Witness in ethics case says deck is stacked

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, April 12, 2001 | 10:40 a.m.

The former Clark County employee who filed an ethics complaint against County Commissioner Erin Kenny senses next week's hearing will be less about the commissioner's behavior and more about his.

Gene Smith said Wednesday he received a list of witnesses Kenny's attorney, Frank Cremen, intends to call during Thursday's state Ethics Commission hearing.

The high-ranking county administrators slated to testify on behalf of the commissioner have no connection to the ethics case, but most had a role in the firing of Smith in 1998.

"I see the writing on the wall," Smith said. "I don't think this will be a trial against Erin Kenny. I think this will be a trial against me."

Cremen is out of town until next week and could not be reached for comment today.

Smith claims that during a private August meeting at Kenny's home, Kenny tried to persuade facilities worker Bradd Banaszak and Smith to break into the County Government Center and computer systems to get documents that would hurt colleague Mary Kincaid Chauncey's chances of re-election.

Incumbent Kincaid Chauncey at the time was in a tough primary race against Kenny's close friend, North Las Vegas Councilwoman Stephanie Smith.

Present at the meeting were Banaszak, Gene Smith, Kenny and Service Employees International Union representative Mary Anne Dawicki.

At least a partial list of defense witnesses provided to Gene Smith include District Attorney Stewart Bell, whose office prosecuted Smith when he was accused -- and later fired -- for having a washer and dryer that belonged to the county in his home.

Smith claims he has receipts to prove he purchased the appliances but entered a plea bargain hoping he could keep his job.

In Smith's affidavit supporting his claims against Kenny, he said that during their meeting the commissioner spoke about her relationship with Bell.

"Kenny said she was real good friends with the District Attorney Stew (sic) Bell," the affidavit says.

Also on the witness list is the county's Director of Aviation Randy Walker, who was the interim county manager when Smith was fired; county auditor Jeremiah Carroll, whom Smith says investigated the washer and dryer case; Raymond Visconti, assistant director of the Human Resources Department; union president Tom Beatty and Stephanie Smith.

Gene Smith said his deadline to submit questions to be asked during Thursday's hearing was Monday. He didn't receive a list of witnesses until Wednesday.

Smith said the attempt to discredit him would not only help Kenny but ultimately Clark County, which is facing an investigation launched by the Environmental Protection Agency after Smith filed a citizens complaint.

The former employee of the facilities division -- which maintains county buildings -- alerted the EPA to missing Freon and his division's inability to keep accurate records on the ozone-depleting gas.

If the EPA finds the county violated federal law by knowingly keeping shoddy records that led to missing refrigerant, the county could face a maximum fine of $25,000 a day that could be back-dated two years.

"The county is facing millions of dollars in fines," said Smith, the EPA's primary witness in the case. "If I'm not a credible person, why is the federal government investigating them?

"They're all smoke and mirrors; that's their (method of operation). They won't be able to smoke and mirror the federal government."