Thursday, June 19, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CAMPAIGN MAILERS: Backers turn on Moncrief

Pair claim councilwoman conspired to violate election laws to oust McDonald

Mayor Oscar Goodman swears Janet Moncrief into the Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday at City Hall. Watching are her daughter, Kara, left, and Councilman Lawrence Weekly, right. Photo by Christine H. Wetzel. Chris Christoff Steve Miller

Before Janet Moncrief was sworn in Wednesday as a member of the Las Vegas City Council, two of her former supporters alleged she conspired with them to violate Nevada election laws and oust incumbent Michael McDonald.

Longtime council critics Peter "Chris" Christoff and Steve Miller said Wednesday they lied during the spring campaign when they said they were not involved in Moncrief's campaign.

Christoff was a candidate in the Ward 1 race against Moncrief and McDonald, but was eliminated in April's primary election. He said he agreed to be a front for four negative mailers targeting McDonald. Miller, a former councilman, contends he was a consultant who worked on one of the hit pieces he now says Moncrief distributed under a false identity.

Christoff and Miller submitted affidavits Wednesday to Secretary of State Dean Heller and Attorney General Brian Sandoval detailing their involvement. Neither Christoff nor Miller provided any documentation to support their claims.

During a break in her first council meeting Wednesday, Moncrief said she did not put Christoff up to sending out the fliers attacking McDonald, nor did her campaign fund the mailers.

"Absolutely not," Moncrief said after reading Christoff's statement. "I never talked to him on the phone. I didn't even have that kind of money to send out my own fliers. ... He said he sent them, he swore he did. This has nothing to do with me."

Efforts to reach her later to address Miller's comments were unsuccessful. City spokesman David Riggleman said Moncrief told him that Miller's comments, like Christoff's, had no basis in fact and she would "not dignify the accusations by saying any more."

Heller is probing a complaint filed April 25 by McDonald's advertising consultant, Jim Ferrence, who said even before the primary that Christoff and Moncrief were working as a unit against McDonald.

Ferrence asked Heller's office to investigate whether Moncrief and Christoff violated nine laws including the failure to report contributions and expenditures, failure to properly identify parties in political communications and assisting contributions made in the name of another.

The secretary of state's office has been working on Ferrence's complaint but hasn't decided whether to ask the attorney general's office to prosecute, officials from both offices said. If the complaint is found to be without merit, it would be dismissed.

Christoff denied any involvement with Moncrief's campaign during the election season, saying he was operating independently from Moncrief. Miller also denied he was working for Moncrief.

"We've known all along they were lying," Ferrence said, referring to Christoff and Moncrief.

He believes Christoff and Miller are lashing out now because they thought they would be part of Moncrief's inner circle after she won.

Ferrence said he believes they are now telling the truth in admitting involvement in a series of negative mailers. "There's no motivation for them to be lying any more."

Miller and Christoff both said their turnaround from supporters to detractors was sparked by Moncrief's decision to hire advertising executive Tom Letizia to organize a victory fund-raiser July 1 and hold it at Cili, a golf club owned by Bill Walters.

Miller contended that by hiring Letizia, Moncrief is aligning herself with strip club owner Rick Rizzolo, currently under investigation by the FBI as part of an organized crime probe.

Letizia, who raised money for Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, said Rizzolo is an advertising client of his, but that Rizzolo is not involved in the Moncrief fund-raiser.

"She sold out within three days of her election," Miller said.

Christoff's claims are "totally baseless" Letizia said. "The people who know Tom Letizia know everything I do is above board and professional," the advertising executive said.

Miller said he has the names of people who could substantiate his claims of election violations by Moncrief, but he said he will only give them under oath.

In saying he previously lied about his involvement in the election, Miller said, "I have a right to change my mind."

If he's dubbed a liar, Miller said, "I couldn't care less. If someone is going to call me a liar, I'm going to laugh it off."

Christoff wrote in his affidavit that Moncrief secretly mailed 17,000 postcards to Ward 1 voters identifying the sender as the "Committee to Oust Michael McDonald." The mailer quoted Goodman, using quotes from 2000, when the mayor called McDonald names including "sleazeball" and "vermin."

"Without Ms. Moncrief's knowledge, I immediately told the news media that I was responsible for the mailer in order to prevent Ms. Moncrief from offending Mayor Goodman or causing damage to her campaign." He said later Moncrief "asked if she could use my name again on mailers she did not want to be associated with."

He said he doesn't have enough money to pay for the fliers and that Moncrief paid for the printing and postage for four subsequent fliers. Those fliers should have been reported on her campaign finance reports, he said.

Christoff said the printer was Jerry Wolkon of ZMZ Direct Inc. Wolkon failed to return repeated calls Wednesday to confirm Christoff's claim that Moncrief or someone from her campaign paid for mailers that went out under Christoff's name.

Miller said he was an adviser to Moncrief who donated his writing, editing and consulting services to her but was not listed on her disclosure as an in-kind donor as the law requires.

A third man, a friend of Christoff's, said he was at a print shop where Moncrief, her friend Bob Stupak and Miller were all putting stamps on two last-minute mailers: one under Moncrief's name, the other under Christoff's name. Bob Ahern said it was "like a pajama party" as they slapped stamps on the two sets of mailers.

When contacted, Stupak said he had no comment. "I have no interest in politics. I don't have a hotel and casino and I need no influence in City Hall," the gaming entrepreneur said.

Stupak stood in the back of the council chambers during Moncrief's swearing in, where she told the audience, "I'm amazed and honored to be here today. Thanks for believing in me and giving me a chance."

Moncrief, a 43-year-old nurse with no prior political experience, was appointed to the Real Estate Committee, the Regional Jail Commission and the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository Committee.

Review-Journal writer Adrienne Packer contributed to this report.