Brown agrees to plead guilty to tax charges

Bill Gang

Saturday, Jan. 17, 1998 | 9:22 a.m.

The husband of a North Las Vegas City Council member has agreed to a plea bargain in a convoluted Metro Police investigation over the sale of base chemicals used in the production of methamphetamine.

William J. "James" 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.

But the final deal in the court case that seemed to be fraught with political ramifications for City Councilwoman Paula Brown fizzled in the negotiation that will result only in gross misdemeanor convictions for James Brown.

And those charges involve state tax returns and not drugs.

In addition, according to attorney Robert Lucherini, none of the charges involve Paula Brown and the $20,000 in political funds and other property of hers seized by Metro is going to be 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.

James Brown is scheduled to plead guilty on Feb. 12 to charges of filing false or fraudulent tax returns. One count involves 1996 returns and the other involves 1997 returns.

The probe that some said might affect his wife's political career originally had involved the J.B. Chemical company that she owns separately from her husband, who owns Lab-Kem.

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

The district attorney's office had been presenting evidence to a Clark County Grand Jury in the weeks before the plea bargain that makes the grand jury case obsolete.

The Browns always had denied any wrongdoing in the sale of chemicals that could be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

James Brown had told police he was working as an informant for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, feeding agents information about customers.