City’s ethics panel accused of conflicts

Erin Neff

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2000 | 11:11 a.m.

Before the city's Ethics Review Board can hear a complaint about alleged conflicts of interest by a council member, it must clean up conflicts in its own house.

Review Board Chairman Earle W. White Jr. has notified the city clerk's office that he wants outside legal counsel hired when the board reconsiders the complaint against Councilman Michael McDonald.

"There's a conflict because the city attorney is counsel to the council," White said.

Deputy City Attorney Larry Bettis informed the review board last week that a citizen's complaint against McDonald could not be discussed because it had not been notarized.

The five-person board then voted to vacate the complaint.

But after the vote, White expressed displeasure with Bettis' advice, and asked three of the other board members whether they also wanted to seek outside counsel.

In an e-mail he wrote to City Clerk Roni Ronemus, White refers to the Sept. 22 Ethics Review Board session as a "non-meeting."

"I also had a long phone conversation Thursday evening with Brad (Jerbic, the City Attorney) to express our extreme displeasure with the events as they transpired and the legal advice," White wrote.

Robert Rose, a retiree who watchdogs local officials, resubmitted a notarized version of his complaint against McDonald this week. The ethics board is next scheduled to meet Oct. 19 and will likely vote to hire outside counsel and reconsider the McDonald case at that time.

Bettis is the city attorney assigned to the review board, but the city's charter dictates that city attorneys are charged with representing the city and the council.

City attorneys are routinely asked for opinions by the individual council members about whether they can vote on a particular matter.

Rose alleges McDonald acted improperly by using his public office to help benefit his employers.

In May, McDonald toured Las Vegas Sportspark with his friend, Crazy Horse Too strip club owner Rick Rizzolo, and with Rizzolo's attorney Dean Patti.

One of Sportspark's owning partners, Don Schlesinger, thought another partner, Larry Scheffler, was leading the tour for potential investors in the financially strapped recreation center.

Scheffler is McDonald's boss at Las Vegas Color Graphics and is a business partner of Sportspark's majority owner, Linda Fernandez.

McDonald said he was only touring the Sportspark to scout a potential site for a charity softball tournament. However, a contract drawn up by Patti and signed by Scheffler and Fernandez shortly after the tour would have sold Sportspark to the city or a third party if fully executed by Schlesigner's approval.

In addition to the Sportspark case, Rose's complaint alleges McDonald also attempted to help Rizzolo by assisting a church run by Rizzolo's sister in opening within close proximity to a planned topless club. The planned club was originally rejected by city planners because it was too close to the church.

When news reports surfaced showing the church's link to Rizzolo and his Crazy Horse Too strip club, the church closed its doors.

Metro Police are investigating whether McDonald or his staff were involved in either the church's opening or the possible sale of Sportspark. Both matters are also the subject of a complaint Rose filed with the state Ethics Commission.

"If I am able to obtain the proper assistance from Metro, the 30-day time frame will not be a problem between our October meeting and a special meeting in November," White wrote.

When the city's ethics board reconsiders the Rose complaint, it will be determining whether enough evidence exists to proceed with a full hearing. Such a hearing is required to take place within 30 days of the initial meeting of the ethics review board.