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Las Vegas Sun file
Catherine Cortez Masto suffered a political setback Monday.
By J. Patrick Coolican (contact) 
, David McGrath Schwartz
Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki
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)
Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto has long been viewed as a rising star in the Nevada Democratic Party.
She won a landslide victory in 2006 with broad support, even in rural counties where Democrats have in recent years been clobbered.
Cortez Masto suffered a significant blow Monday, however, when District Judge Valerie Adair dismissed Cortez Masto’s high-profile prosecution of Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki. Cortez Masto had charged Krolicki over misallocation of office funds in a case that was always viewed as legally problematic.
With the dismissal, Cortez Masto has opened herself to charges of politicizing her office and prosecutorial misconduct, dealing her a career first — exposure to attack and the potential of facing a tough opponent after none had been forthcoming.
As one Democratic consultant put it, “It’s clearly not good for her. It’s a question of how bad it’s going to be.”
One member of the political establishment, who is backing Cortez Masto, said the failed prosecution “has damaged her significantly.” Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the source said, “Sadly, this potentially has a lasting and damning effect on perceptions about her competence.”
Ryan Erwin, Krolicki’s longtime political adviser, is using Adair’s ruling as signal flare to draw out GOP challengers. “Any credible Republican lawyer ought to be evaluating a run against her,” Erwin said. “It was defining for her.”
The names of several prominent Republican attorneys are already being bandied about as potential challengers, including former U.S. Attorney Greg Brower, former university Regent Bret Whipple, state Sen. Mark Amodei and Regent Michael Wixom.
(Brower declined to comment and Whipple declined to rule out a run, but said it’s unlikely. Amodei didn’t return a phone call and Wixom could not be reached early Monday evening.)
Nor is Cortez Masto completely solid with her Democratic base. Although a well-liked establishment player and lock to be nominated for reelection, some grass-roots liberals have grumbled that she has not been aggressive enough advancing causes in the manner of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo or Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, both Democrats.
The Krolicki investigation arose from a 2007 legislative audit into the Nevada College Savings Program, which was overseen by then-Treasurer Krolicki and his former Chief of Staff Kathy Besser. The audit found that $6 million earned through the program was not deposited in the state treasury. Instead, the money was used for legal costs and to market the state’s college savings program.
Some of the advertisements prominently featured Krolicki.
The audit was a black mark on Krolicki’s career, but found no money missing. Because of that, even some of Krolicki’s harshest critics did not expect it to lead to criminal charges.
Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, chairwoman of the audit committee when the College Savings Program was under review, said she “was surprised when formal charges were brought forward, given that audits are used to find problems and focus mostly on getting them fixed.”
“Clearly, Mr. Krolicki broke numerous laws, including the appropriations act, by ignoring the checks and balances of the state budget system,” she said. But, Leslie added, the judge’s dismissal of the case was “a reasonable decision, given the facts as I know them.”
Adair’s ruling found the indictment to be deficient in a number of areas, including specifics about the misallocations. The judge also said the indictment “fails to specify the duty that was allegedly violated.”
Krolicki said he is moving forward. He’s expected to run for reelection.
Cortez Masto declined to comment.
The attorney general’s office could appeal Adair’s decision to the Supreme Court or convene another grand jury; a spokeswoman said Cortez Masto is considering options.
Cortez Masto, who is married to a retired Secret Service agent, comes from Nevada royalty — her father was longtime Clark County Commissioner and friend of the Strip Manny Cortez.
Her Hispanic roots put her on the right side of the state’s demographic trends as Nevada’s Hispanic community, comprising 25 percent of the state’s populace, grows more politically active. Some analysts credit Hispanics with delivering a larger-than-expected Nevada victory for President Barack Obama last year.
Those around Cortez Masto, including power brokers such as Billy Vassiliadis and Sig Rogich, see her as a future governor and had guided her on a careful, risk-averse path as a 2006 candidate and as attorney general.
But the prosecution of Krolicki posed legal and political risks which appear to have backfired on Cortez Masto.
After she failed to prosecute Robert Loux, former director of the Agency for Nuclear Projects who gave himself and his five staff members pay raises above those authorized by the Legislature, the Republican outrage over the attempt to prosecute Krolicki only grew.
Cortez Masto’s husband, Paul, then planned to host a fundraiser for a potential Democratic challenger to Krolicki.
Suddenly, Cortez Masto, once viewed as a bipartisan conciliator, appeared to be hyperpartisan.
Besser gave voice Monday to some of the outrage over the dismissed indictments: “I think the attorney general, at the very least, owes me an apology,” Besser said. “Catherine Cortez Masto should be ashamed of herself and what she allowed her office to do.”
Even if Cortez Masto doesn’t appeal the ruling, this episode likely isn’t finished.
A source close to Krolicki said allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and calls for an investigation of Cortez Masto may be forthcoming.
Sun reporter Cara McCoy contributed to this story.
good i will vote against her. she also failed to nailed my mortgage lady for fraud i hope the hammer falled down on her
I will bet most of the anonymous posters here are men. Having fun beating up on a woman?
Now back to the work that Patrick and David neglected to do:
The judge is a REPUBLICAN and her husband is a major REPUBLICAN operative and fundraiser.
The attorney who prosecuted Krolicki, Conrad Hafen, is a REPUBLICAN.
The AGs whose staff signed off on Krolicki's contracts for these accounts are REPUBLICANS: BRIAN SANDOVAL and GEORGE CHANOS.
So how is this partisan again?
Cortez-Masto isn't the worst of them. She has her quirks, but for the most part doesn't seem to do much unless it could further her career.
Now, James Hardesty - that one needs to go. He's as corrupt as they come, and he's a NV Supreme Ct justice.
Obviously she used her office to help her boss...Reid.
Obviously she did it in an incompetent manner.
Obviously she lied about not knowing that her husband was going to give a fund raiser against the man her office was prosecuting.
That in itself should get some rebuke from the Nevada bar or by some ethics board.
I recently heard her speak at a function.
It was horrible. I think they could have had a card board cut-out give the speech and it would have been 100x's better.
catherine cortez masto is a joke...
an absolute joke...
what the hell has she done about the hepatitis epidemic???
anything???
anything at all???
and yet...
yet...
she went after a medical assistant based on a complaint filed by the pathetic medical board...
an entity that is even more worthless than catherine...
she did the worthless pathetic medical board's dirty work...
she got played by the worthless pathetic medical board...
catherine cortez masto is dumb...
dumb, dumb, dumb...
bottom line...
catherine cortez masto is not qualified to be attorney general...
period...
end of story...
oh by the way...
i am a proud liberal democrat...
and it is time for catherine to exit the political arena...
she simply is not qualified...
Looks like she's been sucked into Uncle Harry's Black Hole.
Masto is good and simply doing her job.
I question the judge in this matter.
How close is the judge to Krolicki?
Anyone honestly interested in the facts should have a look at the state auditor's report. It's online at
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/lcb/audit/Ful...
You don't need to read the whole thing if you don't want to; there's a well-written summary near the beginning.
Read it not as a Republican or a Democrat, but just as a citizen.
Cortez Masto and a few others in her office do not adhere to the promises they made under oath for the office they hold. They do not support and defend the United States Constitution. For that reason Cortez Masto should just step down as Attorney General and not be allowed to hold any public office in America.
It is quite excellent to watch this AG going down. Not only does this case illustrate the typical prosecutor mindset -- get the conviction no matter what -- but it also shines a light on the ever-growing problem with allowing attorneys far too much power in government.
On the flipside the lawmakers must also take some blame here. Why is what Krolicki and his aide did even a crime, let alone a felony? Public moneys weren't found in their pockets.
"Those around Cortez Masto, ... see her as a future governor and had guided her on a careful, risk-averse path as a 2006 candidate and as attorney general."
Right but you still have to do the job
Any good prosecutor can convict a guilty actor if there is sufficient evidence. However, it takes a really exceptional prosecutor to convict someone who might be innocent. As I've said before, the problem with legal profession is that 98% of lawyers give the rest of us a bad name.
Their will be many that sink on Harrys ship. masto, rory, harry himself, ......someone play the music as they go down.
Angry: that's what I said. Man, you're so angry you can't see straight.
The judge dismissed the case, without prejudice (i.e. the case can be refiled) based upon a deficiency in the pleadings. The judge did not dismiss the case on the merits, and did not vindicate either of the charged defendants. Essentially, it was just bad lawyering by the staff attorney who drafted and signed the pleading (i.e. the charging document -- in this case an indictment. The law is very clear on what is required in a criminal charging document and the judge followed the law. The staff attorney should have known that since it's Criminal Procedure 101. Go back and do it right. If they'd done it right in the first place, we wouldn't have wasted all of this time and taxpayer money.
Phargo: You get the Chuckle of the Day Award! Yuck, yuck, yuck. I almost (almost, I said) threw up my Fosters. I think Angry has been going to Sunday services with Jeremiah Wrong and Dingo the Yellow Submariner.
Frankly I am amazed that this paper/website is trumpeting the faults of a DEMOCRAT! Give her a job at the Sun when your hiring again. She can report on tool's or car's or something. Desporte's!
The picture of Cortez Masto at the top of this article pretty much shows her for what she really is. A deer caught in the headlights.
She had no business taking on Harry's dirty work and now it's come back to bite her.
LMAO!!!!!!!!!
Is Nevada full of worthless liberal politicans in high offices who have shown to be utterly incompetent. They make conservatives like Gibbons look like a political genius, which he is not.
Masto said, "I do not believe it is in the best interests of the state to proceed further with this case," she said. "A consideration in my office also was the resources and the limited resources that we have at this point in time. We have priorities in this office with other cases, as well." HOWEVER, SHE FINDS IT IN THE BEST INTEREST IN THE STATE TO VIOLATE BRADY V MARYLAND. SHE WAS GIVEN THE DOCUMENTS THAT SUPPORTED THE CASE PENDING IN THE 9TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS. SHE CHOSE TO COVERUP THE ILLEGAL ACTS OF THE WASHOE COUNTY DA'S ADMINISTRATION FOR THE LAST 21 YEARS WHEN SHE LEARNED THE PROSECUTOR WITHHELD THE EVIDENCE BY THE ADA RON RACHOW THAT SHOWED ANOTHER PERSON HAD COMMITTED THE CRIME FOR WHICH AN INNOCENT MAN, NOLAN KLEIN DIED. JUSTICEFORNOLANKLEIN.COM Tonja Brown
TAKEN FROM THE Nevada Appeal October 30, 2008 "And the board denied Nolan Klein, who was convicted of sexual assault some 19 years ago. Attorney Robert Hager raised serious questions about the evidence in that case saying the district attorney and sheriff's office have allowed cigarette butts with DNA evidence on them to disappear from the evidence despite Klein's request they be maintained so they could be tested.
Klein has always maintained he is innocent of the crime.
Hager said the disappearance of the evidence is especially serious in the wake of a recent TV appearance by Washoe District Attorney Dick Gammick in which he told an interviewer Klein's evidence was tested.
"Where is that report?" Hager demanded, saying it could exonerate Klein of the crime. "It would either be exculpatory or incriminating." THIS PARONS BOARD KNEW THIS MAN WAS DYING AND CHOSE TO KEEP HIM IN PRISON, EVEN WHEN THEY WERE GIVEN THE DOCUMENTS ON JUNE 24, 2009 SHOWING THE HANDWRITTEN NOTES THAT RACHOW WITHHELD THE EVIDENCE THAT CLEARED HIM OF THE CRIME. THEY CHOSE NOT TO PLACE HIM ON THE NOVEMBER'S AGENDA FOR AN EXONERATION INSTEAD THEY CHOSE TO PROTECT THE WASHOE COUNTY'S DA'S OFFICE OF VIOLATING BRADY V MARYLAND. 4 MEMBERS MASTO, GOVERNOR, JUSTICES HARDESTY AND PARAGARRUIRE ARE UP FOR RE-ELECTION. VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE. WHO WILL BE THE NEXT INNOCENT PERSON CONVICTED? WHO WILL BE THE NEXT INNOCENT PERSON TO DIE IN PRISON? COULD IT BE YOUR LOVE ONE? IT HAPPENED TO ME IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU. TONJA BROWN