councilwoman Paula Brown, defense attorney Robert Lucherini has said that none of the charges involved her. The $20,000 in political funds and other property of hers seized by Metro eventually was returned.
Metro officers seized about $60,000 from the Browns and will get to keep about $20,000 to cover the costs of the investigation. The remainder, Lucherini said, will go to the state for back sales taxes, penalties and interest.
The original probe had involved the J.B. Chemical Co. that Paula Brown owns separately from her husband, who owns Lab-Kem.
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