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Lt. Governor and President of the Senate Brian Krolicki talks to Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford on the first day of the 2009 legislative session in Carson City.
By Cara McCoy 
Published Monday, Dec. 7, 2009 | 10:18 a.m.
Updated Monday, Dec. 7, 2009 | 3:50 p.m.
Related Story
Related Document (.pdf)
Sun Archives
- Judge to rule whether Lt. Gov. Krolicki case continues (11-24-2009)
- Krolicki case to remain in Clark County (9-8-2009)
- Lt. Gov. Krolicki wants charges against him dropped (4-13-2009)
- Lt. Gov. challenges AG’s ability to prosecute him (3-2-2009)
- Krolicki pleads not guilty to felonies (12-30-2008)
- Krolicki case highlights accounting ethics issue (12-29-2008)
- Dix questions for Conrad Hafen, Chief Deputy Attorney General (12-24-2008)
- Yellow notes could help fraud charges stick to Krolicki (12-22-2008)
- Lt. Gov. Krolick says he’s an indictment target (11-24-2008)
- Guv wants Loux to pay back $64,000 (11-14-2008)
Charges against Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki and his chief of staff tied to his alleged mismanagement of a college savings program were dismissed this morning in Clark County District Court.
Judge Valerie Adair issued a written ruling on arguments she heard Nov. 24 from attorneys for Krolicki and his chief of staff, Kathryn Besser, dismissing counts that stemmed from what prosecutors called mismanagement of a multi-billion dollar college savings program while Krolicki served as state treasurer.
“I am greatly relieved,” Krolicki said after the hearing. “The judge has given me and my family an extraordinary Christmas present.”
The two were indicted in December 2008 and the case was set to go to trial Dec. 14. The indictment was dismissed without prejudice.
The charges against Krolicki and Besser, who was Krolicki’s chief of staff when he served as state treasurer and is now his chief of staff in the lieutenant governor’s office, arose after the 2007 audit of a $3 billion dollar, state-run college savings program.
No state funds were reported missing, but Krolicki was accused of ignoring state rules in spending and bypassing budgeting rules.
Krolicki’s attorneys said the state attorney general's office advised him and his staff on managing the fund.
Saying that the prosecution had been “absurd from the beginning,” Krolicki said he was eager to put the court proceedings behind him and move forward. He added: “I think my political viability is something that’s very strong and I look forward to continue serving the people of Nevada.”
After the hearing, Besser offered harsh words for Masto’s office. She called the prosecution a “partisan witch-hunt.”
“I think the attorney general, at the very least, owes me an apology,” Besser said. “Catharine Cortez Masto should be ashamed of herself and what she allowed her office to do.”
After being either under indictment or investigation for the past 33 months, Besser said she was grateful to see the ordeal come to a conclusion.
“We were confident we would prevail in the end but I’m just thankful the judge was able to end it today,” she said.
Adair’s ruling indicated she found the grand jury indictment to be overly vague – a point that defense attorneys had argued in their hearing on the matter two weeks ago.
In the ruling, Adair wrote, “Defendants contend that the indictment does not provide sufficient notice of the charges against them. The court agrees.”
Prosecutors were quick to leave the courtroom, but later in the day through spokeswoman Edie Cartwright, Masto’s office released a statement saying, "We are reviewing the decision and considering our options."
Krolicki attorney Richard Wright said the attorney general’s office could appeal the ruling to the Nevada Supreme Court; or, alternatively, if it still wished to proceed with its prosecution, it could convene another grand jury to issue a possible indictment.
He said he didn’t want to speculate as to what the attorney general’s office might pursue but said he was pleased with the judge’s ruling.
State Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto came under fire after it was learned last month that her husband had planned a fundraiser for one of Krolicki’s Democratic opponents for the lieutenant governor’s seat. At the last court date, her office offered to remove itself from the prosecution, which the defense declined.
Defense attorneys indicated at the time they were eager for a resolution in the case and didn’t want the further delay that a new prosecutor could pose.
Krolicki was charged with two felony counts of misappropriation and falsification of accounts by a public officer, and two felony counts of misappropriation by a treasurer. Besser, as his chief of staff, was charged with aiding and abetting Krolicki’s alleged crimes.
Looks like it was a witch hunt at the expense of the taxpayers.
Harry Reid's army of dirtbags filing trumped up charges in a court of law against the innocent should be investigated.
catherine cortez masto is a joke...
an absolute joke...
what the hell have you done about the hepatitis epidemic catherine???
anything???
and yet...
you went after the medical assistant based on a complaint filed by the pathetic medical board...
an entity that is even more worthless than you...
bottom line...
catherine cortez masto is not qualified to be attorney general...
period...
end of story...
YES!!
Krolicki said it best -- ". . . the prosecution had been 'absurd from the beginning'. . ."
The question now is who in government is going to hold this AG accountable for squandering public resources?
Typical Nevada judge... Just rubber-stamp and look the other way. Oh no, there's no corruption in this state... (laughs cynically...)
Look behind the curtain and you'll see the smiling face of...surprise, Mr. Government Health Care!
Republicans whine and scream all the time over "government waste", but how is it that they never complain when one of their own spends our tax dollars on his political campaign? The irony never ceases to amaze me.
dh-
Krook-licki (mis)used state funds to personally appear in (again, state sponsored!) ads promoting the college tuition savings program. Why did he have to insert himself into every ad, and do it just in time to announce his run for Lt. Governor?
It's not like Cortez Masto's prosecution was perfect, but there was definitely a strong case against Krook-licki.
http://blogs.lasvegascitylife.com/variou...
Maybe when one of those rare honest judges surfaces, we'll actually see a fair trial and we the Nevada taxpayers will have our day in court.
It was dismissed without prejudice, so they can convene another grand jury and indict them again.
The judge didn't find them innocent of the charges, just that the indictment was too vague, which is procedural and does not absolve either defendant of wrongdoing.
This pretty well sums it all up. The AG is a crook.
State Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto came under fire after it was learned last month that her husband had planned a fundraiser for one of Krolicki's Democratic opponents for the lieutenant governor's seat. At the last court date, her office offered to remove itself from the prosecution, which the defense declined.
edgewise -- I believe double jeopardy would prevent that.
In what political party is Judge Adair registered?
The stench of dirty politics rising up from the office of Cortez Mastro pretty much makes her a democrat for sure.
KillerB: when charges are dismissed without prejudice, they can be brought again.
"or, alternatively, if it still wished to proceed with its prosecution, it could convene another grand jury to issue a possible indictment."
DEMOCRATState Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and DEMOCRAT Senator Harry Reid cooked this up to keep Brian Krolicki out of the Senate Race against Reid.
On 12-29-2008 the LV Sun had a "Hero" piece on DEMOCRAT Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto on how she intends to raise the ethical standard. She is a straight arrow..."
What is at play here is that DEMOCRAT Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto abused her exercise of selective prosecutorial discretion. What happened to gathering the evidence before a decision.
DEMOCRAT Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto prejudged that when her BFF confessed lobbyist Bob Loux stole real money that it would only be an ethics problem.
DEMOCRAT Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto prejudged that BFF Loux did not commit a misdemeanor or a felony.
Meanwhile DEMOCRAT Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto prejudged that Krolicki was a felon.
Glad to see someone with the ability to see it was only a political game at taxpayers expense. Harry is a joke, So it Masto.
How is this partisan when:
The Deputy Attorney General who prosecuted Krolicki is a REPUBLICAN?
The judge who dismissed the case is a REPUBLICAN whose husband is very active in Nevada Republican politics?
The AGs at the time that Krolicki claims had deputies signing off on his corrupt activity were REPUBLICANS, Brian Sandoval (I'm a quitter like Sarah Palin) and George Chanos?
So maybe his fake exoneration is partisan? It's always ok for REPUBLICANS to suck at the public's trough.
Palin-Krolicki 2012!
Democrat bullroar available in dump truck load quanities, on sale now. LOL
Masto was just doing what Harry Reid ordered her to do! And she did a good job eliminating a viable opponent for the majority leader who can't even poll better numbers than a numbskull son of a former basketball coach or the bimbo wife of a questionable casino exec.
O.K.,so Krolicki slips the noose. Congratulations, Nevada -we just let another crook off the hook.
I'm a registered Republican and have been my entire life. This isn't about partisan politics. I can't stand Harry Reid, but to try and fix the blame for this investigation on some sort of conspiracy is ridiculous. There was plenty of evidence to move this forward, and even more questions that may have been answered in a court room that will now be swept under the rug.
If there's a conspiracy to be found, it rests with Krolicki.
Why were Krolicki's supporters so anxious to make keep this case out of a court room?
Was it because Krolicki would have to testify under oath about how virtually every document in the treasurer's office was destroyed and the computer servers wiped clean?
Was it because he would have to explain why he gave a no-bid contract for some crappy investments to Lehman Brothers costing the state hundreds of thousands of dollars?
How about the relationship between Bob Seale and whether or not interest earned on state investments was siphoned for other purposes?
Or maybe this case could have shed some light on the strange rise and fall (or was it fall and rise) of Mark De Stefano - Seale and Krolicki's hand-picked successor to be treasurer. Go on line some time and see how De Stefano suddenly became a whiz-bang investor and just as suddenly became a big-time campaign contributor to Republican candidates across the country.
Nope, I'm afraid these questions won't get answered. I'm also afraid that I'm losing my party to a bunch of criminals. If the AG botched things this badly, maybe the feds should have a crack at it. Or maybe, we'll just do what we always do in Nevada when our state politicians excel at corruption - elect them to the U.S. Senate!
Hey atdleft,
AG Flakie Schrew Del Papa, Brian's adviser, did the same thing for 12 years promoting such cr@p as take your dog for a walk, national don't do this/don't do that day, etc.
When is Manny Cortez's daughter going to go after her? Oh, I forgot. Flakie Schrew is a democrat, like Pinkie Reid.
slimecity, atdleft -- exactly why are you saying Krolicki and his aide are crooks? Nothing went into their pockets. The only thing they ran afoul of were questionable regs . . . which the AG's office advised them to do what they did.
edgewise -- and double jeopardy fits into your definition how? I've only seen the prejudice qualification on dismissals in non-criminal cases.
Let's see......
She refuse to prosecute a Democrat who gave himself a 35% unauthorized raise because of a "conflict of interest" with the AG.
She then threw out the the very clear conflict of interest when she decided to prosecute Krolicki.
Now, her husband was going to have a fundraiser for a person running against Krolicki and she claims she no freaking idea that he was doing that.
I believe it is about time either the Nevada bar association or the "ethics" board brought her in and give her a spanking.
She sure did get spanked today.
I am looking forward to the day when we are going to have an AG that represents that the whole State and not just Democrats and who does not lie and who has a some competence to run the AG's office.
Lady....just because Harry Reid calls you up to do some of his dirty work does not mean you have to do it.
The judge - Adair- is a republican as is Krolicki. Masto is a crummy A.G. This was a "technical" reprieve. There is no double jeopardy in this case as there was no trial or even the beginning of one. This is simply a dismissal on a technicality. There is nothing that says either of these people is "innocent", so Krolicki should not be so happy. The dismissal was based on the fact that the indictment of what he did was not clear enough Had Krolicki been smart, he would have demanded a quick trial cause with the dopes at the AG's office, he would have been been able to prove that they didn't even know what they were trying to prove.
What we do know is that in a world were a decent prosecutor can have a grand jury indict a ham sandwich, Masto and her staff can't even do that correctly. Of course in Nevada, it is really hard to tell. Cause for all those who see Masto as a Democrat, what one should really see her as is a good ole gal (via Manny Cortez) whose political godfather is Sig Rogich (nominally a Republican) but really just leader of the good ole boys and gals. Justice in Nevada. A place where speaking the truth gets you screwed.
Harry Reid is a crook!!!!
Harry Reid is a cook!!!!
"there is not enough evidence to convict"
That's not what was found, here. What the judge decided was that the indictment was too vague.
That's not a finding of innocence, it's more of a procedural violation.
As noted in the story, the attourney general can go to another grand jury and seek another indictment. Double jeopardy does not apply, nor was there any adjudication of the facts of the case.
Saying that there is not enough evidence to convict isn't true.
Harry is a crock!!!!
Uh oh, I know what's next.
Either the AG is incompetent or the AG could not find enough evidence even to perform a proper indictment.
It is a close call.......AG incompetent or not enough evidence to indict.
I thought that bringing charges against him was frivolous in nature since he didn't steal anything or use the money for personal gain, but was only acting in the office's capacity. Of course, his political reputation is ruined in this state.