Thursday, May 22, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.
Clark County Commission Chairwoman Mary Kincaid-Chauncey and her lawyer confirmed Wednesday that the longtime political leader is a target of an FBI probe into political corruption.
Her lawyer, Richard Wright, said that she had been "set up" by FBI agents who initially told her that she was not a target of the investigation. FBI spokesman Darron Borst countered that Kincaid-Chauncey was given a letter telling her she was a target and that shows how "upfront" agents were with her. But Wright said that the letter was in the middle of a stack of documents given to Kincaid-Chauncey and that she did not see it until two days after agents interviewed her.
He also said leaks from investigators are also making Kincaid-Chauncey appear guilty, and that's why she was forced to hold Wednesday's press conference. It marked Kincaid-Chauncey's first public statements about the federal investigation since FBI raids last week, but she said she couldn't respond directly to the accusations because she has been told by authorities and her lawyer that she "can't say anything."
"As you know, there are always two sides to a story," and her side will eventually come out, she said. She appealed to the media and the public not to prejudge her.
Kincaid-Chauncey, her husband, Robert Chauncey, former Commissioners Erin Kenny and Dario Herrera and their spouses, and Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald were all named in a federal search warrant presented last week by FBI investigators in a probe involving possible payoffs from strip club owners Jack Galardi and son Michael Galardi. The FBI raided two Galardi-owned local topless clubs.
The FBI also searched politicians' files in San Diego and raided a Galardi club there. But a federal grand jury has not issued any indictments.
Following the raids, Kincaid-Chauncey told the Sun that she had received a contribution from the Galardi family for a trust fund, since identified as a fund used to help young people with whom the commissioner works.
It was reported in 1998 that Kincaid-Chauncey, the mother of eight children, had also helped raise 22 other children up to that point. She also has served as a board member for the local Boys and Girls Clubs as well as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
There are reported allegations that Kincaid-Chauncey took a $5,000 cash contribution from the Galardis at a time when they were seeking county approval for the Jaguars cabaret at 3355 Procyon St. The county first approved an adult use for that location in October 1998 but the two-story strip club that exists there today did not open until June 2002.
In between was a business name change, a change in general contractors and a succession of remodeling efforts, necessitated in part by 110 instances when county inspectors found that the work had not met building codes.
Kincaid-Chauncey was one of three commissioners in May 1999 who favored sending Metro Police to Atlanta to gather information into what police believed was a grand jury investigation into Jack Galardi. The purpose of Metro's request was to gather more information for a background check into Galardi in advance of the opening of the Procyon Street cabaret, which originally was to be called the Gold Club.
But four other commissioners, making up a majority, voted against the police request, which would have involved charging Galardi $11,000 for the trip and investigation.
In September 1999, Kincaid-Chauncey was one of five commissioners -- two were absent -- who voted unanimously to increase the minimum allowable distance between adult-oriented businesses in the county from 500 feet to 1,000 feet. That vote, which came a day after the county's Business License Department gave the Gold Club an adult cabaret license, was viewed at the time by some critics as an attempt to protect existing adult-oriented businesses.
As for the current FBI probe, Wright alleged that FBI agents initially lied to Kincaid-Chauncey and used underhanded tactics when they interviewed her at her home hours after the raids. He also slammed investigators for leaking details of their investigation to the media. He said the leaks came from sources who "crawled out from under a rock."
"I believe in nondisclosure and not trying cases in the media," Wright said. Kincaid-Chauncey is "no longer going to be discussing the merits, the substantive facts, of the case."
The leaks are violations of the law, he said, and he complained about "having to defend, in the media, accusations that may be accurate or not accurate."
Sheriff Bill Young said his department has been kept at arm's length from the case because three of the possible subjects -- McDonald, Robert Chauncey and Lance Malone, the former county commissioner turned Galardi consultant -- are former Metro officers.
Wright said Kincaid-Chauncey was in her bathrobe after a day of work in Carson City last week when federal investigators showed up at her house. She invited them in and talked to them for about two hours without a lawyer present, he said.
The investigators did not inform her that she was a target of the investigation, he said.
"She was led to believe that she was not a target of their investigation," Wright said. "Of course these fine young FBI agents told her she was not a suspect.
"She believed the agents, not understanding it is perfectly permissible law enforcement tactics to lie to someone," he said. "Of course, that was a rude awakening for someone of your generation," Wright said, looking at his client.
"I've never even had a traffic ticket before," Kincaid-Chauncey said.
"She was set up," Wright said. "This was all a plan to get her before she's lawyered up."
Wright said the letter informing Kincaid-Chauncey that she was a target was "a different type," less specific than target letters in his experience.
"This is more of a bluff type," he said.
Wright said his new client did not understand the process when she was contacted by the FBI. He said Kincaid-Chauncey did not read the letter informing her that she was a formal target of the investigation.
Wright read the letter Friday, two days after the FBI interviewed the commissioner. The letter was part of a stack of documents, including a letter instructing Kincaid-Chauncey not to talk to anyone about the investigation, Wright said.
The FBI confirmed Wednesday that agents have delivered target letters in connection with the political corruption probe centering on the Galardi family and current and former public officials.
"I believe the letters were hand-delivered," FBI spokesman Special Agent Daron Borst said.
Borst would not respond directly to Wright's allegations that agents used underhanded tactics and that they lied to Kincaid-Chauncey about whether or not she was a target of the investigation.
"In a case like this we don't want there to be any misunderstanding about (a target's) role," Borst said. "We want to be upfront when we approach (a target of an investigation)."
Borst would not comment on how many of the letters had been sent or to whom they were delivered.
He did confirm that FBI agents interviewed Kincaid-Chauncey.
"I don't know what occurred during the meeting, but it would all be in an FD302 (a federally documented report) that would ultimately be presented in the federal process," Borst said.
He said he did not know whether the meeting had been tape-recorded.
"Taping an interview is not our normal practice, and you would need authorization from a special agent in charge for that," Borst said. "If a tape recorder was used a transcript would be made and presented."
Wright is also an attorney for McDonald, who has described himself as a cooperating witness and not a target of the FBI probe. Wright said that although McDonald is cooperating with the investigators and Kincaid-Chauncey is a target, he has no conflict of interest in representing both of them.
He said he has talked over the potential of conflict with both clients and has found none. Wright said he also has informed the federal attorneys that he is handling both cases.
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