Solicitor general quits post

Tuesday, June 6, 2000 | 11:17 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Solicitor General Mark Ghan, disciplined by a Las Vegas court for delays in releasing documents in a high-profile case, has resigned from the state Attorney General's Office.

"I hated to leave in the middle of the case, but I could not pass up this opportunity," said Ghan, who will be a deputy city attorney in Reno.

He said part of the reason for leaving the $88,000-a-year job was the time he had to spend in Las Vegas, defending Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa from allegations she approved an illegal investigation into top government officials.

"This one case was taking up more than half of my time," he said, adding that it involved a lot of travel to Las Vegas. Ghan has four children and the change in jobs is "about lifestyle. I will be closer to my family."

Ghan worked for the attorney general's office for nearly 11 years and has been solicitor general for nearly three years. He noted he will receive a pay increase in his new job with the city of Reno.

Ghan, 46, and Senior Deputy Attorney General Bridget Branigan were fined $1,500 each by District Judge James Mahan for "dilatory and abusive tactics" in delaying the release of parts of a confidential investigation into allegations against top state gaming officials.

As an option they were allowed to perform 10 hours of public service, which they chose.

The case involves Mike Anzalone, who says he was fired by Del Papa as an office investigator because he refused to take part in an illegal probe of former state Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible and others. Del Papa has denied the allegation.

The judge ordered the Attorney General's Office to give the attorney for Anzalone 900 pages of documents so he could prepare his case. Ghan and Branigan turned over some but not all the documents. Although the two lawyers were punished, their case was not turned over to the state bar for further disciplinary action.

No replacement has been named for Ghan.

In another development in the attorney general's office, Del Papa last week replaced Chief Deputy Attorney General Jonathan Andrews, who has headed the civil division for 10 years. He has supervised some 40 attorneys who advised 150 state agencies.

Andrews is being replaced in the $84,000 a year job by Norman Azevedo, who was assigned to the state Taxation Department as a deputy.