Columnist Jeff German: Anzalone gets day in court

Friday, June 15, 2001 | 4:55 a.m.

Jeff German is the Sun's senior investigative reporter. He can be reached at (702) 259-4067 or by e-mail at german@lasvegassun.com

HIS WRONGFUL termination lawsuit against Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa has languished in the court system for more than three years.

But now, as his July 10 trial in District Court approaches, Mike Anzalone is on the verge of getting his long-awaited day in court.

Anzalone, you may recall, is a former Del Papa investigator who contends he was forced to resign in February 1996 because he wouldn't participate in a secret intelligence probe of top gaming regulators.

The No. 1 target of the investigation was Bill Bible, the longtime Gaming Control Board chairman who happened to be a Del Papa political adversary.

Del Papa has denied conducting an intelligence probe, but records that surfaced in Anzalone's lawsuit have tended to support his claim.

One 1996 "confidential intelligence report" suggested without any corroboration that Bible and top elected leaders in Nevada were prone to taking bribes from the gaming industry.

Bible and others mentioned in the report have condemned its unsubstantiated allegations, which did not lead to any criminal charges.

And now Anzalone wants monetary damages from Del Papa for causing him grief during her intelligence gathering activities.

What is interesting about this case is that there have been no meaningful settlement talks in the past three years. Instead, Anzalone has been forced to rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees fighting the attorney general's persistent stonewalling in court. Leading the charge has been Anzalone's Phoenix lawyer, Christine Manno.

On Monday both sides will meet with District Judge James Mahan to make final preparations for the month-long trial. Talk of a settlement could surface then.

If not, Del Papa will have to brace for the kind of publicity you generally don't want when you're contemplating a bid for re-election. News reports about the case already have damaged Del Papa's standing on the Strip, where Bible now is president of the Nevada Resort Association, the casino industry's influential political arm.

Dogged by the talk of her political snooping on gaming regulators, Del Papa was forced to bow out of the races for governor in 1998 and the U.S. Senate in 2000 when she couldn't raise any money from the casino industry.

In 2002, if she seeks a fourth term, she likely will face some stiff competition. State Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, who had a great legislative session this year, is eyeing a bid for attorney general.

The Anzalone trial, meanwhile, is expected to play into the hands of the casino industry's growing critics on Capitol Hill, which means we can expect the trial to receive national media attention.

Industry foes on the Hill would love to pick up on another Nevada scandal, especially one that has tarnished the state's top law enforcement officer and model regulatory scheme.

The trial also should attract much local media interest, maybe even live coverage on Las Vegas One, our local cable news channel.

And there will be some exciting moments.

For the first time, Las Vegans will get a chance to hear Bible, one of the most respected public servants in Nevada history, testify about how it felt to be smeared by the power of Del Papa's office.

Like Anzalone, Bible has seen first-hand Del Papa's ugly vindictive side.

Bible was supposed to give a sworn deposition in the case last month, but the attorney general's office canceled it at the last minute.

Del Papa apparently didn't want the public to hear what Bible planned to say about her.

Once Anzalone's trial starts, however, Del Papa will have a tough time muzzling the former Control Board chairman.

It's why Anzalone is looking forward to his day in court.