Las Vegas City Council ethics hearings heat up

Erin Neff

Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2001 | 11:25 a.m.

The Las Vegas City Hall soap opera hits sweeps week Thursday, as two separate ethics complaints will result in council members testifying against one of their own, then driving across town to defend themselves.

The list of expected witnesses for Councilman Michael McDonald's hearing before the Nevada Ethics Commission reads like a sordid who's who of politicians and community leaders.

Bob Rose, a retired Las Vegas resident who filed the state complaint against McDonald, requested the commission subpoena everyone from Crazy Horse Too owner Rick Rizzolo to Mayor Oscar Goodman.

"A lot of my witnesses are the defendants in the other one," Rose said. "I can just see Oscar Goodman running back and forth."

McDonald's hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Sawyer State Office Building. Goodman and three of his council colleagues face ethics charges of their own over at City Hall at 1:30 p.m. in a case many allege McDonald helped bring against them as vengeance.

Rose said his witnesses include Councilmen Larry Brown and Gary Reese, City Manager Virginia Valentine, former Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone, Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid and Goodman.

Don Schlesinger, Larry Scheffler and Linda Fernandez -- all part owners of the beleaguered Las Vegas Sportspark -- are on the witness list. Rizzolo and his sister, Annette Marie Patterson. Rizzolo's attorney, Dean Patti, and assistant district attorney Charles Thompson are also on the witness list.

The case against McDonald is the same as the one already presented to the city's Ethics Review Board. That board found that McDonald broke city ethics laws when he lobbied the city to purchase Sportspark to help his boss, Scheffler, out of a bad investment.

In the Sportspark case it was alleged that Rizzolo and Patti toured the recreation facility as potential buyers. Rizzolo and others testified they were scouting a site for a charity softball event.

McDonald's attorney, Richard Wright, plans to call three of the same witnesses he did during the city case -- Rev. Dave Casaleggio, Rizzolo and Clark County Public Administrator Jared Shafer -- who are all associated with the charity.

Thompson, who is also associated with the charity, will likely serve as a witness to counter the others' claims.

The other matter the state commission will consider is whether McDonald violated any ethics laws by working to block a tavern license requested by political consultant Sig Rogich.

The city ethics board heard testimony from Metro detectives and city surveyors about the tavern license and the church Patterson opened near Rogich's building, and ruled McDonald violated an ethics law in that case as well.

Meanwhile, the Rogich tavern license has resulted in a city ethics complaint against Goodman, Brown, Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald and Councilman Michael Mack.

Those four voted in favor of Rogich's license in April 2000 despite a recommendation from City Attorney Brad Jerbic that doing so was wrong.

The four council members named in the complaint have all stated they believe McDonald was somehow behind the filing of the complaint by resident Victor Palermo.

Wright is also expected to call Jerbic as a witness on McDonald's behalf during Thursday's state hearing.

McDonald said Tuesday he is confident that residents will hear a different story than they did during last year's city ethics proceedings.

"It is more of what people saw on TV and read in the media that showed I didn't get a fair hearing," McDonald said. "For me, it's in the hands of Mr. Wright who is one of the best attorneys on the West coast and can do a great job if given the opportunity to show our side of the case."

The state Ethics Commission may have less patience with McDonald's ability to do just that on Thursday. Last July when McDonald was cleared of any wrongdoing by the state panel in an unrelated case, many of the commissioners voiced concerns that McDonald should proceed with better caution in the future.

Two of the commissioners actually voted to fine McDonald and find him guilty during the July 2000 ethics case involving a vote the councilman took on a Silver State Disposal trash contract.