Monday, August 09, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Indictment sends warning to candidates

Statute flaw lets some escape felony charge

Janet Moncrief Accused of willfully filing inaccurate information

Liberal and conservative observers alike heralded Janet Moncrief's indictment last week as a signal of more aggressive enforcement of campaign finance laws, a shift they described as long overdue.

"From our point of view as a watchdog group, I think the dog finally has teeth," said Paul Brown, Southern Nevada director for Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada.

"If lawmakers think campaign finance laws are important enough to enact, people shouldn't be allowed to just thumb their noses at them," said Lucille Lusk, chairwoman of Nevada Concerned Citizens, a conservative activist group. "It doesn't look like they'll be allowed to anymore."

But others said the case against the city councilwoman also has highlighted a disturbing loophole in state law under which politicians who file false campaign finance documents can be punished much more harshly than those who forego filing altogether.

Willfully filing inaccurate information in a campaign report, as Moncrief is accused of doing, is a felony subject to the penalties of the criminal justice system. Not filing at all is only a civil violation subject to fines. In other words, political candidates who commit financial misconduct are best served by avoiding filing reports.

"It puts them in a position where, 'I'm either going to lie in the documents and be subject to criminal prosecution, or I'll just choose not to file and pay the $5,000 (fine),' " Deputy Secretary of State Renee Parker said.

Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, has repeatedly opted not to file campaign finance reports. He has racked up thousands of dollars of fines as a result of that choice, but also has avoided any scrutiny of the financing of his campaigns.

"That's a weakness in our statutes," said Senior Deputy Attorney General Conrad Hafen, the prosecutor who prepared the case against Moncrief. "A person could simply choose not to file, and they just pay the fine, and we'd never be able to prosecute them. It's my hope legislators will take a look at that in the next session."

It is likely lawmakers will examine the issue, said the chairwoman of the Assembly committee that writes campaign finance laws.

"It's a loophole within the statute, and we need to address it," said Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas.

PLAN's Brown said the issue of complete and accurate campaign reports might strike some as arcane, but it has ramifications for all Nevadans who want accountable elected officials.

"The whole theory behind identifying who's giving to candidates is to identify who that politician may be indebted to," he said. "The disclosure is to see who is trying to win some type of influence, whether it's access or something more, from our politicians. I come from the school of thought that money talks, whether it's who funds a nonprofit organization or who funds a politician."

Troubles for Moncrief began in April 2003 with a complaint filed with the secretary of state by consultant Jim Ferrence. He alleged the nonpartisan councilwoman was not reporting campaign expenditures, eventually leading to the attorney general's investigation.

In researching the state's case against Moncrief, prosecutor Hafen said he could find no record of a sitting elected public official being indicted for violating campaign law.

The pursuing of charges against her reflects a "change in mind-set" in Attorney General Brian Sandoval's office, said Hafen, who was hired in September to head the new Public Integrity unit.

"The public expects their elected officials, as well as their government employees, to have integrity, to be trustworthy and to be held accountable," Hafen said. "We're trying to do that."

Former Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Miller, who appears to be one of the state's key witnesses against Moncrief, said one good thing to come out of the case is a heightened awareness of campaign law. Miller, who appeared before the grand jury that voted to indict the councilwoman, has alleged he helped craft attack mailers Moncrief sent anonymously or under the name of a different candidate.

"We drew a line in the sand, and now I think candidates know what they need to do in the future thanks to the AG," he said.

Several politicians should be apprehensive about the new scrutiny, PLAN director Bob Fulkerson said,.

"Chad Christiansen should be worried," Fulkerson said. "I mean, here's a guy who actually admitted spending some of his campaign cash for personal use. God knows how many others are doing that."

In April, the Secretary of State fined Christensen, a Republican assemblyman, $4,500 for committing 52 campaign finance violations, including failing to report expenses, failing to itemize expenses and omitting contributions. Christensen paid the fines.

"There are several politicians who do a slipshod job filling out those reports, and no one has held them accountable before," Fulkerson said. "Now, it looks like the attorney general is going to."