Thursday, Sept. 4, 2003 | 11:22 a.m.
A former campaign supporter alleged that Clark County Recorder Fran Deane threatened and harassed her because her family's company wouldn't give Deane free bumper stickers, according to police reports filed in the case.
Deane's neighbor Karen Oslansky filed two police reports detailing the alleged harassment and a complaint with the secretary of state's office, which was forwarded to the state Ethics Commission. She alleges the events happened in December and January, before Deane took office.
In the reports and the complaint, Oslansky said she was threatened, harassed and called an anti-Semitic slur by Deane. She said she also found her car covered in shaving cream and another substance, with the words "liar" and "loser" written on the car.
The Henderson Police Department investigated, although there's no record of any charges being filed.
A civil case ensued in Henderson Justice Court, and the court sealed the settlement of the case. The Ethics Commission declined the hear the complaint, saying in part that it had no jurisdiction because it happened before Deane took office and was not directly related to the 2002 campaign.
Oslansky and Deane both declined to comment. Deane referred questions to her attorney, who did not return calls.
"I strongly suspect that if either one of us speaks on this, we are in violation of a court order," Deane said.
The allegations laid out in police reports and a complaint to the state are the latest involving Deane, who has become the target of swelling criticism from county management and the employees union.
The case, though dating back nine months, is the latest turn in the recorder's increasingly troubled professional life. Her office provides a critical role in documenting the property, lives and deaths of Clark County residents. It also brings in millions of dollars in fees annually.
But a deluge of property title requests associated with the boom in property sales in the county, headaches associated with the previous recorder, and conflict between Deane and the county management have some observers concerned about whether the office can continue fully functioning.
Employees with the county workers' union have accused Deane of fostering a hostile work atmosphere. Union leadership, which is seeking formal "whistle-blower" protections for office staff members, says Deane has targeted some employees for retribution and made numerous inappropriate comments and sexual innuendos.
County Manager Thom Reilly has said Deane has illegally given preferential treatment to title companies. Reilly and the county commissioners who are his bosses supported abortive legislation last spring that would have made the recorder's job, now an elected office, an appointment by the county commission.
But most of the trouble on the second floor of the Clark County Government Building, which houses the recorder and other offices, started in March, when Deane turned off the phone to the general public in order to catch up with weeks of paperwork backlog.
The problems detailed in Oslansky's Jan. 2 letter to Secretary of State Dean Heller predate the recent tumult.
Oslansky said in her Jan. 2 letter that Deane demanded free bumper stickers for her campaign from Oslansky's family business. She said the company refused but said it would sell the stickers at a discount. She said that's when the problems began.
She said Deane threatened her, pounded on her door, told her she was going to "hurt" her and called her a "loser" and a "fat Jewish whore."
In the letter, Oslansky also said that Deane, who lived across the street but in January moved out of the neighborhood, falsely claimed that Oslansky vandalized her car.
Two police reports were filed on the incidents. A case in Henderson Justice Court ensued, but court clerks said the case is sealed by order of Judge Stephen George.
In the Dec. 12 incident report, Henderson police reported that Deane had allegedly made verbal threats against Oslansky. Deane, however, could not immediately be located by the police for her side, according to the report.
In the Jan. 2 incident report, Henderson police reported that there was "shaving foam all over the car." Deane, through her lawyer, declined comment to the police.
Both incidents were later dropped by the police after the issue was forwarded to George's courtroom.
Oslansky's efforts to get the Secretary of State involved also was fruitless. Heller's office forwarded Oslansky's letter to the Nevada Ethics Commission, which ruled that it did not have jurisdiction on the issue.
"It was never a complaint officially filed with our office," said Stacy Jennings, the agency's executive director.
The commission cited several reasons why it could not take action, including the fact that alleged conduct happened before Deane took office.
In a letter to Oslansky, Jennings wrote that harassment, "though perhaps inappropriate, does not constitute a violation of the Ethics in Government Law, and thus the concerns outlined in your letter do not meet the minimum threshold established for our commission (to) pursue this matter."
Reilly, who has complaints of his own that do not involve harassment, said he is not surprised that issues continue to come up regarding the recorder's office.
"It obviously raises concerns that if these allegations are true from the police reports, coupled with allegations made by staff, it paints a troubling picture," he said.
Despite the issues with the recorder, the county can do little to remove her from office unless the district attorney finds evidence of malfeasance or nonperformance, termed nonfeasance, in Deane's job. While District Attorney David Roger has issued opinions chastising elements of Deane's handling of her office, he also has not yet found an issue demanding removal from the position.
"We will take the lead from the district attorney," Reilly said. "Obviously, we continue to forward our concerns to the district attorney."
The political director of the Service Employees International Union representing the workers in the recorder's office agreed that allegations fit with charges made by the employees.
"Employees have complained about abusive conditions in her office," political director Maryann Salm said. "Knowing that the complaint is out there and having talked to employees, we're very concerned that this shows a pattern of harassing behavior."
She said the county manager needs to do more in response to the issues affecting the recorder's office.
"I think it should concern the county, the county manager and the county commissioners," Salm said. "They could be exposed to some significant liability."
Salm has filed a complaint with the county on behalf of employees who were allegedly harassed. The complaint says that Deane has inappropriately investigated employees who complained of the working conditions in the office and made inappropriate comments on sexual activities or, in some cases, individuals working in the county.
The union has also publicly called for Deane's resignation. Deane has said she will not resign unless asked to by representatives of the real estate and title industry.
"We're going to proceed with our complaint on behalf of employees who were harassed," Salm said. "Ultimately, we are going to ask that Fran Deane not have direct contact with employees."
That could mean hiring a personnel director or an attorney to serve as a go-between from Deane to her staff. Salm acknowledged that such a move could affect the functioning of the office.
"The job is not getting done now," she added. "This is an unusual situation and we have to look out for the interests of the employees."
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