Editorial: Just who is minding the store?

Friday, Feb. 16, 2001 | 8:49 a.m.

Depositions taken in civil lawsuits can be dry and uneventful. But Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa's deposition in a wrongful termination lawsuit -- filed by one of her former employees, Michael Anzalone -- contained a bombshell. Del Papa acknowledged under sworn testimony that she never saw a confidential intelligence report before a top deputy sent it to the FBI four years ago, a memo that alleged top Nevada Democrats would accept bribes.

In light of the gravity of the allegations against the politicians -- all of which were bogus, by the way -- it is amazing that Deputy Attorney General David Thompson didn't first inform Del Papa that he would send uncorroborated information to a federal law enforcement agency. Former Sen. Richard Bryan, who was one of the politicians unfairly smeared by the accusations, told Sun reporter Jeff German this week that it would be "highly unusual" for Del Papa not to have seen the documents before they were turned over. Bryan knows what he's talking about, since he once was Nevada's attorney general, too.

The allegations in the 21-page report sent to the FBI were sensational, including an accusation that a slot machine maker was laundering money for the CIA at Las Vegas casinos. If this is par for the course for Thompson, sending wild-eyed tips to the FBI without telling his boss, it can only leave us guessing what his judgment has been like in other cases. For that matter, it doesn't say much about the respect that this top deputy had for Del Papa. If, in fact, someone believed these charges had any credence, wouldn't they have thought that their boss -- the state's highest-ranking law enforcement official -- should be let in on this development?

While Del Papa apparently didn't know that the FBI had received this report, the fact is she was aware of the intelligence investigation of top Nevadans, which included former Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible, who was at odds with Del Papa at the time. Del Papa initially denied the existence of the investigation, but she was forced to acknowledge the probe after files surfaced later to confirm it. Anzalone, who had brought the wrongful termination suit, had long wanted the records made public. So, too, did the Sun, which successfully intervened to have them released in spite of Del Papa's bid to keep them secret. Bit by bit, as these records have been made public and details emerge from Anzalone's lawsuit, we've caught a glimpse of a law enforcement agency that had spun out of control.