Judge won’t block the opening of Venetian

Gary Thompson

Tuesday, April 27, 1999 | 10:23 a.m.

District Judge Stephen Huffaker refused Monday to grant a whistle-blower's bid to block next week's scheduled opening of the Venetian hotel-casino due to alleged fire-safety concerns.

A few hours after the ruling, a small fire broke out in an elevator motor room at the massive resort, but was quickly brought under control. Resort officials said there was minimal damage, while a worker sustained minor burns to his hands.

Earlier, whistle blower John Prendeville had asked Huffaker to stop Clark County building inspectors from issuing permanent certificates of occupancy for the $1.5 billion resort until after walls between the hotel tower's 3,036 suites are proven fire resistant.

But Huffaker said he wanted to decide first whether a citizen of Clark County has the legal standing to challenge actions taken by the county building inspectors who have granted temporary certificates of occupancy for the Venetian.

Prendeville was fired last year as procurement manager by Lehrer McGovern Bovis Inc., construction manager for the huge project. He subsequently filed lawsuits in state and federal courts alleging illegal kickbacks, bid rigging and bribery of county officials, and charged that the resort's walls don't comply with building codes.

Officials at the Venetian, LMB and the county all denied Prendeville's claims, and their attorneys filed a series of motions Monday seeking dismissal of the district court lawsuit.

Huffaker said he was troubled by Prendeville's request that the court give greater credence to the plaintiff's judgment than that of the building inspectors. The judge also set a May 10 date for a hearing on Prendeville's right to sue.

"I'm also not certain about your standing," the judge told Prendeville, who said he was a two-and-a-half year resident of Clark County and "a member of the public concerned about the public safety."

If the judge rules in his favor, Prendeville will be allowed to present evidence in a subsequent hearing.

But, at least for the time being, Huffaker quashed subpoenas Prendeville had requested for documents from LMB and some of its subcontractors.

"I can't give you carte blanch to go into corporate records until I know whether you have standing," the judge said. Prendeville's lawsuits allege some of the documents he requested will show subcontractors are concerned about their potential liabilities if the walls don't comply with fire-safety standards.