Lawsuit against councilman drops malfeasance claim

Diana Sahagun

Monday, Aug. 27, 2001 | 11:25 a.m.

A local attorney has dropped a malfeasance allegation from a lawsuit against Las Vegas Councilman Larry Brown.

But the lawsuit still seeks damages from Brown over his June vote to deny a car dealer permission to build a new dealership in northwest Las Vegas.

John Staluppi Jr., whose application for a Nissan dealership was denied, has dropped the part of the lawsuit seeking to remove Brown from office, Staluppi's attorney, Anthony Sgro, said Friday.

Brown, though, must still face other portions of the lawsuit, including allegations that he tried to interfere with business dealings between two rival car dealers.

Staluppi decided to drop part of the lawsuit after the Las Vegas Ethics Review Board on Aug. 16 dismissed two ethics complaints against Brown, saying there was no evidence he tried to broker a deal between Staluppi and rival car dealer Joseph Scala to locate Staluppi's business on Scala's land, Sgro said.

"The way the evidence came out, based on what I saw and what Mr. Staluppi saw at the presentation, Staluppi made a decision to dismiss Brown out of the case," Sgro said Friday.

Brown today called the news "vindication," but said beyond that everything Sgro has alleged has been personal, not based in fact.

"What's disappointing is the frivolous nature of some of the latest complaints that have come through, not just in my case but across the Las Vegas Valley," he said.

City Councilman Michael Mack still faces a lawsuit by Staluppi seeking his removal from office for malfeasance. It alleges Mack voted to deny Staluppi's dealership because he was indebted to Scala, who had loaned him $60,000.

Both councilmen said they voted to deny Staluppi's dealership application on Rancho Drive because it was not compatible with the Town Center plan, which groups all commercial uses into one area near U.S. 95 and Centennial Parkway.

The majority of property designated for car dealerships in Town Center is owned by Scala. The City Council, since the complaints were filed, has begun drafting an ordinance to expand that area to include more landowners.

With the heat off Brown, pressure is being placed on Mack.

Sgro last week submitted an amended ethics complaint to the city's ethics board that includes new allegations against Mack, including his failure to report all of his loans on his campaign contribution form filed each year with the city clerk.

The amended ethics complaint alleges that Mack, in return for the loan, promised Scala that all new car dealerships would be located inside Town Center.