GOVERNMENT CONFLICTS, CORRUPTION AND INDICTMENTS

- NEVADA -

Date	Individual / State Agency	Who, What, Where?
03/17/05	Yucca Mountain	Government Employees Falsify Yucca Mountain Documents An employee of the U. S. Geological Survey may have falsified documents related to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project. The falsified data involved computer modeling for water infiltration and the climate at the site. The potential felony was discovered by review of a number of e-mails in which the employee “indicated that he had fabricated documentation of his work.”
06/01/06	Clark County	Two Former Commissioners Convicted of Bribery According to the Boston Herald, two former commissioners were convicted of federal charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and extortion. Former Clark County (Las Vegas) commissioners Dario Herrera and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey face more than 45 years in the slammer for their nefarious activities. Herrera, Kincaid-Chauncey, and two other former commissioners, were indicted in May 2003 on charges they accepted cash and campaign contributions from the owner of three Las Vegas strip clubs. Michael Galardi, the owner, said he wanted to make a strip club he was opening the best in town but he needed help from the commissioners. “What I was paying them was, basically, chump change with what I would get back. If they pass enough tough laws, they can put me out of business.” Galardi claimed he paid $200,00 to Herrera and $85,000 to Kincaid-Chauncey. Herrera denied ever receiving cash from Galardi, but admitted receiving a $10,000 campaign contribution when he ran as a Democrat for Congress in 2002 (so I guess that’s OK). Herrera also admitted lap dances at a Galardi club, having an affair with an employee and receiving oral sex from another. The two other commissioners have also been convicted and are awaiting sentencing.
08/01/06	Coyote Springs Valley	Will Politicians Benefit From New City of 200,000? – What a silly question but plans are afoot to build a spanking new city in one of the most inhospitable deserts in Nevada. Coyote Springs is a 67 square mile tract a land an hour northeast of Las Vegas. Coyote Springs Valley will have as many as 159,000 homes, 16 golf courses and a full complement of stores and service facilities, and is so barren that, until recently, its best use was thought to be as a weapons test range. Helping make Coyote Springs come alive was an alliance between a multimillionaire developer and one of the highest-ranking members of Congress: Nevada Democrat Harry Reid, the Senate minority leader and a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. Over the last four years, Reid has used his influence in Washington to help the developer, Nevada super-lobbyist Whittemore, clear obstacles from Coyote Springs' path. At one point, Reid proposed opening the way for Whittemore to develop part of the site for free — something for which the developer later agreed to pay the government $10 million. As the project advanced, Reid received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Whittemore. The contributions not only went to Reid's Senate campaigns, but also to his leadership fund, which he used to help bankroll the campaigns of Democratic colleagues. Whittemore also helped advance the legal careers of two of Reid's four sons. One of the two, Leif Reid, who is Whittemore's personal lawyer, has represented the developer throughout the Coyote Springs project, including in negotiations with federal officials. Of course, we have to listen to the smoke screen put out by the politicians. "There is a reason every major Republican and Democratic officeholder in Nevada has fought for Coyote Springs — it will create jobs and make the state an even better place to live and raise a family," said a Reid spokesman. The site was now in private hands - rare in a state where the federal government owns 87% of the land. Nothing remotely as large and well located might come on the market again. Senator Reid and others in Nevada's congressional delegation tucked an obscurely worded provision into a huge land bill to benefit a wide range of interests in Clark County. The provision shifted the power corridor off Whittemore's land and onto federal land. Since 2000, Whittemore, his wife and the Coyote Springs company have given Reid's senatorial campaign and political action committees at least $45,000. That included $35,000 for Reid's leadership PAC, the Searchlight Leadership Fund, which helped him advance as a Senate leader. Most of that money was contributed in 2002 shortly after Reid introduced the Clark County land bill. In 2000, Whittemore gave an additional $20,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which Reid promoted as a party leader. Prior to 2000, the Whittemores had given Reid and his Senate campaign committee a total of $6,500, plus $5,000 for his leadership PAC. Alexis Strauss, an official in the Environmental Protection Agency's regional office that oversees Nevada, notified the Corps of Engineers that her office had concerns. “We respectfully object to the issuance of a permit for the proposed project because the authorization may result in substantial and unacceptable impacts to aquatic resources of national importance," Strauss wrote. Whittemore had not seen the EPA move coming and he called Nevada officials, his fellow-developers, Senators Ensign and Reid, and Leif Reid. Less than a week after the issue arose, Sen. Reid's then-top aide for energy and environment, Peter Umhofer, called the regional office. Whittemore said he had asked Umhofer to set up a meeting for him with federal officials. Umhofer also contacted the Corps of Engineers, but Reid intervened. Whittemore, Leif Reid and their consultants tried to persuade the EPA to drop the aquatic resource designation. Leif Reid and others had met with EPA and other federal officials at the site and the atmosphere became conciliatory. Coyote Springs agreed to leave several washes untouched, reduced the number of acres of waterways to be filled in and pledged to make environmental improvements on 19 acres of other wash land. "It is the right thing to do," he said, "and there is an economic incentive in making the project proceed." The only question left is how much money will the politicians put in their pockets?