Moncrief says she welcomes probe

Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2003 | 10:53 a.m.

The attorney for embattled Las Vegas City Councilwoman Janet Moncrief said the secretary of state's decision Monday to launch a full-blown investigation into Moncrief's campaign practices means she no longer will be forced "to swing at ghosts."

"She welcomes the opportunity to clear up these false allegations" Anthony Cabot, Moncrief's lawyer, said Monday, adding that Moncrief wants the investigation to be "aggressive and conclusive so she can put this unfortunate episode behind her. She will cooperate fully with the investigation."

Secretary of State Dean Heller says he has sent to the Nevada Division of Investigation, which has the power of subpoena, the complaint leveled by the campaign manager for former Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald, whom Moncrief beat in both the April primary and June general runoff, and affidavits of three campaign supporters-turned-critics.

The investigation will focus on Moncrief's "campaign reporting and election campaign," Heller said in a news release.

Both sides said they hope the probe will get to the truth.

"With this investigation, everything will come out and Councilwoman Moncrief no longer will have to swing at ghosts," Cabot said after Moncrief declined to talk to reporters and referred all questions to Cabot. "We will finally know exactly what the extent of the allegations are."

McDonald's campaign manager Jim Ferrence, who in April filed a complaint accusing Moncrief of under-reporting campaign contributions and expenses, called the Secretary of State's decision to go forward with the probe "meaningless."

"If this decision had been made in mid-May instead of early August, perhaps something could have been done when it mattered," Ferrence said. "Regardless of the outcome of this investigation, it isn't going to do my client any good unless they can put Michael McDonald back in office, and they can't do that.

"These campaign laws have no teeth and the Secretary of State has not pursued removing someone from office for under-reporting campaign contributions. There probably won't even be a fine."

Ferrence also said he does not feel good about the pending investigation because it further links his name to those of political gadflies Steve Miller, a former city councilman-turned-political activist, and Peter "Chris" Christoff, who lost in the April primary to Moncrief and McDonald, then threw his support behind Moncrief.

On June 18 Miller and Christoff filed affidavits in support of Ferrence -- support he said he did not seek or want from the two, whose political viewpoints he opposes. After Miller and Christoff filed their affidavits, Ferrence told the Sun he was considering withdrawing his complaint -- not because it lacked merit, but because he feared being linked politically to the pair.

In an ironic twist for Ferrence, the Secretary of State's office has merged all of the complaints into a single investigation.

Miller said the success of that investigation does not so much hinge on what he, Christoff, Ferrence and Moncrief say, but rather on what others who have not yet come forward tell investigators -- under penalty of perjury -- about the goings-on in the campaign.

"Some people who know what happened but have kept silent need to be questioned," Miller said. "I believe that when they are questioned under oath, they will not fall on their swords for Moncrief."

Miller not surprisingly disagrees with Ferrence about the level of punishment that can be doled out. Miller says campaign fraud -- should the findings rise to that level -- is grounds for removing someone from office either by court action or a recall election.

Both Miller and Christoff denied helping Moncrief during the general election but later came forward to say they helped Moncrief with fliers that were mailed to Ward 1 voters critical of labor unions and Moncrief -- mailers that were made to appear as though they came from McDonald.

Moncrief has steadfastly denied that she sent out those fliers.

Christoff, who alleges that Moncrief fabricated the names of groups supposedly responsible for campaign mailers, said the one thing he -- and many other people -- want to see come out of the state probe is what role former casino owner Bob Stupak played in the campaign.

"Did Bob Stupak give her money -- did he pay for her entire campaign -- and, if so, why didn't she report it?" Christoff said.

Stupak has repeatedly refused to comment on the Moncrief matter. Moncrief, a nurse, said she has known Stupak since he was brought into the emergency room at the University Medical Center with critical injuries from a 1995 motorcycle accident. She says she and Stupak have been friends since. Moncrief has repeatedly denied that Stupak financed her campaign.

The Secretary of State's decision to go to the next level comes on the heels of the Nevada Commission on Ethics throwing out another Miller complaint against Moncrief. The Ethics Commission said it had no jurisdiction over someone's actions prior to taking office.

Miller filed that complaint on July 22, alleging that Moncrief issued a mailer intended to deceive voters and that her campaign was secretly -- and illegally -- financed by Stupak.

Moncrief said in her brief written statement Monday, "From the start, I have said that I am not aware of any illegal activity in my campaign."

In her statement to the Secretary of State in response to Miller's and Christoff's allegations, Moncrief denied that she had illegally financed mailers aimed at discrediting McDonald.

She has described Miller as a would-be supporter who kept calling her to ask if he could help her campaign. But, she said, Miller became disgruntled when she did not give him a liaison job at City Hall after she won the election.

Miller has said he felt he deserved that job for the work he did on her campaign. Miller alleged that he helped Moncrief edit and scan into a computer the anti-union flier prior to the April primary, advised her throughout the campaign and coached her for TV interviews.

Christoff also asserts that he worked secretly for Moncrief without pay and that she did not declare the work, including the fliers he sent on her behalf, as a contribution.

Robert Conrad, a third Moncrief campaign supporter to file an affidavit with the Secretary of State, said he, too, participated with Moncrief in alleged campaign deception.