Special counsel to probe Mack not yet hired

Diana Sahagun

Friday, Nov. 30, 2001 | 9:40 a.m.

With only six days until the Las Vegas Ethics Review Board is scheduled to hear two complaints filed against Councilman Michael Mack, the chairman has yet to hire special counsel to assist the board in rendering a judgment.

During a meeting Nov. 5 the board was scheduled to conduct a full hearing and determine whether Mack broke ethics laws. But the hearing was delayed 30 days so that Chairman Earle White Jr. could hire special counsel. White said then that he had two attorneys in mind, which he expected to have hired by the following week. The city attorney's office is not representing the board because of a conflict of interest.

When the item was postponed for 30 days, Mack's attorney, Richard Wright, said he needed time to prepare witnesses and meet with the new attorney.

As of Thursday evening White had not filed official paperwork with the City Clerk's office to hire an attorney, said Elaine Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the city. White did not return calls seeking comment.

Mayor Oscar Goodman, who appoints the board's chairman, said Thursday that he is in a tough spot, even if he wanted to take any action against White. Goodman was scheduled to decide on White's reappointment during the council's Nov. 7 meeting, but decided against it because of the ethics complaints.

"If I take action, I'm accused of interfering with the process," Goodman said.

It's unclear whether the delay in hiring a special attorney will keep Thursday's hearing from moving forward. There already have been setbacks regarding the two complaints filed against Mack on behalf of John Staluppi Jr. The original complaints, which were filed in June, had to be refiled after White missed a key 30-day deadline to hear the original complaints in August.

Mack led the vote in June to deny Staluppi's car dealership application on Rancho Drive, saying it went against the intent of Town Center. Days after the vote, Mack disclosed that he had an outstanding $56,000 loan from rival car dealer Joseph Scala. Mack asked for the dealership application to be reconsidered so he could abstain, but the item was denied by the council a second time.

Mack is accused of trying to broker a deal between Scala and Staluppi.