Roger-Young pairing not to the liking of ACLU public advocate

J. Patrick Coolican and Jeff German

Friday, Oct. 27, 2006 | 7:36 a.m.

Chrissy Mazzeo was quite clear when she said Wednesday that the person who has disappointed her most since the alleged assault is Sheriff Bill Young.

Her attorney, Richard Wright, also had harsh words for the sheriff, who originally called the alleged assault a misunderstanding. But Wright said he had confidence in District Attorney David Roger to conduct an impartial investigation that would reveal the truth about what happened.

Yet on Thursday, as Young defended his department's initial investigation and promised an aggressive investigation, Roger stood stage left. At his turn to speak, Roger told reporters that he had confidence in the ability of Metro Police to do the bulk of the investigative work.

Lee Rowland, public advocate for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, noticed the Roger-Young pairing, and said she was dismayed: "It compromises any appearance of independence his office might have had with respect to this investigation," she said.

Rowland emphasized that she does not question Young's integrity or motives. But she said Young and the police department have already compromised their ability to conduct an objective investigation: "It's hard to imagine how Metro can proceed with this investigation in a way that will inspire the public's or Ms. Mazzeo's confidence," she said. "The department can't wipe the slate clean at this point."

Rowland said her greatest concern stems from "the sheriff's strong statements of support" for Rep. Jim Gibbons, who Mazzeo said assaulted her, as well his public comments skeptical of Mazzeo's veracity and motives.

Young held the news conference to defend the police investigation and his personal cell phone call to Gibbons the day after the Oct. 13 incident. In that call, he encouraged the congressman to get a lawyer and consent to an interview with detectives.

Young also disputed what Wright had said the day before - that Gibbons may have committed felony sexual assault. Young said the assault Mazzeo described amounted to misdemeanor assault and battery - without any sexual content.

Mazzeo said the congressman pinned her against a wall and tried to coerce her into having sex.

Rowland said that Mazzeo and the public will be best served if the attorney general's office or some other independent federal or state agency handled the investigation.

Although Chief Deputy Attorney General Gerald Gardner said the attorney general's office is monitoring the situation, he said there are no plans to intervene.

One independent federal agency, the FBI, said Tuesday it was following developments in the case.

FBI spokesman Dave Staretz said the FBI at this time sees no federal crimes that would give it jurisdiction to enter the case.

But he added, "Yes, we're watching this thing."

Staretz confirmed that Los Angeles-area attorney Harold L. Collins, a Mazzeo friend, contacted the FBI last week seeking protection for Mazzeo.

Collins told the Sun that he went to the FBI after Mazzeo had received threats and pressure to change her story from what Collins believes was the Gibbons camp.

The FBI, however, also told Collins that it didn't believe it had any authority to become involved in the case at the time.

Sun reporter Sam Skolnik contributed to this report.