Prosecutor says controller’s office was ‘campaign central’

Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2004 | 11:12 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A special prosecutor, in the opening statement in the impeachment trial of Controller Kathy Augustine, told the Senate today she used her office as "campaign central" in running her re-election campaign in 2002.

Meanwhile Augustine's attorney, John Arrascada, dismissed the charges as those of disgruntled employees and warned senators that removing the controller from office could lead Nevada into "anarchy," saying her removal would set a precedent that would lead to elected officials being routinely thrown out of office.

Arrascada dismissed a binder-full of prosecution documents as "false bulk," meaning pages had been added to make it appear more evidence existed.

"Impeachment and removal from office is for the worst of the worst," he said. "It's the death penalty for elected officials."

The attorneys presented very different accounts of what landed Augustine in front of the Senate.

Augustine stands accused of using her office staff and equipment for her re-election campaign. She stipulated to the state Ethics Commission that she violated state law because she should have known there was campaign work going on in the office.

The Senate opened Augustine's impeachment trial today with statements from the special prosecutor and Augustine's attorney. The Senate then began listening to and questioning witnesses. The trial, which is expected to last two weeks, could lead to the controller's removal from office if she's found guilty.

Special Prosecutor Dan Greco in his opening argument said the evidence will show that "a substantial part" of her re-election campaign was paid for by taxpayers, not from private donations. He said four employees of the controller's office worked on campaign materials during office hours.

Greco argued that Augustine's staffers routinely wrote speeches, drafted requested, solicited contributions for her campaign and persistently asked previous donors for more money.

In one case an employee worked after hours on campaign materials and then was paid overtime by the state, Greco said.

These employees performed campaign work on state time because they feared they would lose their job or be the victim of Augustine's "famous temper that could explode at any time," Greco said.

"Kathy Augustine does not like hearing the word 'no' from anybody, let alone one of her employees," he said.

Arrascada routinely said the charges do not rise to the level of an impeachable offense. And he said it should result in her being removed from her $80,000 a year job.

He admitted Augustine's management style was at times polarizing, but said that her "bad personality" was not an impeachable offense.

"Kathy Augustine is not a saint but she did not commit offenses to require her removal from offenses," Arrascada said.

The charges, Arrascada said, are partially the result of disgruntled former employees. The defense attorney pointed to letters from what he called a "conspiracy of disgruntled employees" that he said pinpointed their unhappiness with their former boss.

Arrascada at one point showed senators photographs of Augustine with former employees who later accused her of ethics violations.

"We're here because an employee felt humiliated," he said.

He told the Senate that there is no evidence that Augustine breached the public trust. There are no allegations of theft, embezzlement or fraud.

In the opening arguments, Greco said the evidence will show office workers wrote campaign speeches, sent letters for campaign contributions, used the state computer for campaign records. There were "hundreds of individual transactions" that were done on state time, he said.

Arrascada said Augustine has already been punished in a stipulation with the state Ethics Commission that fined her $15,000. She admitted to the Ethics Commission that she should have known her workers were doing campaign chores and state equipment was being used.

He argued there were "zero complaints" about her performance in office and in fact she won awards. Augustine has gained the public trust by collecting more than $4 million in debts owed the state he said.

After the opening arguments, Greco started to present his case that includes 13 witnesses. The defense team intends to make a major effort to discredit the key prosecution witness, Augustine's former executive assistant, Jennifer Normington. Normington testified in the Assembly that she spent 75 percent of her state time working on campaign chores for Augustine.

Defense lawyers have listed 37 witnesses to testify, including an official from a medical group to reveal the prescription drug use by Normington. Sixteen of the 37 are to testify about their contacts and observations of Normington.