Wednesday, June 25, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Miller: Records support claim of Moncrief conspiracy

Councilwoman admits talking to ex-councilman but denies role in sending anonymous fliers

Janet Moncrief Steve Miller

Former Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Miller placed 18 cellular phone calls to Councilwoman Janet Moncrief in the months leading up to her primary and general election victories, records provided to the Review-Journal Tuesday show.

Miller said the calls, which occurred between mid-March and mid-May and range from one to 13 minutes in duration, lend credibility to his claim he was involved in her campaign and conspired with her to violate Nevada election laws and defeat Councilman Michael McDonald.

Miller provided the phone records a few days after the secretary of state's office received a letter from another individual, retired printer Robert Conrad, claiming he was told to take action to thwart future anonymous mailings by Moncrief before the primary election.

Moncrief on Tuesday said the phone records in no way support Miller's claims. She again asserted she wasn't a party to any conspiracy to send out anonymous fliers during the campaign.

Last week Miller and Peter "Chris" Christoff, who ran against Moncrief and McDonald and lost in the primary, filed affidavits with the secretary of state saying they participated in creating and mailing anonymous fliers for Moncrief.

"I sent out my own fliers in my own way on my home computer," Moncrief said. "If there's a conspiracy, it's not me."

Moncrief has said she met Miller while campaigning door-to-door. She acknowledged Tuesday taking congratulatory calls from him and talking to him on several occasions regarding "terminology" and "little things in the city I didn't know."

"He's a knowledgable person regarding the city and he was willing to offer whatever education or knowledge he had regarding Ward 1," she said. "If he was (sending out illegal fliers) he sure didn't talk to me about it."

State law requires campaign literature identify the person paying for its publication.

The secretary of state is evaluating a complaint filed April 25 by McDonald's advertising consultant, Jim Ferrence, claiming Christoff and Moncrief were working in concert and illegally against McDonald. Officials with the office said Tuesday no decision has been made whether to open a formal investigation into the matter.

Miller claimed he was a consultant on a negative mailer Moncrief distributed under the guise of McDonald's campaign. He has also said he donated writing, editing and consulting services to her campaign but was not listed as an in-kind donor on her financial reports as the law requires.

Conrad claimed in his letter that he was asked by Moncrief strategist Tony Dane to register the "Committee to Oust Michael McDonald" with the secretary of state's office in March. The name was used on an anonymous mailer attacking McDonald.

At the time, Christoff said he sent the 17,000 mailers attributed to the "Committee to Oust Michael McDonald" and denied Moncrief was involved. He has since changed his story, saying Moncrief asked him to be a front for that and three other fliers.

In his letter, Conrad states, "He (Dane) informed me that Janet Moncrief mailed the flyer (sic) and he was unable to stop her. Mr. Dane also told me that Ms. Moncrief asked Mr. Christoff to take responsibility for the mailer."

Conrad said Dane opposed sending anonymous mailers and asked him to register the name to "kill this committee before any more mail could be sent out." He said the thinking was that Moncrief would have to use a different name to send out fliers.

In response to Conrad's letter, Moncrief again denied having any knowledge of the mailers.

"If they were all doing this, they were doing it without my knowledge because I wouldn't have approved of it," she said.

Miller said the cell records show only a fraction of the contact he had with Moncrief during the campaign. He said he was on his home phone for the majority of the discussions.

"It's not all the activity, it's a certain small percentage," he said. "She wouldn't open her mouth without talking to me."

Dane said Tuesday that he was aware of Miller and Moncrief speaking on "numerous occasions" during the campaign. "Based on that I would say Steve had a part in the campaign," he said.

In a June 13 interview with the Review-Journal, Moncrief said, "Steve Miller, I met him in my walks. He cornered me and quizzed me to death. Talk about a concerned citizen. He has been on my side rooting me on and was tickled about my winning. But I have no contact with either of them (Miller or Christoff). I guess there were rumors I was going to hire Steve Miller for one of my positions. I'm not going to hire Steve Miller, I don't even know him."

Miller's about face from Moncrief supporter to accuser was prompted by her hiring 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 reasons 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.

He also admits his opposition to her is fueled by his disappointment over not being hired as a member of her staff.

"I was trying to get in to help the city again," Miller said. "My reaction after the fact is definitely sour grapes, but it's for the right reason."