Columnist Jeff German: Del Papa must face accuser

Friday, March 2, 2001 | 1:35 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

MARK DOWN July 10 on your calendar, friends. That's the trial date for Mike Anzalone's explosive lawsuit against Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa.

Last week District Judge James Mahan decided to give the former Del Papa investigator his day in court, when he denied the attorney general's motion for a summary judgment.

It laid the foundation for more fireworks in the coming weeks in the bitterly fought court case that Mahan likened to the Watergate conspiracy.

To Del Papa's critics, Watergate means the scandal (exposed by Anzalone) surrounding her secret intelligence probe of her political foe, former Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible, and other casino regulators.

Anzalone alleged in his February 1998 suit that Del Papa forced him to resign two years earlier because he wouldn't participate in the "unlawful" investigation.

Del Papa has denied conducting an intelligence probe, but during the three-year legal battle, documents from her own office have surfaced to confirm the clandestine inquiry.

In one 1996 "confidential intelligence report," Ron Wheatley, a Del Papa investigator involved in the probe, suggested without any corroboration that Bible and several of the attorney general's top Democratic colleagues -- then-Gov. Bob Miller and Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan -- could be bribed on gaming matters.

Everyone under the sun, including the FBI, which was given the intelligence report in 1997, has pooh-poohed the flimsy allegations.

Meanwhile, as the volatile Anzalone case has limped through the court system, Del Papa and a revolving door of deputies have fought hard to silence the whistleblower. But each time, the perceptive Mahan has rejected their arguments.

And soon additional revelations should surface in a new round of pre-trial depositions that will include Bible's sworn testimony.

Bible, who served 10 years at the helm of the Control Board, believes Del Papa mounted a political vendetta against him.

Bad blood between the two prominent Nevadans surfaced at the 1995 Legislature, when Bible questioned the competency of the legal advice his office was getting from Del Papa's deputies. Several months later, Bible wound up the target of the secret intelligence investigation. Del Papa, he learned, doesn't take criticism well.

Though his reputation has taken a hit, Bible remains an important man in the Silver State. He's currently president of the Nevada Resort Association, the casino industry's influential political arm.

In the coming weeks, Bible will have an opportunity for the first time ever to testify under oath to clear his name. And you can bet he's looking forward to the experience.

Miller, who was asked to intercede in the legislative spat between Bible and Del Papa, also is on Anzalone's list of witnesses to be deposed.

So are former Control Board enforcement chiefs Andy Vanyo and Ron Asher, who have intimate knowledge of the attorney general's intelligence-gathering activities.

Gary Wright, another former Del Papa investigator who has backed up Anzalone's allegations, also is expected to give a sworn deposition before the case goes to trial.

Two people on Anzalone's list of witnesses, myself and ABC News correspondent Brian Ross, are likely to get a reprieve from testifying. Anzalone and his Phoenix lawyer, Christine Manno, know the pitfalls of dragging newsmen into a legal fight.

But one guy who won't escape the witness stand is banished gaming licensee Frank Romano, who helped ignite the intelligence probe. Romano's shady role in the scandal is a story for another day.

In the meantime, keep watching the calendar, friends. Anzalone's trial will be here quicker than you can say Watergate.