Ethics complaint filed against Moncrief

Mary Manning and Ed Koch

Wednesday, July 23, 2003 | 11:01 a.m.

Yet another complaint about the newest member of the Las Vegas City Council apparently has been filed with state officials.

Political activist Steve Miller said that on Tuesday he filed a complaint about Janet Moncrief with the state Commission on Ethics. Ethics Commission Executive Director Stacy Jennings said state law prohibits the commission from even confirming or denying that the complaint has been filed.

Miller is alleging that Moncrief issued a mailer intended to deceive voters and includes what he says is a copy of a bill for the work. He said he filed the ethics complaint because "people need to be put under oath" regarding the flier.

Miller also alleges that Moncrief's campaign for public office was secretly -- and illegally -- financed by former casino mogul Bob Stupak. Stupak could not be reached for comment this morning.

Miller and others had previously sent complaints about Moncrief to the Nevada Secretary of State's office. On Monday, Moncrief sent her own statement to the Secretary of State and in it she denied allegations that she had illegally financed mailers aimed at discrediting Michael McDonald, the incumbent she defeated in the June 3 election for council Ward I.

But in his Tuesday submission to the ethics commission, Miller included an invoice from JC-Evans Communications of Gold River, Calif., and addressed to Moncrief for the "McDonald Union Piece."

There is no phone number on the invoice and the address at the bottom of the invoice has question marks after both the name of the company and its suite number.

Miller said he did not independently verify the authenticity of the document he sent to the ethics commission but believes it is authentic.

Moncrief said she doesn't know what JC-Evans Communications is and repeated that she was not responsible for the flier.

"I do not know who Evans is and I do not even know where the town (Gold River) is," she said. "I definitely did not do that piece. There were a lot of people who did not like Michael McDonald. A number of people could have sent that mailer."

She also again denied that Stupak financed her campaign.

"If Bob Stupak financed my campaign, he did a poor job," she said. "I had no posters until the last week and no billboards. All the letters I sent out were on my computer. No, Bob Stupak did not finance my campaign.

"The Secretary of State's office is expected to make its decision (whether to go forward with Miller's and others complaints) within a week," Moncrief added. "Let's wait and see what happens."

Directory assistance has no listing for a JC-Evans Communications in Gold River or in neighboring Sacramento.

The business listed at the address is for an Internet company, a phone company operator said. A call to a phone number at that address was answered by a woman at who said it has been her home number for two years. She said she is not affiliated with either the Internet company nor JC-Evans.

A website for a JC-Evans Communications in Gold River lists the same address.

The website says JC-Evans is "a full service media agency offering our clients award-winning graphic design, audio and video production and web development.

"Established in 1993, JC-Evans Communications has established a reputation for delivering high quality media to promote and enhance the image of our clients. Our current and past clients include corporate entities and non-profit groups, as well as political candidates and organizations," the website says.

The president of JC-Evans Communications is Jeff Evans who "presides over the day-to-day operations of the company, and has hands-on involvement in all of our projects," the website notes, but it doesn't list a phone number.

The company lists among its past and present clients California assembly members and senators, the Gun Owners of California and Protect Marriage Committee - Yes on Question 22.

An e-mail sent to Evans today to try to verify the authenticity of the invoice remained unanswered this morning. A call also was made to a number provided by one of Evans' clients. A message left with Evans' voice mail was not returned as of the Sun's deadline.

Miller has said he helped Moncrief edit and scan into a computer the anti-union flier prior to the April primary, which she won. The intent was to make the flier appear to be from McDonald, Miller said.

Miller, Pete "Chris" Christoff and Robert Conrad, have all filed affidavits with the Secretary of State asserting that they secretly worked for Moncrief's campaign without pay. If true, their claims would support a complaint filed in April by McDonald's campaign manager, Jim Ferrence, that accused Moncrief of violations including under-reporting campaign contributions and expenses.

Moncrief has repeatedly denied the allegations.

In his ethics complaint, Miller said that a mailer was billed for $4,71.26 to Moncrief -- the same amount listed on the JC-Evans invoice.

Moncrief failed to report the mailer's expenses in her campaign contribution report, Miller alleged.

She also violated state law by not listing Stupak as her primary campaign contributor, Miller said in the complaint.

Christoff and Miller's complaints surfaced on June 18.

Christoff alleged that he had produced and distributed anti-McDonald fliers at Moncrief's order and with financial backing from Stupak, acting on Moncrief's behalf.

Miller has said that he helped Moncrief with several questionable campaign practices, including an anti-union flier designed to appear as if it had come from McDonald.

Moncrief's letter, filed Monday with state officials, said: "These allegations are false, and I believe the reason for the correspondence from these individuals is directly tied to my refusal of Steve Miller's demand that I appoint him as my community liason."

Miller, who left his City Council seat in 1991 in an unsuccessful run for mayor, conceded that he feels slighted by Moncrief's actions after the election. He contended that Moncrief "double-crossed" him by accepting his help throughout the campaign and then turned after the election to power brokers that he considers corrupt.

Moncrief has described Miller as a would-be supporter who kept calling her to ask if he could help her campaign.