Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005 | 11:08 a.m.
The controversial figure behind the proposed White Peoples Party is an ex-felon who has been running three halfway houses without the proper licenses, a Sun investigation has found.
Michael O'Sullivan, who is the leader of the effort to create the political party, was convicted of burglary in Illinois in 1982, when he was 18, and aggravated battery, robbery and burglary two years later, authorities said.
His record with Metro Police dates back to 1988, Sgt. Chris Jones, police spokesman, said. His offenses have been misdemeanors, such as battery, obstructing police and failure to register as a felon.
Police cited him for battery in 2001 after he allegedly threatened a man with a screwdriver and shoved him at one of his halfway houses.
A year later he was cited for battery again after police said he became angry that the exit door at Best Buy on Maryland Parkway didn't open. He tore a security cord off the wall, then slammed both his hands onto a store security guard's chest, knocking him backward, according to police.
Ten days after that incident he allegedly ripped the side mirror off the vehicle of a woman who called him a name while at his home doing odd jobs. She said he also scratched Xs in the paint. He was cited for malicious destruction of private property.
"I totally acknowledge that I've had a lot of misdemeanors," O'Sullivan said. "It's not something I'm particularly proud of. Twenty-two years ago I got into trouble. But I've turned my life around. I live a good, straight life, and I help a lot of people."
State officials say he does not have the proper license to run halfway houses. The state is now investigating O'Sullivan's three Vision House locations, which are sober living facilities for those with substance abuse problems and offenders who have committed crimes linked to drugs or alcohol.
"They could shut it down, but I submitted my application and they have to respond to it and they haven't," O'Sullivan said.
A law that went into effect in 2002 requires halfway houses to be licensed by the state. Documents such as a local business license, fire marshal report, three letters of recommendation, a floor plan of the facility and proof of insurance must be turned in for the application to be complete.
O'Sullivan, 41, applied for a license in May 2003 and the application expired a year later after the agency that regulates halfway houses said he never submitted all of the paperwork.
O'Sullivan said the state Health Division's Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse lost the documents he submitted, a claim the agency denies.
"They dropped the ball on it," he said. "I fulfilled my obligations. What happened was the state is so short-staffed that they never sent me the license."
He did go into the Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse office Wednesday to rectify the problem after getting a call from a Sun reporter.
Paul Shubert, supervisor for residential care facilities for the Health Division, said O'Sullivan just showed a receipt proving he paid an application fee in 2003.
"He didn't submit another application," Shubert said. "I don't know what his intent was today.
"To my knowledge nothing has been lost. He didn't submit the paperwork and he was never actually licensed, then he didn't follow up on it."
Robert Benz, the president of the homeowners association in a neighborhood where one of O'Sullivan's Vision House facilities is located, filed a complaint that touched off the state investigation.
He said he doesn't feel it's appropriate for a convicted felon who is affiliated with the National Vanguard, a white supremacy group, to run a halfway house.
Benz has a theory as to why O'Sullivan never completed his application.
"It would be a disclosure of his dossier, which is not very special," he said. "He's a convicted felon. He can't vote. It leaves a lot of questions as to his ability to be a role model for recovering alcoholics."
The law says the applicant must be of reputable character, Shubert said. The state cannot discriminate against O'Sullivan for his political views, nor can it deny a license to someone based on a felony conviction that happened more than seven years earlier.
Further, his affiliation with the National Vanguard (formerly the National Alliance) doesn't mean he would be barred from running a halfway house.
As a convicted felon, O'Sullivan lost his right to vote. When asked if he is getting his rights restored, he said, "It's being worked on."
O'Sullivan is listed as the chairman of the White Peoples Party, a political group that wants to end illegal immigration and affirmative action.
Last month the National Vanguard filed documents with the state to create the party, and the group is in the process of collecting signatures to make the group an official political party in Nevada.
"It could certainly mean we would look at him more closely than we would other applicants, but I don't know if that would preclude him from licensure," Shubert said. "He would have to be involved in some sort of illegal activity or there would need to be a moral turpitude issue."
Last month several residents of one of the halfway houses complained to parole and probation officials about "questionable material" found in the house, Kim Evans, spokeswoman for the state Public Safety Department, said. Evans would not further describe the material.
The state is investigating, Evans said, and she expects the investigation to be wrapped up next week.
Part of the investigation will address whether the state should continue to allow those on parole or probation to stay at an unlicensed facility.
O'Sullivan, who says he has been clean and sober since Feb. 10, 1989, said Vision House provides recovering alcoholics and drug addicts of all races a comfortable place to stay while they get their lives back on track.
The three locations -- two for men and one for women -- are all within a few miles of each other, in older, quiet, well-kept neighborhoods.
"A person running a business can't discriminate. There are laws against that," he said. "Some people ask how I can have my political views and still help minorities? Every time I help a minority get off drugs I help society."
A resident of one of the Vision Houses who didn't want to give his name said he considers it to be one of the better halfway houses in town.
"Whatever Mike does in his personal life doesn't trickle down to here," he said. "There are a lot worse places to be ... This is like hanging out at the Hilton."
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