Friday, May 11, 2001 | 10:26 a.m.
Steve Miller emphatically denied Thursday that money was his motive in filing a libel lawsuit against former Mayor Jan Laverty Jones.
He filed the suit, he said, because he wanted to clear his name.
"It's about my reputation," Miller told his attorney, Samuel Harding, moments before Jones' attorney, Bruce Laxalt, began to cross-examine the former City Council member.
Miller and Jones are in the midst of a trial in which jurors will ultimately decide whether Jones libeled Miller when she mailed a controversial flier during the waning days of the 1991 mayoral election.
Jones, a political neophyte, beat Miller by a 2-to-1 margin. Miller claims it was because the flier suggested the City Council member used cocaine.
The flier in question was filled with headlines from Las Vegas' two daily newspapers, including articles and excerpts.
Miller took issue with a 1988 Las Vegas Sun headline, which stated that he had reported finding cocaine in a vehicle. He was more irate, however, over a synopsis of Sun reporter Jeff German's story that appeared in red on the flier.
The synopsis said, "A police detective accuses Miller of giving false information in a report concerning cocaine found in a car Miller was driving."
According to court testimony, the substance Miller found was never confirmed to be cocaine because it was thrown away before it could be tested.
Furthermore, Miller wasn't driving the car.
Jones acknowledged the synopsis should have read it was a car Miller "owned," but she insisted it was simply a mistake over which she apologized publicly and privately.
She insisted that she wasn't trying to insinuate Miller was a cocaine-user, but that he was less than truthful.
Miller is attempting to prove he lost the election because of the flier, and his reputation remains stained because of it.
A certified public accountant was scheduled to testify that Miller lost more than $3 million in future pay because he lost the opportunity to work for a local cab company after the flier came out.
However, cab company executive Milton Schwartz testified under cross-examination that he had changed his mind about hiring Miller before the flier was distributed, and Laxalt said the accountant no longer appears on Miller's witness list.
Laxalt spent much of Thursday pointing out seemingly inconsistent statements Miller made to police and the media pertaining to the incident.
Miller was asked repeatedly whether he remembered this statement or that statement. And he answered repeatedly, "Play the tape" or "Read the article." When pressed, Miller said he didn't remember if he made the statement.
In some instances, Miller said the substance found was white, in others he said it was brown. In some cases he said his daughter purchased the car, and in others he said he bought it.
Laxalt also tried to depict Miller as someone who thrives on hurling accusations at his foes.
Jurors saw numerous stories in which Miller was quoted as saying this person and that person was corrupt or was behaving unethically.
Laxalt suggested that Miller won a 1987 race against incumbent Al Levy because he accused Levy of corruption -- not because he spent hours walking door-to-door speaking with constituents, as Miller said in earlier testimony.
"I never attacked Al Levy," Miller said.
"Did you mail out a flier that said, '10 Reasons Not to Vote for Al Levy?" Laxalt asked.
"I sure did," Miller replied.
Miller also denied being asked to resign from Opportunity Village because board members were upset to learn he had "dug up dirt" on Levy. He further denied there was a physical altercation between him and a board member when he allegedly tried to fire a board member -- a woman -- who disliked his tactics.
"Isn't it true Mr. Miller that whenever someone disagrees with Steve Miller they are corrupt and ethically challenged?" Laxalt asked.
"No," Miller said.
Jurors also saw a May 1991 television interview in which Miller alleged that the media didn't check the accuracy of Jones' flier because they didn't want to lose ad revenue they were receiving from Jones' family members, owners of the Fletcher Jones car dealerships.
In the interview, Miller said German, the Sun reporter who wrote the article, "was being used by those in a position to want to see me out of office, specifically (Las Vegas Sun editor) Brian Greenspun."
Miller denied the television reporter's suggestion that no one followed up on Miller's allegations at the time because they knew him and knew he enjoyed "making noise."
The cross-examination is expected to continue Tuesday afternoon before District Judge Michael Cherry.
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