Opinion:

Repercussions From Recent Galardi Trial Ripple Gently

No Outrage From Current Office Holders --- Trial Unknown In Northern Areas Of State

by Johnny Gunn

There appears to be many stories that can be drawn from the recently ended Galardi/G-Sting corruption trial, foremost among them, Las Vegas is cleaning up its rotten image.  The concept of "What happens here stays here" is not the image of a corruption free community, nor of course is "Sin City" something those that pay taxes should be happy to live with.  On the other hand a garrulous mayor that promotes the drinking of gin to fourth graders and is best known as the mouthpiece of hoodlums is not something that will bring serious business entrepreneurs to Clark County.

One thing that stands out from the trial, other than Mike Galardi's colorful testimony is that there is untold wealth in the $kindustry.  When young women have to pay the boss to get the job, then have to pay the boss a percentage from the lap dance, then the boss forces patrons to sign credit card receipts far in excess of what was actually charged, the money rolls in by the truckload.  And if that boss wants something special from a local politician, that money turns heads, turns stomachs, turns bad people into criminals.

From what we have learned from the San Diego and Las Vegas trials dealing with Mike Galardi and corrupt politicians, several questions comes to mind.  Why did it take the feds to break it out?  Are the Clark County police and investigative agencies so inept that they never knew this existed?  Or are they just as corrupt as the politicians that went down?  One would think that every elected official in Clark County would now be standing on milk cartons in every populated area demanding further investigations.  Instead we get silence so deafening that it rattles one's head bone.

Many names other than those that stood in the docks were brought before us during the trial including high ranking elected, appointed, and employed leaders in Las Vegas and Clark County.  The District Attorney, the Mayor, department heads, and some of the biggest land speculators and developers are probably waiting for the knock on the door from federal agents with more indictments, but there is no ongoing Clark County Grand Jury investigation that we know of.

It isn't known if the trial and all its slime and filth is responsible for Clark County Sheriff Bill Young dropping out of his race to stay in office.  He is just completing his first term in office.  Are there problems between the Sheriff and the District Attorney following the aborted investigations at city hall by the DA?  Will it be only up to the federal government to take the lid off Clark County corruption?

The jury decided that what had happened was filth of a magnitude not seen in Clark County in years.  A question from a northern Nevada reader implied that things were worse during the Bugsy Siegel era.  Take a closer look and that statement doesn't hold true.  This level of public corruption as brought out in testimony in Federal District Court in this trial hasn't existed in Clark County's history.  Everyone has heard stories from the past, but this was testimony under oath, not an urban myth.  This trial will be in Nevada history books and many are saying, "It's about time."

Many in northern Nevada, particularly Washoe County are not even aware of the magnitude of the trial and its consequences.  Some believe that corruption doesn't exist in Washoe County, but in reality it's just a matter of time before the lid is blown off some of the under the table dealings that take place in the Reno-Sparks area.

Testimony from the trial is hard to read.  The slime and foul odor emanating from those that participated in the social perversion will stain Clark County politics for years to come and it will take strong people to work themselves out of the current sewer.  Voters in Clark County however have an opportunity to make things right by doing as much research on potential office holders as they can.  When those looking to be elected to Las Vegas or Clark County positions spend an inordinate amount of time in topless joints, have close associations with those under federal indictment and brag about it, and are rather loose with their own personal ethics and standards, they should not be elected.  Braggadocio is not wisdom.

For many the guilty verdicts and guilty pleas are a sign that the masses in southern Nevada are fed up with the cutesy little games that are in reality a corruption of public trust.  Those people accused and found guilty were also in charge of spending your tax dollars.  Those waiting for the knock on the door might think about packing a bag or two in anticipation of a stay at a federal prison.  The "citizens" of Clark County appear to be awakening from a long sleep.

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Cartoon by Thomas Nast, April 12, 1874