Lawyer says FBI probe includes some developers

Wednesday, July 9, 2003 | 11:23 a.m.

A defense lawyer in the FBI's political corruption investigation said this morning that he believes the probe in Las Vegas has broadened to include ties between local developers and Clark County commissioners.

Dominic Gentile represents Don Davidson, a vice president of Canadian-based Triple Five Development Corp., which has offices in Las Vegas.

"The government has not said to me that it's investigating Triple Five, but based on my discussions with other lawyers in town, it is investigating any developer who sought a zoning change before the County Commission over the last three or four years," Gentile said.

Gentile confirmed that Triple Five hired former County Commissioner Erin Kenny as a consultant after she lost her race for lieutenant governor last year. Kenny has been named a target in the probe, along with County Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey and former Commissioner Dario Herrera.

As county commissioners in 2000, Kenny and former Commissioner Lance Malone backed an ill-fated neighborhood casino project by Triple Five near Flamingo Road and Grand Canyon Drive.

Gentile represents Malone, who is a central figure in the probe.

Kenny's lawyer, Frank Cremen, declined to comment on the investigation.

The FBI is investigating potential political corruption in Las Vegas and San Diego, related to the Galardi family. The family owns strip clubs in both cities.

A spokesman with the Las Vegas branch of the FBI had no comment this morning on whether or not ties between Kenny and developers are being investigated.

Chris Kaempfer, an attorney from the law firm that represented Triple Five before the Clark County Commission in the zoning battle to approve the Spring Valley casino, said his company has not received any inquiries from the FBI.

Lisa Mayo-De Riso, a community activist and former business partner of Kenny, has fought bitterly with the ex-commissioner on zoning proposals throughout county, including the Triple Five neighborhood casino.

Mayo-De Riso, who Kenny has called a "barracuda," said the FBI should look at some of the other controversial zoning decisions that included Kenny.

"If they (the FBI) called me, I would tell them to ask about a lot of things," she said. "I wouldn't tell them to stop with Triple Five."