Lawyer pleads not guilty on charge of forging

Jace Radke

Friday, Nov. 19, 2004 | 10:59 a.m.

A suspended local attorney and son of a prominent Las Vegas developer pleaded not guilty in federal court this morning to charges that he forged the signature of a federal judge.

Lawrence J. Davidson, 38, was indicted last week and is alleged to have forged U.S. District Judge Robert Jones signature on court documents in order to mislead a client and avoid malpractice charges.

Davidson, whose father, Don Davidson, is vice president of Triple Five Development and a member of the Las Vegas Housing Authority, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Robert Johnston this morning and refused to comment or allow his lawyer, Steve Stein, to comment to a reporter as they left the courtroom.

"You don't talk to him," Lawrence Davidson told Stein.

Davidson refused to comment because excerpts from a Bar Association petition for his suspension were printed in the Sun. Among the excerpts that were published were portions of a letter Davidson left for his wife that mentioned his children.

In his brief appearance in court, Davidson answered general questions about his education and background and told Johnston that he is under the care of a psychologist.

Johnston set Davidson's trial for Jan. 3 before U.S. District Judge James Mahan.

Davidson, who was suspended from practicing law by the Nevada Supreme Court last week, is also facing disciplinary action from the state Bar Association.

According to the Bar Association's petition, Davidson concocted fraudulent documents in order to make a client believe that he had won a medical malpractice case when in fact Davidson had neglected to follow the proper conditions for filing such a case.

Davidson, 38, is also alleged to have misappropriated $350,000 in settlement funds from his clients, according to the Bar Association. The association further alleges that Davidson forged the signature of District Judge Sally Loehrer.

The bar began investigating Davidson in May 2003 after Loehrer wrote a letter to the Bar about a judgment she said she didn't sign.

A year ago the FBI subpoenaed documents from Davidson's office, but Davidson would not comment at the time as to what the documents were, citing attorney-client privilege.

Don Davidson, who has not been charged with any crimes, has received a form letter from the FBI notifying him that he appears on wiretap intercepts in an ongoing political corruption investigation.

The FBI is required by law to send a notice to those on the intercepts, but being on any of the recordings does not necessarily mean those recorded are guilty of anything, FBI officials said.

Along with Don Davidson, court documents state that County Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey and former Commissioners Darrio Herrera, Erin Kenny and Lance Malone, and former strip club owner Michael Galardi are recorded on the intercepts.

The strip-club portion of the investigation has led to the federal indictments of Malone, Kincaid-Chauncey and Herrera, and the plea agreements of Kenny and Galardi, who are now cooperating with the FBI and federal prosecutors.

The tapes allegedly contain evidence that Kincaid-Chauncey, Herrera and Malone took thousands of dollars from Galardi in exchange for political influence in matters relating to the clubs Galardi owned at the time.

The FBI is also investigating developers who may have paid commissioners to influence their votes.

One piece of the investigation focuses on an alleged $200,000 payment to Kenny by a developer to secure her help in changing zoning requirements in 2001 to allow a CVS drugstore to be built in northwest Las Vegas.

A source close to the investigation said the developer is Don Davidson and that investigators are trying to determine if Lawrence Davidson had any role in the alleged transaction.

Don Davidson's attorney, Dominic Gentile, who also represents Malone, has denied the allegation. Gentile said Don Davidson was not involved in that matter.