Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Columnist Jon Ralston: G-Sting probe to turn corner

Some of that is about to change, if reliable sources are correct, as the bi-city probe of public corruption will soon produce Las Vegas indictments and/or guilty pleas, perhaps as early as this week and mirroring those in San Diego. And what has become increasingly clear is that Operation G-Sting, the investigation of possible political payoffs by strip club boss Mike Galardi and his enduringly witless delivery boy, Lance Malone, was only the beginning.

If the feds can, as they hope, wrap up the cases in Operation G-Sting, they can focus on the second phase: looking at whether elected officials long believed to be in the pockets of developers actually were allowing those builders to put cash in their pockets. That is, if you pay them, the building will come. Call it Operation Money for Zoning --- and your permits for free.

This second phase of the federal probe of public corruption has a much greater chance of roiling the community, especially if prominent developers and other politicians are brought into the mix. And imagine the prospect of a trial in which ex-Commissioner Dario Herrera is represented by Oscar Goodman. Goodman consistently has said he would not take a high-profile case as mayor, but would anyone be surprised if he turns out to have been a shadow lawyer for Herrera as his son, Eric, and David Brown, scion of super-connected insider Jay Brown, have fronted the case.

Forget speculation. Here's what we know:

The squeeze is being applied to those named as targets in this probe -- Herrera, fellow ex-Commissioner Malone and Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey. Deals are being offered -- as one apparently was to ex-Commissioner Erin Kenny -- of taking a few years in jail or raising a trial on multiple counts, including charges of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations act.

That is, the feds are playing hardball, so they can close the book on Operation G-Sting and focus all their energy on Operation Money for Zoning. It is evident that unless they take the deals, Herrera, Malone and Kincaid-Chauncey will be indicted as soon as this week.

But will they?

The feds have been wearing out their tape recorders playing wiretapped conversations for lawyers representing potential defendants. They contain unseemly conversations about cash changing hands and promises of contributions if votes were cast. There is no doubt that money was exchanged here, but can prosecutors prove a crime was committed, a quid pro quo took place?

Malone's attorney, Dominic Gentile, consistently has been quoted as saying he wants to go to court. Malone may have behaved as he did as a commissioner -- unable to summon common sense -- but did he actually have the intent to commit a crime?

Kincaid-Chauncey and her attorney, Rick Wright, have maintained that the commissioner did nothing wrong. Kincaid-Chauncey insisted on "Face to Face" that Malone never gave her cash. But did it come to her through a third party, or was she splitting rhetorical hairs with me on the program? The wiretaps could be damaging here, but Kincaid-Chauncey's resolute determination to seek re-election makes a plea unlikely, unless she decides to resign.

(An interesting sidelight here is Wright's representation of Kincaid-Chauncey and ex-Councilman Michael McDonald. What happens if Kincaid-Chauncey is indicted and McDonald becomes a witness for the prosecution?)

Herrera was thought to be a subject, but he clearly is being pressured to make a deal and give information. These are tactics familiar to Goodman the Elder, whose past (and maybe future) life involved dealing with federal prosecutors eager to, metaphorically, put his clients in the kind of vise Tony Spilotro once used. Would Goodman relish the trial for publicity's sake, or will he advise Herrera to plead?

The issue of Brown the Elder being enmeshed here, too, is fascinating. Jay Brown has been a consummate behind-the-scenes player for many years. He is close to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and many other politicians, including several local government officials. He also has become a major campaign contributor to local campaigns. Herrera also has done work for Brown since he left the commission.

It is no coincidence that the sons of Goodman and Brown are Herrera's attorneys. But are the sons or the fathers giving the loudest counsel? I wonder.

The feds clearly want to finish Operation G-Sting by obtaining guilty pleas and showing that no one got off scot-free -- even agreements that mandate only 18-month sentences would be seen as convictions, albeit too lenient to some. That's why they are pushing these folks to come clean and name names.

They want to move on to the second prong, one already being examined by a team of prosecutors because of information they have obtained from Galardi and Kenny.

And that raises another question: What would those two be willing to say to save their own skins? You would think Galardi and Kenny would not have secured deals, since they are the central figures, unless the feds believed they could lead them down productive paths.

If the others under investigation also enter pleas within the next week or so, a lot of already nervous developers and politicians should start feeling a lot more anxious as Operation G-Sting morphs into Operation Money for Zoning.

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