FBI questions central figure in CCSN probe

Mary Manning and Christina Littlefield

Friday, June 25, 2004 | 11:03 a.m.

A woman at the center of the controversy over lobbying and hiring practices at the Community College of Southern Nevada has been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury next month.

Topazia "Briget" Jones, who filed the complaint with the university system that led to the demotions of CCSN President Ron Remington and his adviser and lobbyist John Cummings, was questioned by the FBI Thursday.

"I can confirm that she was interviewed, but I can't comment further on the investigation," FBI spokesman Special Agent Todd Palmer said.

Federal officials would not comment on the scope or nature of the investigation. A source close to the investigation said that Jones is scheduled to appear before a federal grand jury on July 14.

Natalie Collins, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, said she could neither confirm nor deny that there was an investigation under way.

Jones was at the middle of a University and Community College System of Nevada investigation last year that looked into allegations of improper hiring practices, harassment and lobbying efforts. The report also brought up a settlement given to Assemblyman Wendell Williams' wife, Zelda, to settle a lawsuit.

The investigator, Jeffrey Cohen, outlined a potential tie between the $49,900 settlement and a bill that CCSN officials wanted.

Jones was hired by Cummings and was a self-proclaimed assistant to Williams, who in the 2003 Legislature served as chairman of the Education Committee.

According to the 1,026-page investigative report and transcripts of the November closed personnel session obtained by the Sun, university regents were concerned about the issue of the bill and the settlement and agreed to forward the report to the FBI and the state attorney general's office.

Tom Sargent, spokesman for the Nevada attorney general's office, said he "could not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation."

In an October 2003 whistleblower complaint, Cummings accused Williams of abusing his political authority.

"I believe that my job is in jeopardy for saying no to a legislator," Cummings said in the complaint. "I believe that the (university) system is trying to protect one individual at my expense."

Cummings was pleased with the news of the investigation, which he said he first learned about on television news Thursday evening.

"Finally we may have some truth coming out," Cummings said Thursday night.

Williams did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Cummings alleges Williams was threatening to not read university system bills if his wife's lawsuit wasn't settled soon. Zelda Williams had sued the system after a CCSN interim president using a racial slur in front of her.

"Most of those (conversations Cummings had with Williams) had to do with 'if the lawsuit is not settled' and 'I'm sure going to have a problem hearing system bills.' 'It's going to be interesting to see how those bills go in the drawer,' " Cummings said in his statement to Cohen. "I believe there was a threat of separating the community colleges, breaking it up into separate campuses if the lawsuit was not settled."

Cummings said he advised then Chancellor Jane Nichols not to settle the lawsuit before, during or immediately after the legislative session.

"I said, 'That's inappropriate,' " Cummings said.

According to the transcripts of a regents' meeting, Nichols told regents during the closed session that she and Remington decided to settle because of the possible bad publicity of going to trial. Zelda Williams sued after a college official made a racial slur about blacks in her presence. Williams is black.

Taking the case to trial "would have been more disastrous to the college than would going ahead and getting this case settled," Nichols told regents during the November closed session.

Zelda Williams' settlement came during the 2003 legislative session and went against the advice of university lawyer, who recommended that Williams should receive not more than $5,000 to settle the complaint.

Regent Steve Sisolak said Nichols, Remington, and others went with the $49,900 amount figure because that was just below the threshhold for payments that have to be approved by the Board of Regents.

"I was livid, livid that they authorized that payment," Sisolak said.

The settlement was paid from the general university system funds, which include federal monies, said Sisolak, who said he had not been contacted by the FBI.

Nichols said Thursday night that she was aware that the FBI had started talking to people.

"That does not mean there would be any charges or indictments," Nichols said.

Asked if a $49,900 settlement to Williams' wife, Zelda, was part of the investigation, Nichols replied, "I think that could be part of it."

However, she was reluctant to provide further details. "I am really not at all comfortable with what I am at liberty to speak on this," Nichols said.

Remington's attorney, Kathleen England, said the first she had heard of the FBI investigation was on television news. She said her client has not been contacted by the FBI at all, and is in Boston at an academic conference with his wife.

Remington filed a whistleblower complaint shortly after the Board of Regents demoted him, alleging that they were attacking him because he had fired Jones.

Jones' attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As of this morning, the president's office at CCSN had not been informed of the FBI investigation, spokeswoman Helen Clougherty said, and several college administrators said they didn't know if other employees had been questioned by the FBI.

The university system's lawyer Tom Ray said he had been unaware of the FBI investigation and had not been informed that any system officials would be questioned. He noted that the Board of Regents had voted to forward the system's investigative report to the FBI and the Nevada attorney general's office.

CCSN employees whose statements were included in the university system's investigation could not be reached for comment this morning.