Lance Malone Formal plea set for Monday

Former Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone signed a plea agreement with the federal government Thursday, leaving the severity of his prison sentence the only issue for lawyers to hash out in court.

Four days before his political corruption trial was scheduled to begin, Malone agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a charge that stems from delivering bribes to elected officials. He is scheduled to formally enter his plea Monday.

Two other former county commissioners, Dario Herrera and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, were convicted in May of pocketing bribes from former strip club owner Michael Galardi.

Prosecutors accused Malone of delivering bags of cash on behalf of Galardi.

Malone took a deal only after government officials stopped insisting that he admit accepting illegal gifts or money from Galardi or anyone else during his four-year term on the commission, said Dominic Gentile, Malone's attorney.

"He has said he did not and he will continue to say he did not" accept bribes as a commissioner, Gentile said Thursday. "Until the government was willing to let that be the case, there was never an opportunity to negotiate a plea."

Malone's agreement allows him to serve his Las Vegas sentence concurrently with a three-year prison term levied in San Diego last summer after he was found guilty of paying off three city councilmen.

Federal sentencing guidelines mandate concurrent sentences "when the criminal activities of two separate convictions involve the same course of conduct," the plea agreement states.

Malone, 44, also agreed to waive his right to appeal the conviction and sentences.

"Even though we waived the appeal in San Diego, that should not be taken as a concession that he committed a crime down there," Gentile said.

Natalie Collins, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, would not comment on Malone's agreement until he enters his plea.

During arguments over the length of Malone's sentence, prosecutors are expected to try to convince U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks that Malone indeed took money from Galardi while he was a commissioner.

The plea agreement notes Malone denies those allegations, but a footnote adds: "The defendant contends that he did not accept any bribes ... with the intent to be influenced in the performance of his official duties of county commissioner. The government contends that he did and reserves the right (to) prove and argue such at sentencing."

In a 2003 indictment, prosecutors outlined a 1999 commission meeting during which Malone successfully pushed for greater distances between adult clubs. The indictment contends Malone was protecting Galardi from other strip club owners trying to open new businesses.

The indictment alleges that Galardi accompanied Malone to a car dealership a month after the September 1999 meeting and gave the commissioner $20,000 toward the purchase of a Ford Excursion.

Galardi hired Malone as his lobbyist after Malone lost his re-election bid in 2000.

According to the plea agreement, the government is not willing to give Malone full credit for "acceptance of responsibility" because he waited until just days before the trial to sign a deal. Acceptance of responsibility results in some leniency when it comes to sentencing.

"The defendant did not timely notify the United States of his intention to plead guilty, thereby permitting the United States to avoid preparing for trial and allowing for the efficient allocation of resources," the plea agreement says.

If Malone had gone to trial and lost, he could have faced eight to 10 years in prison, Gentile said, considering that he already was sentenced to three years in the San Diego case.

Hicks must determine the amount Malone paid to San Diego and Las Vegas politicians to determine a prison sentence. A source close to the case said prosecutors are seeking five to six years of prison time.

Douglas McNabb, a Houston attorney who specializes in federal criminal cases, said Malone received a good deal.

"The advantage of pleading guilty for him is that he will do less time than if he were to go to trial and lose," McNabb said. "The downside is that he has to say that he did it, and he is still going to jail."

The government also is asking the court for a money judgment of up to $750,000. Hicks must decide how much Malone paid elected officials to reach a figure for the judgment.

One avenue of collecting the money judgment is to identify fraudulent transfers. McNabb said the plea agreement suggests the government might go after assets Malone transferred to his ex-wife, Rosemary Palacios-Malone.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys for Herrera and Kincaid-Chauncey cast doubt about the legitimacy of the Malone divorce. The two divorced days before the San Diego trial began, but showed up at the courthouse hand-in-hand and continued to live together.

FBI Special Agent Chris Byers described the divorce to jurors presiding over the trial involving Herrera and Kincaid-Chauncey. When asked whether Malone transferred his assets to his wife to shield them from the federal government, Byers replied: "It's a distinct possibility."

Perhaps the most valuable asset is a Subway sandwich franchise inside The Orleans hotel-casino, a business Malone regulated as a commissioner. Malone acquired the shop after he left office.

The plea deal also states that the government will not oppose Malone's request to serve his time at a federal prison camp in Sheridan, Ore.

After three years of siphoning information from Galardi about corrupt politicians, it appears federal officials have no further use for one of their star witnesses.

Galardi is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 27, according to court documents. Galardi signed a plea agreement in 2003 that says the maximum sentence he can serve is five years.

The government's second witness, Kenny, is expected to testify in the January 2007 trial of Las Vegas developer Donald Davidson. He is accused of paying the commissioner to push through controversial land-use changes that allowed the construction of a CVS Pharmacy in a residential neighborhood.

Davidson is scheduled to go to trial in January 2007.

Under her plea deal, Kenny could serve up to 46 months in prison .