Reid nets millions with property deals

Suzanne Struglinski

Wednesday, June 15, 2005 | 11:04 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid made $1 million to $5 million in January 2004 by selling a piece of property in Las Vegas and 47 percent interest in an adjoining property, based on his financial disclosure report.

Reid's staff on Tuesday refused to say exactly where the parcel of land is located, except to say it was in Las Vegas. They also refused to say who purchased the land.

According to the county assessor records, the parcel, as described in the disclosure report, would be between Hualapai Way and Fort Apache Road and Tropicana Ave and Russell Road. That puts the land near the Siena Golf Club.

Reid has roughly $1.3 million to $3 million in assets alone spread over several stocks including Best Buy, Bed, Bath and Beyond and Anheuser-Busch.

Reid also listed as major assets municipal and school district bonds worth between $895,026 and $2,101,000 and a pension plan stock in oil, medical, technology, banking and other companies worth between $383,047 and $1,552,000.

Tuesday marked the final deadline for extensions on lawmakers' financial disclosure reports.

Reid of Nevada; Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.; Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev.; and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., turned their reports in last month.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., received an extension and turned his in this week.

Beyond his congressional salary, Gibbons receives a pension from Delta Airlines, where he was a pilot, and a pension from the Air National Guard.

The exact values of a lawmakers' financial holdings are impossible to know because the reports list their assets' values in broad ranges in increments between $1,000 and $50 million. For example, the lawmakers check a box for holdings between $50,000 and $100,000 or $100,000 and $250,000.

Berkley is worth between $3.7 million and $14 million based on her assets coupled with her husband, Dr. Larry Lehrner.

Ensign has assets between $1.1 million and $2.3 million, with his largest asset being the building and land for South Shores Animal Hospital.

Porter has assets valued between $1.5 million to $6.3 million based on estimates in his report, including ownership of several condo units in Boulder City