Delays leads to fines of Attorney General’s lawyers

Friday, Nov. 5, 1999 | 10:42 a.m.

The fines, for delaying tactics used during the pretrial discovery, are to be paid out of the attorneys' own pockets.

District Judge James Mahan took the unusual action Thursday of sanctioning Mark Ghan, head of Del Papa's litigation division, and Deputy Attorney General Bridget Branigan.

Mahan said the lawyers could either pay the $1,500 themselves or perform 10 hours of pro bono public service. Even though they are state employees, he blocked any payment of the fines from tax dollars, saying, "A monetary sanction to be paid from public funds is an illusory punishment, a penalty without teeth."

The judge ordered more than 1,000 pages of documents from the attorney general's files to be turned over to the attorney representing Michael Anzalone, Del Papa's former investigator.

Anzalone claims he was forced to quit his job because he refused to participate in what he considered an illegal investigation into Nevada's gaming regulators.

Anzalone's Phoenix-based attorney, Christine Manno, said that with the documents, "I believe we will now be able to proceed with proving our case."

Anzalone sued Del Papa in 1998 in a 37-count lawsuit that includes wrongful termination, violation of public policy, libel and defamation.

Del Papa has taken the position she never ordered an investigation into former Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible, as Anzalone alleges, and that she ousted Anzalone because he wasn't doing his job properly.

Ghan and Branigan fought turning over documents to Manno, who kept filing motions asking they be sanctioned because of their delaying tactics.

Richard Linstrom, the chief deputy attorney general in the Las Vegas office, said, "All I can say at this point is that we are disappointed and reviewing our options relative to appeal."