Editorial: Another corruption case

Wednesday, June 6, 2007 | 7:09 a.m.

C lark County District Attorney David Roger set a powerful precedent Monday by charging former Clark County Commissioner Lynette Boggs with four felony counts, accusing her of perjury and filing false campaign documents.

Boggs is accused of living outside the commission district she represented and lying about it, as well as paying a nanny with campaign funds. This has been called an unprecedented prosecution in Southern Nevada because these types of actions usually had been viewed in cynical political circles as campaign ammunition and not worthy of a criminal complaint.

Although the charges against Boggs were borne out of the successful political campaign to unseat her, it is a mistake to think there is anything political about this prosecution. Boggs and Roger are Republicans, and the investigation was handled by the state.

Although she has not been convicted of anything, Boggs faces damning evidence, despite her past denials of any wrongdoing. People are cynical about politics in large part because of elected officials' misdeeds, especially as corruption and scandal continue to shake the county commission.

Three former commissioners - one-time Democratic congressional candidate Dario Herrera , Mary Kincaid and Lance Malone - sit in federal prison for illegally taking money from the operator of a topless club. Another former commissioner, Erin Kenny, one of the central figures in the same case, is awaiting her much delayed - and deserved - sentencing in federal court.

In a separate case, Metro Police officers are investigating Yvonne Atkinson Gates, who resigned from the commission this year, for allegedly funneling roughly $350,000 in campaign funds to her son. Police are also investigating former University Medical Center Chief Executive Lacy Thomas and other hospital officials in the wake of a financial debacle at the hospital.

All of this should make a politician think twice. The district attorney's action shows that no alleged political crime is too small. Although Boggs is presumed innocent, we hope this prosecution is a sign that politics in Southern Nevada will be cleaned up.