Columnist Jeff German: On the growing tribulations of Lance Malone as the former county commissioner’s trial approaches

Sunday, Dec. 11, 2005 | 9:04 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

No matter how hard he tries, Lance Malone can't escape being the man in the middle in the government's latest assault on corruption in Las Vegas.

The former politician-turned-lobbyist is being slapped around by both sides.

Federal prosecutors have accused Malone of being the bagman for ex-strip club mogul Michael Galardi, who, as a cooperating government witness, has admitted corrupting elected officials here.

At Malone's trial next year, prosecutors, I'm told, will be able to present evidence on both sides of his wheeling and dealing.

They'll have wiretaps of Galardi instructing Malone to make cash payments to former Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny. And they'll have Kenny waiting in the wings to testify that she received the money.

This is an unenviable position for any criminal defendant -- let alone one who could have struck a deal with the government long ago to make the criminal case go away.

But it's only part of Malone's growing legal woes.

Lately, the brunt of the shots against Malone are coming from his own team -- his co-defendants -- former County Commissioners Dario Herrera and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey.

"He's out there now by himself," says veteran criminal defense attorney John Momot, who has no dog in this fight. "He's being prosecuted not only by the government but by the other defendants."

Herrera and Kincaid-Chauncey are attacking Malone as part of their effort to win separate trials.

They contend they can't be tried with Malone because, to prove their innocence, they have to show that their former colleague is the real bad guy here.

The strategy has not escaped the attention of Malone's attorney, Dominic Gentile.

"If they maintain that defense, then I am going to seek a separate trial, too," Gentile says.

Otherwise, the man in the middle might have to get used to being slapped around by both sides.

Someone, I see, handed the Nevada Pharmacy Board a prescription for common sense last week.

In the wake of heavy and appropriate criticism, the board decided against pursuing a regulation that would have given pharmacists the ability to deny a prescription if it went against their conscience.

If this ridiculous policy had been approved, pharmacists could have refused to hand out life-saving medication simply because they didn't like the way a patient looked.

Fortunately, however, we no longer have to worry that our neighborhood pill dispenser might be doubling as a morality cop.

"They're not a health care provider," says state Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, one of several lawmakers outraged by the board's ignorance in recent months.

"The pharmacist is the intermediary. He takes the drug off the shelf and puts it in a bottle."

Carlton says she's glad the board finally got that message.

Now, she adds, pharmacists can focus on more important things -- like making sure the prescriptions they fill are safe for us to use.