Don Chairez Says he will vigorously pursue inquiry into Bill Walters dealings with Las Vegas Catherine Cortez Masto Wants to bolster state AG's Public Integrity Unit

One of the two candidates vying to replace outgoing Attorney General George Chanos will inherit the office's ongoing investigation into Las Vegas' dealings with developer Bill Walters.

Republican candidate Don Chairez said he would vigorously pursue the probe and prosecute if warranted.

"Without hesitation," Chairez said.

Democratic candidate Catherine Cortez Masto said that she didn't want to give her opinion on an investigation that Chanos' successor was likely to inherit.

"I want to remain fair and impartial. I don't want to compromise an ongoing investigation," she said. "If and when I win, I will sit down with Mr. Chanos and talk about the investigation and what he's doing. I think it would be irresponsible for me as a candidate to commit to anything right now."

Chanos on Friday released a 169-page report prepared for his office by a private law firm that chronicled 10 years of history between developer Bill Walters and the city, related to the developer's efforts to acquire the land on which he built the Royal Links Golf Club and later efforts to replace the course with homes.

The report claims that Las Vegas officials repeatedly made decisions that favored Walters, often at the public's expense.

The report leaves it up to the attorney general or local authorities to make a determination about criminal charges. Chanos has said the investigation is ongoing.

Cortez Masto had received $10,000 in contributions from Walters last year. But two weeks after Chanos announced his investigation, she returned the money to Walters.

Speaking more generally, Cortez Masto said she wants the attorney general's office to aggressively pursue possible public corruption cases. "I want to beef up the Public Integrity Unit, assuring the integrity of the public process."

Chairez said that "if she (Cortez Masto) returned the money (donated to her campaign by Walters), it's not an issue."

Members of the Greenspun family and companies owned by them have contributed at least $12,000 through Aug. 3 to Cortez Masto's campaign.

The Greenspuns' American Nevada Corp. was a partner of Walters on a deal in which he traded a 138-acre Henderson golf course for 126 acres of vacant city-owned land that is designated for residential development. The deal received final approval from the Henderson City Council in February 2005.

The Las Vegas Sun, also owned by the Greenspun family, paid for an analysis of the city of Las Vegas' deal with Walters that concluded allowing the developer to replace Royal Links with a 1,200-home development would be a good deal for taxpayers.

The attorney general investigation criticized the Sun's analysis.