Brown ethics charge dismissed

Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001 | 8:47 a.m.

A two-member panel of the Nevada Ethics Commission has dismissed a complaint filed against Las Vegas Councilman Larry Brown. The commission found no evidence to prove the councilman abused his office by denying a car dealership in the northwest.

The two-member panel reviewed an ethics complaint filed against the councilman by John Staluppi Jr., whose Nissan dealership -- proposed for Town Center -- was denied by the council in June.

An ethics complaint was filed against Brown after he -- along with the rest of the council -- denied Staluppi's application for a dealership on Rancho Drive, saying it was incompatible with the intent of the proposed northwest Town Center, which would group commercial uses into one area.

The commission on Oct. 3 found "no credible evidence" that the councilman violated any section of the state's ethics code.

The same complaint was dismissed by the Las Vegas Ethics Review board in August.

Brown still faces a portion of a lawsuit filed by Staluppi. It alleges he tried to broker a deal between Staluppi and rival car dealer Joseph Scala, owner of Courtesy Automotive. Scala owns land inside Town Center that is pegged as a site for a proposed auto mall.