Letter: Pappas family is victimized

Saturday, Sept. 2, 2000 | 3:43 a.m.

The Sun's Aug. 27 editorial made an interesting statement that seems to be shared by many citizens of Las Vegas: If the Pappas family gets less in court than the $4.5 million originally offered by Mayor Oscar Goodman, then there won't be as many Las Vegans willing to hear his bellyaching about how unfair the city was to him and his family.

While this may be true, I would still like to ask how any dollar amount can be measured against the unalienable right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Despite the "generous" offer from Goodman, nothing can justify this unconstitutional action by the city nor guarantee that similar actions will never be perpetrated on its citizens in the future.

People can call Harry Pappas' holdout for more money as motivated by greed, but as far as I'm concerned, he and his family were the victims. As such, he can hold out for as much as he wants. The corrupt bureaucrats of Las Vegas gave him that right.

MARK WILSON

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