Friday, February 11, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Case against Moncrief to be settled as civil violation, fine

Janet Moncrief Was removed from office in a recall election last month

State prosecutors have agreed to drop criminal charges against former Las Vegas City Councilwoman Janet Moncrief, allowing her to plead guilty to civil campaign finance violations and pay a fine.

Under the tentative agreement, the attorney general's office would dismiss the five felony counts against Moncrief if she admits to violating campaign finance laws and pays at least a $5,000 fine, Senior Deputy Attorney General Conrad Hafen said Thursday.

"We believe, on this particular case, that this was a fair resolution," he said.

Hafen said he and Moncrief's lawyer, Richard Wright, were still working out the details of the agreement, including how many violations she would admit to and how large the fine would be.

Wright did not return messages left at his office.

Reached Thursday afternoon, Moncrief said she did not know about the settlement.

"You guys know more than I do," she said.

Later that day Moncrief said she had learned of the settlement but was instructed by her lawyer not to comment.

Moncrief was indicted in August on four counts of filing a false instrument and one count of perjury.

The indictment was based on a year-long investigation that found some campaign expenses weren't listed in Moncrief's financial reports during her successful bid to unseat Ward 1 Councilman Michael McDonald in 2003.

The investigation began when McDonald's campaign adviser, Jim Ferrence, filed a complaint with the secretary of state in April 2003, accusing Moncrief of failing to report thousands of dollars in campaign expenses.

According to the indictment, Moncrief failed to report several expenses, including $30,000 to a group of teens who campaigned door to door for her and the costs of printing mailers by a Sacramento, Calif., company.

With the criminal case hanging pending and complaints about her lack of effectiveness mounting, Moncrief lost her seat to Lois Tarkanian in a recall election last month.

Hafen cited the recall as a factor in his decision to settle the case.

He also cited the case of state Assemblyman Chad Christensen, who was fined $4,500 last year by the secretary of state for 52 violations of campaign finance laws.

"We have a goal of trying to treat similar situations in the same manner, even though each case is distinct and judged on its own merits," Hafen said.

Although the Christensen case was never referred to the attorney general's office for prosecution, Moncrief's lawyer had argued in court that his client was the victim of selective prosecution.

A hearing on that issue had been scheduled for next week before District Judge Nancy Saitta, who had questioned why Moncrief was criminally charged and Christensen was not.

Questions about the Moncrief case had also been raised by Secretary of State Dean Heller, who did not think there was enough evidence to support the prosecution.

Hafen said the disagreement between Heller and his boss, Attorney General Brian Sandoval, did not influence his decision.

The final agreement should be hammered out within two weeks, he said.

Despite the settlement, Hafen called the case a success.

"I think we sent a strong message to people that we're going to look at these cases strongly," Hafen said.

Paul Brown of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada said he had mixed feelings about the Moncrief case. He had cheered her indictment as a sign of stronger enforcement of state campaign finance laws.

Now that the case has been settled, Brown doubted whether there would be any lasting effect on politicians.

"I would hope it would make them be more conscientious," he said. "But the reality is they probably won't even think twice."