Editorial: Lawmakers fail to see red

Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006 | 8:05 a.m.

A handful of Nevada legislators who accepted free Rolling Stones concert tickets from Ameriquest in November blushed with embarrassment when the mortage lender agreed this week to pay $325 million in a settlement over excessive mortgage fees.

But it's a wonder these 11 legislators didn't see red the first time a major company offered them free tickets, worth $500 to $1,000 a pair, to one of the hottest concerts in Las Vegas. According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, Ameriquest's $325 million national settlement -- $1.7 million of which will go to Nevadans -- was announced just days after the tickets showed up on seven lawmakers' annual financial statements.

The tickets were offered by former state Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, who now serves as a consultant for Ameriquest. The company did not lobby the Nevada Legislature in 2005, and Del Papa told the Gazette-Journal it likely will not lobby there in 2007.

The list of ticket-takers includes such influential lawmakers as Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, and Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas. Buckley has said she reimbursed Ameriquest for her tickets, valued at $676, before stories about the gifts emerged.

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, said this week's Ameriquest settlement shows why accepting gifts is risky business and should be illegal -- even though she accepted a pair of $800 tickets for the Nov. 19 show. And Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas, said he did not report the tickets because he didn't realize they exceeded the $200 gift threshold.

Although accepting the tickets was legal, it is stunning that this group of individuals did not recognize that it was wrong. Perhaps the next corporate freebie should be a bundle of red flags -- so lawmakers can see what one looks like.