Vol. 5, No. 3
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December 1, 2007
Nevada's Online State News Journal
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COPYWRITING
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Where Is Las Vegas City
Hall Corruption Probe?
Public Documents No
Longer Deemed Public?
by Johnny Gunn
A little background, maestro, if you please. Former Nevada Attorney General George Chanos commissioned an investigation by the law firm Senn Meulemans of Las Vegas, Reno, and San Francisco into alleged questionable dealings between Las Vegas City Hall staff, Las Vegas elected and former elected officials, and land developer Bill Walters. That investigation led to a public release of the investigation that indicated alleged criminal activity by city staff and city elected and former elected officials. The report and the investigation were hampered by several problems, among them a lack of subpoena power, and a follow up by the state. The report was issued at the end of September 2006, well over one year ago, and there has been no follow up to this point. It's important to point out that the alleged criminal activity was from city employees and elected officials, not from the land developer.
Not only has no further investigation taken place, the 157 page report has even been removed from the Attorney General's web page for no apparent reason. This public document reveals alleged criminal activity that would put a saint in prison and is no longer available for view. According to a spokesperson for current Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, the report has been turned over to the FBI and the charges in it are no longer being investigated by the state agency. Former Attorney General George Chanos said at the time the report was released, "This report, in painstaking detail, demonstrates years of irregularities and failures by certain City employees in negotiating the lease of land, the transfer of water rights, and the eventual sale of the land to Mr. Walters." Chanos indicated that further legal action from his office is probably on its way when he said, "To the extent that their legal rights are or have been violated (the taxpayers of Nevada), this office has the authority and the duty to take corrective action."
Cortez Masto apparently doesn't have the same feelings. The investigation details thousands of pages of relevant documents, letters, memos, and e-mails regarding the City of Las Vegas' purchase, lease, and sale of the land now known as the Royal Links Golf Course. The land was supposed to be a buffer property adjacent to a sewer plant, and when the land was first leased and then sold to developer Bill Walters deed restrictions were placed on the property that forbade the land to be developed into housing. It was city employee's and elected official's actions during the period when Walters was looking to have the deed restrictions lifted that has led to the investigation.
Walters was able to swing a deal with the City and purchase the property for the Royal Links Golf Course at less than market value. According to the Senn Meulemans report, special treatment from city staff gave him water rights that weren't available to other developers, and special favors were apparently offered as well. The deed restrictions were in place because the land was adjacent to an operating sewer treatment plant and was designed as a buffer. Las Vegas City Council, led by Mayor Oscar Goodman favored, even voted for a lifting of the deed restrictions. That vote was rescinded when documents indicating under the table criminal behavior by city employees began showing up. Complicity by the mayor and council members is hinted at in the report but no charges have been filed.
The situation began back in 1997 and Walters was the only developer to be given a soil study on the land. Walters' lease was for 50-years for the Royal Links Golf Course. In 1999 Walters purchased the land for $894,000 with the deed restriction that no homes could be built on the land. In 2005 Walters announced his plans to create a residential area on the land. In a deal worked out with city employees Walters would pay the city $7.2 million, the residential value of the land back in 1999, and have the deed restrictions lifted.
It was at this point that certain city documents began surfacing involving former Mayor Jan Jones, former Public Works Director Richard Goecke and others. Current Mayor Oscar Goodman, formerly Walters' attorney, claimed that the entire investigation came under the influences of attorney client privilege, but the City Council rescinded that move. Some of the actions by Goecke were accepted by the District Attorney as being illegal, but he said the statute of limitations had run out and that would not allow him to prosecute. Other than the Senn Meulemans report, no other investigation has taken place, either at the Clark County or state level. The Senn Meulemans investigation was led by former Washoe County District Attorney Cal Dunlap.
According to the Senn Meulemans report, "Our review has led to some important conclusions. In our opinion, former Public Works Director, Richard Goecke, several times over many years, seemed to place the interests of real estate developer Bill Walters above the interests of the city of Las Vegas and its constituents, in breach of the public purpose doctrine." According to the report, Goecke refused to be interviewed and did not contribute any information to the investigation. The report says, "However, the various city Councils, perhaps through lack of adequate information, at times through inadequate briefings, and at times through concealed or misinformation, ratified and approved the majority of Mr. Goecke's recommendations."
The investigators did not have subpoena powers and Senn Meulemans says this hindered their investigation. Among the key people involved in the investigation, it was Bill Walters along with Goecke that stood out as not allowing themselves to be interviewed. Neither gave any documents to the investigation either. The report states, "Our investigation was not intended to and did not focus on whether there was any wrongdoing by real estate developer Bill Walters or his companies. We leave it to law enforcement and the public prosecutors in the state and federal government to review this report and other available information and examine the conduct of persons in these matters who are in the private sector."
It has never been determined if the City of Las Vegas employees actually turned over all the relevant documents the investigators asked for. There have been persistent rumors that city staff withheld many documents, may have destroyed some, and was not forthcoming with investigators. It is the lack of subpoena power that hampered this part of the investigation as well. As it stands at this moment, the report is not available for public viewing except on this web site. The full report, and Chanos said at the time, "the public paid for this report and they have a right to know its contents," can be seen in pdf file by clicking here.
The FBI has reportedly created what is called a Public Corruption Squad in the Las Vegas office, but repeated calls have not been answered. It was reported earlier this year that Special Agent Richard Beasley of Las Vegas was named supervisor, but even this is uncertain. Whether or not the FBI is investigating the alleged criminal and conspiracy charges stemming from the Senn Meulemans report simply can't be verified at this time.
Would this be classified as a travesty of justice? In many eyes, unfortunately, it is simply a way of life in Las Vegas. The concept of Sin City fouls the legal structures in which civilized people are supposed to live safely. Judges are challenged as to their ethics and don't bother to respond, whole bodies of political entities are jailed and there is no uproar, $kindustry felons flaunt their ability to do as they please and law enforcement doesn't see, and when taxpayer money goes for criminal activity, no one, including the state's highest law enforcement officer, seems to care. And, according to the mayor, Las Vegas is the best place in the world to live.
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