Vegas left off list of terror targets

Jen Lawson

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 | 11 a.m.

The Homeland Security Department left Las Vegas off a list of 30 urban areas most likely to be terrorist targets, even though the federal government is prosecuting a terrorism case in which Las Vegas plays a role.

State and local officials said they don't know why Las Vegas wasn't included on the list, but they do know it means the city won't be receiving a portion of the $500 million in federal funds given to help urban areas protect themselves against terrorism.

Calling Las Vegas the government's "poster child for terrorism," Sheriff Bill Young said Tuesday he's been fuming since he got word a few days ago that the city's potential for attacks isn't high enough to warrant federal funds.

In April a star government witness testified in a Detroit federal court that a group of men accused of operating a terrorist sleeper cell had talked about targeting Las Vegas, which they called "the city of Satan."

"It blows my mind," Young said, pointing out that Las Vegas has the eighth busiest airport in the country. "I find it hard to believe. I find it incredible. It's like we don't even exist."

In giving out the funds, the Homeland Security Department took into account threat information, population and critical infrastructure, according to a department memo. It's not clear how those issues were weighted in the selection process.

Nevada Homeland Security adviser Jerry Bussell said he was surprised that cities with a seemingly low risk for attacks, such as Honolulu, Sacramento and Phoenix, got funding, but Las Vegas did not.

"How can we not be included when we get 50 million tourists a year?" Bussell said. "I have talked personally to (Sen.) John Ensign's office, (Rep.) John Porter's office, (Rep.) Jim Gibbons' office and (Sen.) Harry Reid's office. I think this is a tragedy and we should get an explanation."

However, Rubern Barrales, deputy assistant to President Bush and director of intergovermental affairs, said this is just one of many grant announcements, and Las Vegas and Nevada "will be receiving a lot of funds ... there are millions of dollars coming to Nevada."

The $500 million in grants for cities is part of a $700 million allocation for urban areas, which also includes $75 million in port security, $35 million in radiological defense systems, $15 million for pilot programs and $10 million for technology.

New York City got the biggest chunk of the pie -- $125 million -- followed by Washington, which stands to receive $42 million.

Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle will receive between $30 million and $18 million.

Twenty-two other cities will receive amounts ranging from $17 million to $6 million. Tampa, Fla., Cleveland and Memphis, Tenn., are to receive the lowest amounts.

Amy Spanbauer, spokeswoman for Gibbons, said he is disappointed Las Vegas won't be receiving the funding and he plans on Thursday to ask Homeland Secretary Secretary Tom Ridge "point blank" about why Las Vegas wasn't included.

"(Gibbons) believes Las Vegas certainly should have been included on the list," she said. "Local law enforcement is doing well with the limited resources they do have, but they should be supported by the federal government."

If Las Vegas had received the funding, Young said most of it most likely would have been used to train officers in counterterrorism and to buy self-contained bioterrorism suits. Bioterrorism is a problem Las Vegas is the least prepared to deal with, he said.

Young pointed out that a Las Vegas man committed suicide March 1 by injecting himself with a small amount of ricin, a powerful toxin derived from the castor bean plant.

A vial of the poison was found in the man's home, and it was first taken to the state health laboratory in Reno for analysis, but it wasn't equipped to test it. The sample eventually went to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Las Vegas is "the economic engine for the state of Nevada," Clark County Emergency Manager Jim O'Brien said.

"If something happened to this area, it certainly would bode poorly for the state of Nevada," he said.