Dean, ethics panel may make a deal

Monday, June 7, 2004 | 9:56 a.m.

Recorder Fran Deane, facing ethics charges, may have a deal with the Nevada Ethics Commission.

The commission has scheduled a meeting for 10 a.m. Wednesday at which Deane could stipulate to ethical violations. Deane referred questions Friday to her attorney, Lew Brandon.

Brandon said that, as of now, no deal has been struck.

"Nothing has been stipulated," he said. "Nothing has been presented to the commission."

Stacy Jennings, ethics commission executive director, said the agenda item only means a stipulation is possible, not that a deal is done.

Deane faces complaints that she gave preferential treatment to title companies and explored a business that would have charged for access to her office's documents, a service the county plans to provide for free.

The recorder's office documents critical paperwork, most notably titles of property ownership that are needed for the purchase or sale of real estate.

Deane spent about two hours in a closed-door session with the ethics commission in April during a similar discussion on a stipulation agreement, but the recorder and the commission failed to reach a settlement.