Ethics panelists are well versed in law

Friday, March 2, 2001 | 1:35 a.m.

These people serve on the Nevada Ethics Commission:

* Raymond Avansino (appointed in 1999 by the Legislative Commission): A Reno Democrat, he was former president and chief operating officer of Hilton Hotels Corp. He worked for the influential law firm of Lionel Sawyer & Collins and co-founded the law firm Avansino, Melarkey, Knobel & McMullen.

After serving on the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1981 to 1984, he was asked by Barron Hilton to serve on a gaming compliance committee. In addition to rising through Hilton's ranks, Avansino became a board member of the American Gaming Association, the industry lobby group. Under Avansino, Hilton established new casinos in Louisiana, Canada and Australia and developed "Star Trek: The Experience" at the Las Vegas Hilton.

He resigned abruptly from Hilton in 1995 for personal reasons, and he was later scrutinized by Missouri gaming regulators for receiving a $3 million severance package. However, a prosecutor researching the relationship between the Flamingo Casino in Kansas City, Mo., and a former port authority chairman in that city found nothing improper about Avansino's severance pay.

After leaving the Hilton, Avansino became chairman of the E.L. Wiegand Foundation, which supports cultural and civic activities. He also began teaching gaming law at the University of San Francisco School of Law.

* Peter Bernhard (1999 by Gov. Kenny Guinn): The commission's chairman is a Las Vegas Democrat and lawyer whose expertise includes bankruptcy and civil law. A member of Bernhard & Leslie Chtd., he has served as a board member of the Nevada School of Arts and coordinator of the American Legion baseball program. He also has attended the 9th U.S. Circuit Judicial Conference as a representative of the State Bar of Nevada.

Bernhard represented the Mirage hotel-casino in efforts to ban souvenir vendors and smut distributors from the resort's private sidewalks.

* William Flangas (1999 by Guinn): A Las Vegas mining engineer and Democrat, Flangas worked at the Nevada Test Site for Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Co. from 1958 to 1995 and then became a self-employed consultant. Flangas served on the state Public Works Board from 1964 to 1985 and was a founding member of the University Medical Center Foundation.

* Lizzie Hatcher (1999 by Guinn): A family law and civil litigation attorney, Hatcher is a Las Vegas Republican who has worked with children and counseled people with drug or alcohol problems. A member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, she once described Clark County Family Court as a "white bread world" that did not respond well to nonwhite or nontraditional cases.

* Rick Hsu (2000 by Guinn): A Republican, Hsu is a Reno attorney with the law firm of Walther, Key, Maupin, Oats, Cox, Klaich & LeGoy. A specialist in litigation covering general business and employment practices, he has also drafted questions on legal ethics for state bar exams. He also has researched ethics as they pertain to school board members.

* Jim Kosinski (2000 by the Legislative Commission): A Sparks attorney, Kosinski was a Democratic assemblyman during the 1977 session and a state senator during the next two sessions. As a legislator, he was credited with helping to improve Nevada's mental-health care system. He was selected to the commission because of his knowledge of the political process and his familiarity with running for public office.

* Todd Russell (1999 by the Legislative Commission): The commission's vice chairman and a Carson City Republican is a lawyer and son of the late Gov. Charles Russell. A former deputy attorney general, Russell specializes in business law and is with the firm of Allison, MacKenzie, Hartman, Soumbeniotis & Russell.

* R. Hal Smith (1997 by the Legislative Commission): A Henderson Republican, Smith served in the state Assembly from 1966 to 1975 and in the Senate from 1988 to 1994. In between he served on the state Board of Education.

A veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, Smith left the military as a Navy captain and became an aeronautical engineer. He also got involved in lumber, construction and municipal finance businesses and has been active in Henderson civic affairs. He also served as a trustee of the Friends of the Desert Wetlands Park, a group dedicated to the preservation of the Las Vegas Valley's wetlands.

Smith was declared the eventual victor in a controversial 1970 Assembly election in which he initially lost to the late Art Espinoza, a Democratic assemblyman, by 16 votes. But a committee formed by GOP assemblymen found a malfunctioning voting machine that counted only eight of the 62 votes that were to have gone to Smith and he was seated.