Erin Kenny Age 44: Former state lawmaker and one-time lieutenant governor candidate. She is accused of receiving thousands of dollars to use her influence in zoning matters while she was a Clark County commissioner. Pleaded guilty in connection with political corruption charges concerning strip clubs in 2003 and has been cooperating with the government. Mother of five. Donald Davidson Age 71: Land developer accused of bribing Erin Kenny, charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering. On board of Las Vegas Housing Authority. Lawrence Davidson Age 39: Faces the same charges as his father; also charged with stealing clients' money through his law practice. In June, sentenced to six months in prison for forging a federal judge's signature. Carolyn Edwards stands in front of the CVS pharmacy store at Desert Inn and Buffalo roads behind her house in August 2004. Edwards fought the rezoning that allowed the store, now part of a federal investigation involving bribery of public officials. K.M. CANNON/REVIEW-JOURNAL FILE PHOTO Click image for enlargement.

A land developer and his son were indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday, accused of bribing then-County Commissioner Erin Kenny for her help in rezoning land so a commercial center could be built.

Donald M. Davidson, 71, and his son, Lawrence J. Davidson, 39, each face charges of conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering in connection with the development of a CVS Pharmacy at Buffalo Drive and Desert Inn Road.

The indictment said Donald Davidson paid Kenny $200,000 after she helped push through changes to zoning and sign restrictions between 2001 and early 2002.

The criminal indictments are the second wave involving Kenny, 44, who was at the center of an investigation of allegations that county commissioners took bribes from former strip club mogul Michael Galardi. That investigation, which led to federal indictments against three former commissioners and Galardi, led authorities to look into the relationships between commissioners and developers.

The Davidson indictments arose out of that investigation.

County Manager Thom Reilly said the charges reflect poorly on the government and cast suspicion on all issues championed by Kenny during her two terms on the County Commission.

"It makes you question everything she's done," Reilly said. "From staff's perspective, it makes you question all her motives on a variety of issues. You don't know what her motives were. Is it because she really believed in something? Was it self-serving? Was it greed?"

Reilly said federal agents have not requested records related to any other county-approved developments.

Donald Davidson's arraignment was scheduled for Dec. 2 in U.S. District Court.

An arraignment date was not set for Lawrence Davidson, who is serving time in a federal prison for forging a federal judge's signature. He was also indicted Tuesday in an unrelated case involving the theft of thousands of dollars from clients in his law practice.

Donald Davidson on Tuesday would not comment on the indictments and referred questions to his lawyer, Dominic Gentile.

"I haven't seen them yet," Gentile said of the indictments, "and I don't have anything to say."

In a 2004 interview with the Review-Journal, while the investigation was ongoing, Gentile said, "I'm not denying she (Kenny) got the money. He (Davidson) did not bargain for it, and he did not deliver it."

Lawrence Davidson's lawyer, Steve Stein, said Tuesday his client has denied any wrongdoing. He said authorities are trying to get his client to testify against his father.

"I had thought ... all along that what they wanted him to do is turn against his father," Stein said. "He maintains all along he didn't know what his dad was doing, and he believes his dad did nothing wrong."

Kenny cooperated with investigators in the Galardi case and pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As part of that agreement, Kenny agreed to forfeit about $70,000 which authorities maintained "constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to" her crimes.

Her lawyer, Frank Cremen, would not say whether she cooperated with authorities in the Davidson case.

Allegations in the indictment center on the development of the pharmacy. In early 2001, the land was vacant and zoned for rural neighborhood preservation. Any building on the land was also subject to restrictions regarding signs and driveways.

In June 2001, real estate consultant Tommy Fehrman bought the land for $800,000 and hired Donald Davidson, then a vice president of Triple Five Development Corp., to help negotiate the sale of the property to CVS, the indictment said. By that time, the indictment said, Donald Davidson and Kenny already had a relationship going back to 2000. The two had been meeting each month for social reasons, and Donald Davidson had been giving Kenny $3,000 a month on behalf of a real estate developer who was grateful for a favorable vote she cast for the developer on a controversial issue, the indictment said.

The indictment did not identify the developer or the issue. The payments continued until May 2003, the indictment said.

Donald Davidson approached Kenny in summer 2001 and asked her to "look after" the attempt to rezone the CVS to commercial, the indictment said. Later, he offered Kenny $200,000 for her help and met with Kenny and her accountant to discuss ways to hide the money, the indictment said. The payment was made to influence her "performance of her official duties, involving, but not limited to," her actions regarding the CVS property, the indictment said.

Meanwhile, Kenny championed the zoning change. Hundreds of residents opposed the move, including Carolyn Edwards, whose home backs up to the CVS store.

"I suspected money was changing hands," Edwards said Tuesday after reading the indictment. "What surprises me is how well-conceived this was. We had no clue about the depth of this."

At a November 2001 County Commission meeting, Commissioner Chip Maxfield, who by then represented the area after redistricting, opposed Kenny's motion to rezone the property.

"This is my area now," he said. "I've met with neighbors, and Commissioner Kenny I understand has worked with developers and whatever, trying to fashion something to work there."

Maxfield noted that the change was considered "spot zoning" and contradicted county policy.

"We have a process that everyone is expected to follow in Clark County," Maxfield said. "I don't believe the appropriate thing to do is vary from the policy and allow spot changes. I would call them precedent-setting changes."

At the same meeting, Commissioner Myrna Williams objected to claims that Kenny was favoring the developer.

"I find it disconcerting to hear someone say something that I think could have been taken in a pejorative manner about one of our commissioners," Williams said at the time.

Thanks to votes by Kenny, Williams, Dario Herrera and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, the commission approved the rezoning. A special-use permit easing sign and driveway restrictions on the property came at a later meeting. The CVS deal led to sweeping policy changes making it more difficult for developers to seek zone changes that do not conform to the county's master plan.

Edwards, the CVS neighbor, knows nothing can change the building just beyond her back yard, but the indictment did bring personal satisfaction.

"Knowing I was right gives me satisfaction. Knowing my suspicions were justified gives me satisfaction," said Edwards, who has grown accustomed to the lights in the CVS store's parking lot illuminating her backyard.

About a month after the November commission meeting, Lawrence Davidson established Ovington Nevada LLC. The company's manager was Charles Ovington Callin, Kenny's father.

In the months that followed, Donald Davidson had given his son a total of $200,000, the indictment said. Later in 2002, Lawrence Davidson issued checks for $50,000 and $124,650 that were deposited in an Ovington Nevada bank account, the indictment said.

When asked Tuesday whether federal agents had questioned her about the CVS land deal, Kincaid-Chauncey said: "I can't imagine why they would."

She said she couldn't recall having a conversation with Kenny about the zone change critical to the success of the CVS developers.

"I can't recall her pushing me to vote that way," Kincaid-Chauncey said. "I have always said publicly and privately that it doesn't make sense to put anything but commercial on section-line streets."

The CVS store wasn't the first time Kenny played a key role in approving a project involving Davidson. In 2000, Kenny, Kincaid-Chauncey and Malone approved a controversial Spring Valley hotel-casino proposed by his company, Triple Five Development. Herrera was the lone vote against the casino, and three commissioners abstained.

Although Spring Valley residents battled the casino in Kenny's district, Kenny lobbied fellow commissioners to approve the project, county sources have said.

Malone was voted out of office after he supported Kenny's stance and went back on his word to oppose the project.

The state Gaming Policy Committee ultimately reversed the commission's decision, and the casino was never built.

Kenny, a mother of five, once was a state Assemblywoman and a one-time candidate for lieutenant governor.

Donald Davidson is a member of the Las Vegas Housing Authority board.

Lawrence Davidson agreed to voluntary disbarment from practicing law.