Husband of councilwoman pleads guilty

Bill Gang

Thursday, Feb. 19, 1998 | 10:15 a.m.

The criminal case against the husband of a North Las Vegas City Council member had mushroomed out of a convoluted and highly postured Metro Police investigation over the sale of base chemicals used to produce methamphetamine.

But in the end the case against William J. "James" Brown fizzled into a gross misdemeanor sales tax case that came within one step of resolution on Wednesday.

As he agreed to do, Brown pleaded guilty in District Judge Don Chairez's courtroom to two counts of filing false tax returns for 1996 and 1997, leaving only the sentencing on April 20 before the case will be concluded.

Brown faces the possibility of two years in the county jail or probation.

Brown originally was pursued on a variety of drug charges after police said that half of the methamphetamine labs raided in the months prior to the September probe had chemicals purchased from his Lab-Kem Supplies company.

The court case seemed to be fraught with political ramifications for City Councilwoman Paula Brown. But defense attorney Robert Lucherini said none of the charges involved Paula Brown and the $20,000 in political funds and other property of hers seized by Metro was returned.

Metro officers seized about $60,000 from the Browns and the department 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 company that Paula Brown owns separately from her husband, who owns Lab-Kem.

But the investigation quickly focused on James Brown and Lab-Kem.

The Browns always had denied any wrongdoing in the sale of chemicals and James Brown had told police he was working as an informant for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, feeding agents information about customers.