Companies, lobbyist responsible for negative fliers

Saturday, April 22, 2000 | 4:47 a.m.

Friday's admission followed a months-long quest to unmask those behind the mailer.

The entities are Station Casinos and the Fiesta, neighborhood casino companies; The Howard Hughes Corp., which has persuaded local governments to allow neighborhood casinos in their developments; and Tom Skancke, who has lobbied on behalf of neighborhood casinos.

Skancke said he produced the flier, which was sent to 39,000 households in Malone's northwest Las Vegas district. The $21,000 postal cost was divided about equally among him and the three companies, he said.

The flier may have violated a state law banning most types of anonymous political literature. State authorities are defending the statute against a legal challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union, which claims it is an unconstitutional infringement on free speech.

Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller said his office contacted those involved with the flier on Friday. He said he expects his investigation to expand beyond Passkey Systems - which sent the mailer but has since refused to say who paid for it - to those who claimed responsibility.

The secretary of state could impose a $5,000 civil fine against each person involved. Heller said he hasn't determined whether he would wait for the ACLU lawsuit to be resolved in federal court before taking action.

Malone's Jan. 19 vote to approve a Spring Valley neighborhood casino brought a heap of criticism. The first-term commissioner, up for re-election in November, had told Station Casinos he was against the project, then changed his mind the day of the vote.

The flier depicted a cartoon of Malone, his pockets stuffed with cash, under the caption, "You Just Can't Trust Lance Malone." It suggested that Malone changed his mind on the project after he received more than $100,000 from neighborhood casino companies.

The casino project is now under appeal.

Scott Nielson, Station Casinos' executive vice president and general counsel, admitted the company's involvement in the flier and said "it was time to clear the air."

The Howard Hughes Corp. issued a statement denying any involvement in creating or distributing the flier, but officials declined further comment. It made no mention of helping to pay for the mailer, which Skancke said was the case.

Fiesta owner George Maloof could not be reached for comment.