Extortion probe focuses on Nevada GOP activist’s home in Virginia

Las Vegas police turned their attention to a longtime Republican activist Thursday in their investigation into allegations of an attempted extortion plot against Nevada Republican Assemblyman Chris Edwards.

Detectives with the Criminal Intelligence Section were in Northern Virginia executing a search warrant at Tony Dane’s home with the help of Virginia state police.

In a news release, Las Vegas police said investigators searched a residence at 1151 Happy Ridge Drive in the small town of Front Royal, Va., about 70 miles west of Washington.

Nevada secretary of state records show that address in Front Royal belongs to a company owned by Dane, long a controversial GOP consultant in the state.

Dane could not be reached for comment.

The state records show that Dane has a political action committee here that on Jan. 14 reported raising $245,000. All of the contributions to his CRC PAC, which lists a Las Vegas address, were reported as coming from either Dane or his company, Dane & Associates.

Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske on Thursday sent Dane a letter asking him to explain why he didn’t disclose the names of people who contributed to the PAC, which was set up to fund recall efforts against some GOP legislators.

Cegavske also asked Dane to explain why Dane & Associates continues to do business in Nevada, though its status as a business entity has been “permanently revoked.”

In their release, police said the extortion investigation was being conducted with the Clark County district attorney’s office.

“This is an open, ongoing investigation and as such the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is not in a position to discuss specifics of the case,” the release said. “The main goals of this investigation remain the same, which are to determine the facts of the case while not affecting the legislative process.”

PROBE LAUNCHED IN DECEMBER

Intelligence detectives launched the investigation in December after Edwards was approached about changing his vote for Assembly speaker.

At the time, several candidates were vying for the leadership post, including Assemblyman Paul Anderson, R-Las Vegas, and Assemblyman John Hambrick, R-Las Vegas. Hambrick was unanimously supported as speaker in a vote in the Assembly on Monday.

Edwards, who was elected to Assembly District 19 in Las Vegas in the Nov. 4 election, confirmed Saturday that police were investigating the extortion allegations.

He said he reported the attempt to police but could not discuss details of the case because of the ongoing investigation.

“I’m the victim here,” Edwards told the Review-Journal. “I’m the guy who kind of blew the whistle.”

Dane appears to be the focus of the investigation at the moment, but multiple individuals have been targeted by police.

On Thursday, Edwards said he viewed the latest development as “definitely part of the vindication” process for him.

Edwards, however, would not comment on whether he had ever spoken with Dane.

“I would love to tell this story,” he said, adding it will continue for a while.

Detectives on Saturday executed a search warrant at a northwest valley house at 3888 Quadrel St., near Alexander Road and Buffalo Drive, as part of the investigation.

Rob Lauer, who applied for the Assembly seat vacated when Assemblyman Wes Duncan was hired by the Nevada attorney general’s office, lives at that address.

Lauer, who was not picked for the post, said in an interview after the raid that he had “nothing to hide.”

The circumstances surrounding a meeting late last year between Lauer and Edwards amid the intense Republican leadership struggle in the Assembly are part of the criminal investigation.

At the meeting, Lauer said, he approached Edwards about supporting a move to hold an Assembly caucus meeting. Such a meeting could have opened the door for a new leadership vote.

On Saturday detectives at Lauer’s home searched for recordings between Edwards and Lauer, and affidavits and other documents that might have been created to suggest unlawful or unethical conduct by Edwards as part of the alleged extortion plot against him.

Detectives also looked for evidence of communications between Lauer and Assemblyman Brent Jones, R-Las Vegas, and two people associated with Jones — Jerry Littman and Laurel Fee, according to a copy of the search warrant.

Jones could not be reached for comment.

Littman, a political activist with Tea Party leanings, said detectives questioned him Saturday.

He said he talked to Edwards last year, but only about tax issues and not about his vote for speaker. He said he barely knows Lauer.

Fee, who worked on Jones’ campaign, said she spoke with Lauer after his meeting with Edwards last year and encouraged him to file an ethics complaint against Edwards.

Detectives ended up seizing three computers, “miscellaneous paperwork” and other items from Lauer’s house, the search warrant return said.

LAUER: NO CONNECTION TO DANE

Lauer said Thursday he’s not connected to Dane and has “no clue” what the Virginia search warrant is about.

Attorney David Otto, who represents Lauer, said he plans to file court papers asking for the return of the property seized from Lauer.

The Assembly Republican Caucus has been in turmoil since the GOP took control of the chamber for the first time since 1985 in a party sweep in the Nov. 4 general election.

Former Minority Leader Pat Hickey, R-Reno, was ousted and replaced as caucus leader by Assemblyman Ira Hansen, R-Sparks. But Hansen stepped down over controversial writings that were seen as sexist and racist by critics.

Hansen had been supported by conservative members of the Assembly while Hambrick was backed largely by more moderate members of the GOP caucus. Edwards is part of the moderate wing of the party with Hambrick and has been in the cross hairs of conservatives, including those who have signed pledges not to raise taxes.

In her letter to Dane Thursday, Cegavske gave him until Feb. 13 to respond to her concerns about his PAC. Otherwise, she said the complaint would be forwarded to the attorney general’s office “for review and further enforcement.”

Cegavske was acting on a complaint filed Jan. 28 by the Clark County Republican Party alleging illegal contributions by Dane to the PAC, which aims to target GOP lawmakers who haven’t taken a firm stance against Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed $1.1 billion tax package.

The complaint called for an investigation into whether Dane illegally funneled conduit contributions to the CRC PAC to aid recall efforts against some Republicans who conservative activists believe will raise taxes.

The complaint also alleged that Dane’s PAC sent mailers attacking Hambrick and Edwards earlier this month.

County Republicans want the secretary of state to determine whether “conduit contributions” prohibited under law and without donor disclosure financed a negative mail campaign launched after Sandoval’s State of the State address on Jan 15.

Dane’s political activism has drawn criticism before, including robo-calls in 2010 that his political action committee paid for that attacked Ron Kent, then a candidate for Nye County district attorney.

In the 2014 election cycle, judicial candidate John Watkins filed a complaint with the secretary of state’s office against Dane and another political consultant for being behind a mailer hammering Watkins for defending drivers charged with driving under the influence.

Dane is perhaps best known for spending years trying to defeat state Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, the first openly gay lawmaker in the Nevada Legislature. In 1996, Dane ran against Parks when the senator was an assemblyman. He used homophobic mailers against Parks, who decried the material as “hate-filled messages.”

In 2002, Dane backed a salesman to run against Parks who happened to have the same name: David Parks. Dane initially denied involvement in the race, but later confessed he was behind the campaign when his fax number was found on the challenger’s election filings, according to press reports at the time.

Review-Journal writer Sandra Chereb contributed to this report. Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find him on Twitter: @JGermanRJ. Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Find her on Twitter: @lmyerslvrj. Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-405-9781. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1.