New witness joins Moncrief case

Mary Manning and Ed Koch

Thursday, July 24, 2003 | 11:19 a.m.

Add another alleged eyewitness to the list of people who have filed affidavits alleging that Las Vegas Councilwoman Janet Moncrief was responsible for controversial campaign mailings.

In a sworn affidavit Wednesday, Bill Ahern stated that he helped Moncrief and others put stamps on mailers just days before the June general runoff. Moncrief has maintained that those mailers were created, paid for and mailed out by Pete "Chris" Christoff, but Christoff has said that he acted under Moncrief's direction.

Moncrief again disavowed responsibility today, saying she put stamps on her fliers at a Las Vegas print shop the night in question -- May 30 -- and that volunteers for Christoff, her primary-opponent-turned-supporter, stamped his fliers about the same time at the same location.

In his affidavit, Ahern said, "Mrs. Moncrief treated both mailers with equal urgency and kept counting down the hours and minutes we had to complete our task."

Bob Stupak, Tony Dane and his wife, Rick and Betty Schulte, whom Ahern identified as Schultz, and Steve and Lisa Miller were among the people who were at the Zignature International print shop on May 30 placing first-class stamps on two political mailers, Ahern said in his affidavit.

He also said in his affidavit the shop's owner, Jerry Wolkon, and his wife were present.

Miller said the flier in question claimed the City Council gave a special deal to a golf course developer and alleged that Moncrief's opponent, Ward 1 incumbent Michael McDonald, had lived in a home that once was owned by a man of questionable character.

Dane, a consultant to the Moncrief campaign, also said today that there were two sets of fliers stamped that night and that on at least four occasions he helped affix stamps to Moncrief's campaign fliers -- twice at Wolkon's print shop.

Dane said he could not recall which fliers were done that night other than that one was envelope-shaped and the other had Moncrief's picture on it.

"It (the gathering) reminded me of a pajama party," Ahern said in a phone interview. "We were putting out two fliers. We finished Moncrief's flier then they brought us boxes of Chris' fliers to put stamps on."

Ahern said his affidavit was not filed with any agency, but rather was to support his friends, Miller and Christoff, in their complaints against Moncrief that were filed with the secretary of state's office on June 18.

Ahern said he went to the print shop after Christoff asked him to help out. Christoff told Ahern he was behind in preparing the fliers and was unable to volunteer that night.

Ahern said he didn't read either of the fliers because they were folded. His job, he said, was to stamp them.

The print shop's stamp machine was broken, so Moncrief, Stupak, Ahern and the others spent hours placing "at least 11,000 stamps" on two mailers being sent by Christoff and Moncrief, Ahern said in his affidavit.

Moncrief insisted the stamping had to be complete by 9 p.m., Ahern said.

Moncrief said today that her fliers indeed were completed about that time and that she had offered to take some of the Christoff stamped fliers to the post office as well, "but they refused."

When the group ran out of stamps, Moncrief asked to borrow $160 from volunteers to buy more. Two women supplied the cash, the affidavit said.

Moncrief laughed and said she did not borrow any money for stamps. She said her practice was to pay Wolkon for postage as money came into her campaign.

"I recently paid him (Wolkon) $8,000 and still owe him money," she said.

Attempts to reach Wolkon today were not successful.

Ahern said he spent three hours in the print shop, and Moncrief and Stupak were there the entire time.

"He had his arm around her and she was wearing her nursing scrubs," he said of the former casino mogul.

The affidavit follows a complaint about Moncrief filed this week with the state Ethics Commission by Miller, a former Las Vegas city councilman turned political gadfly.

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 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 Stupak.

Moncrief has repeatedly denied all of the allegations against her.

In response to Miller's and Christoff's filings with the secretary of state, Moncrief sent her own statement to the secretary of state. In it she denies illegally financing mailers aimed at discrediting McDonald.

Miller has said he helped Moncrief edit and scan into a computer an 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, 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.

In his ethics complaint, Miller alleges that Moncrief failed to report the mailer's expenses in her campaign contribution report.

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

Christoff, in his June 18 complaint, 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.