Kenny charge unnerves many at county offices

Erin Neff

Thursday, Aug. 14, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.

Wednesday's news that a federal criminal charge had been leveled against former Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny had many people at the County Government Center anxious and wondering what's next.

Kenny is listed as a defendant in a federal criminal case that sources say is related to an ongoing public corruption probe. That probe came to light when the FBI raided two strip clubs and the offices of the clubs' owners in May.

The case against Kenny was filed between July 9 and July 17, based on the case number. No details are available because all documentation related to the case has been sealed by the federal courts.

Neither Kenny nor her attorney, Frank Cremen, would comment Wednesday on the case.

Some of Kenny's former associates at the county building believe the reports that Kenny has cut a deal with federal authorities, possibly by pleading guilty, to reduce any possible sentence in the case. That fueled concerns that Kenny might try to implicate some of her former colleagues.

"I think desperate people in desperate circumstances do desperate things," said Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, who along with Kenny has been identified as a target of the public corruption probe. "I just can't imagine she would mention my name in connection with anything."

Three people Kenny phoned Tuesday to personally discuss the case before the case was publicized said Kenny was calm and resigned to her fate.

One person said Kenny explained that she was contacting friends and those she had professional dealings with because she felt she owed them a personal call.

"It was very personal, but very businesslike," another person said. "Erin didn't go into great detail about the case or the charges or anything, but she did say that she was going to be dealing with this for a number of years and that her family was supporting her."

The third person said Kenny "was very mature, very un-Erinlike almost. In a way she's sort of moving on."

At least one high-ranking county staffer said the federal case "has taken everybody by surprise."

"Everyone knows Erin could be a pain, but I don't think anyone thought she was doing anything illegal," the staffer said.

Federal agents first contacted Kenny, Kincaid-Chauncey and others identified in connection with the probe on May 14, the same day that raids were simultaneously conducted at strip clubs in Las Vegas and San Diego as well as city council offices in San Diego.

In Las Vegas, agents were looking for records of payments or gifts from strip club owner Mike Galardi to Kenny, Kincaid-Chauncey, former commissioner Dario Herrera and then-Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald. Kenny's husband, John Kenny, Kincaid-Chauncey's husband, Robert Chauncey, and Herrera's wife, Emily Herrera were named in the search warrant.

Investigators also initially took zoning and planning records from the county, but have not been back to talk to county staff for weeks, county sources said.

"This just can't all be about the strip clubs," one county official said.

One of the people Kenny spoke with Tuesday said that while Kenny did not offer specific details, she also did not appear to be hiding anything.

"That's the way she did everything when she was in office," the source alleged. "She did it right in front, even when it made people mad."