Mack to challenge criminal nature of bad ethics

Diana Sahagun

Wednesday, March 27, 2002 | 9:50 a.m.

In a bid to save Las Vegas Councilman Michael Mack's political future, his attorney plans to challenge a city ordinance that allows public officials to be criminally prosecuted for violating the ethics code.

Mack is facing criminal charges in Municipal Court, alleging he violated the city's ethics code on five occasions last summer when he voted to postpone and ultimately deny a car dealership without disclosing his financial ties to a rival car dealer.

Mack's attorney, Richard Wright, said he plans to file a motion in two weeks to dismiss the charges, not based on Mack's admitted lack of disclosure but because the city overstepped its bounds in creating an ordinance that allows for criminal prosecution.

Wright says under Nevada Revised Statues, the city cannot pass an ordinance that criminalizes unethical behavior.

"The city's jurisdiction is limited to what the Legislature says it can do," Wright said. "The cities aren't legislators, they can't sit down and decide what should we criminalize."

Tuesday's hearing before Municipal Judge Bert Brown was the first step in the criminal case after the Las Vegas Ethics Review Board ruled in February that Mack had willfully violated city codes and directed Attorney John Graves to prosecute.

Brown set a May 14 date on the motion to dismiss. Wright said he would file the motion by April 9.

Mack did not appear in court and Wright said it was not necessary that the councilman be present for the hearing.

Neither attorney objected to the judge's disclosure that Mike and Brittney Bellon -- plaintiffs in a separate lawsuit filed against Mack and ultimately dropped -- and Wright had contributed to his campaign fund.