Friday, Nov. 7, 2003 | 6:30 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION Nov. 8 - 9, 2003
Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4067.
It isn't stunning news that local politicians could have taken money under the table from a sleazy topless nightclub owner.
This is Las Vegas, after all, where "what happens here, stays here."
But what is surprising is the blatant way in which the county commissioners named in last week's federal indictment allegedly went about obtaining their perks from Michael Galardi -- and how arrogantly they seemed to treat the political process.
It illustrates how badly our part-time system of government has veered off course.
According to the indictment, from 1999 to March of this year, Galardi bought the influence of four commissioners -- Erin Kenny, Lance Malone, Dario Herrera and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey -- through a variety of ways. He paid for a string of lap dances for one elected official, offered to buy another a luxury car, handed out unlimited campaign contributions to two commissioners, and gave all four thousands of dollars in cold hard cash, none of which the government contends was reported by the officials on their publicly filed financial disclosure forms.
Galardi is starting to pay for his sins. He pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge last month and agreed to turn over nearly $4 million to the government and sell his three topless night clubs in Las Vegas. He also faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
And in the foreseeable future, the government will own his life until it has squeezed every bit of information from him about his shady political dealings. He has agreed to testify against the commissioners he allegedly corrupted.
Last week's 28-count indictment, supported by more than two years of court-approved FBI wiretaps, provides ample evidence of how easy we have made it for our politicians to violate their oath of office.
A few examples.
After Malone left office in 2001, he became Galardi's "middleman," passing the strip club mogul's cash around to his former colleagues in return for their votes on matters benefiting Galardi.
Then on Sept. 21, 2001, two days after Herrera and the rest of the commission approved the use permit, Herrera reportedly met Malone in a car outside a restaurant and received thousands of dollars in cash.
Months later after Kincaid-Chauncey performed more political favors for Galardi, her daughter allegedly received $4,000 from Malone to help pay for her son's tuition to a ski school. Kincaid-Chauncey allegedly had been pressing Malone for $15,000 for her grandson.
She allegedly received thousands of dollars more from Malone and Galardi between 2001 and 2003 for her help on other matters -- including arranging for building and health inspectors to speed up the inspection process and allow Jaguars to open its doors quicker.
According to FBI wiretaps, Kenny wasn't shy about telling Malone to let Galardi know how hard she was working for the strip club operator.
And Malone wasn't shy about letting her know how well Galardi was paying her.
In a secretly monitored conversation between Malone and Galardi in September 2002, Malone said Kenny had been asking for more money, and he responded, "Anything you've done for us, it's not like you just did it for free ... You've always been well compensated, uh, very heavily."
In another conversation between the two men, after Galardi had disposed of a county matter without Kenny's help, FBI agents overheard Malone tell Galardi, "I'm glad we didn't pay (Kenny) yet." Galardi responded, "Yeah ... Saved me $50,000."
This is just a taste of how the government says the public's trust has been betrayed by its county commissioners. There is much more in the indictment and much more is likely to come out as the case goes to trial.
What has come to light so far isn't pretty, and it casts a cloud over the entire County Commission.
If the commission is to restore its reputation, it will take more than just adding a few rules to its ethics code, as it did over the summer after news of the corruption investigation broke.
Eventually the voters are going to demand that their commissioners work full-time for them rather than the special interests.
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