High court overturns ruling against Del Papa

Thursday, March 14, 2002 | 11:08 a.m.

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a former state investigator cannot go to trial with his defamation and wrongful termination lawsuit against Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa.

The Supreme Court said that Mike Anzalone failed to substantiate his claim that Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa forced him to resign because he refused to participate in a secret intelligence probe of top gaming regulators.

In a 4-1 opinion, the Supreme Court ruled that Del Papa and several of her employees, including deputies David Thompson and Donald Haight, should be granted a summary judgment in Anzalone's 1998 wrongful termination lawsuit.

The opinion overturned a February 2001 decision by then-District Judge James Mahan, who concluded Anzalone's case should go to trial. Mahan, who likened Anzalone's allegations at the time to the Watergate conspiracy, has since become a federal judge.

"It is not over," Anzalone's Phoenix lawyer, Christine Manno, said. "I'm extremely disappointed with this decision, and we're looking at our options.

"I still believe a jury would have ruled in favor of Mr. Anzalone based upon all of the facts."

Del Papa issued a statement Wednesday.

"I am extremely gratified that the Nevada Supreme Court decision confirms that the allegations in this case lacked merit or cannot be sustained," she said. "Most people realize that we live in a litigious society. What we experienced here brought that home to me.

"My primary regret is the time and energy this office and the state of Nevada have had to expend in response to this litigation."

Anzalone, who left the attorney general's office in February 1996, contended in his suit that he was asked to resign after he refused to unlawfully obtain the bank and telephone records of then Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible, the reported chief target of the intelligence investigation and a Del Papa political adversary.

Bible, now president of the influential Nevada Resort Association, has said that Del Papa had "no basis" to investigate him and that the probe"veered badly off course."

But in its 20-page opinion, the Supreme Court said Anzalone provided "insufficient evidence" that the attorney general's office had engaged in outrageous conduct.

"In his deposition Anzalone concedes that he was never asked outright to unlawfully obtain the bank and telephone records of GCB Chairman Bill Bible," the high court wrote.

The court said Anzalone's allegations were never supported by independent evidence.

Anzalone, who now lives in Florida, also failed to challenge Del Papa's contention that she asked him to leave the office in 1996 because she had lost confidence in his abilities as an investigator, the court said.

Two of the seven justices, William Maupin and Nancy Becker, recused themselves from the case, and a third, Miriam Shearing, filed a dissenting opinion.

The four justices who signed the opinion were Cliff Young, Bob Rose, Myron Leavitt and Deborah Agosti.

Anzalone's battle with Del Papa stemmed from a March 26, 1997, Sun story quoting the former investigator and others about the intelligence investigation. In the story Anzalone first suggested that he was forced to step down because he wouldn't participate in the probe.