Consultant’s bid to stay free denied

A federal judge has denied real estate consultant Donald Davidson's request to remain free during his appeal of a July felony conviction related to his attempts to bribe a Las Vegas city councilman in 2002.

Davidson was scheduled to begin serving his 24-month sentence on March 28 but was given an extension while U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt considered Davidson's basis for appeal, primarily that he was not fairly represented at trial.

A jury convicted Davidson in July on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud for attempting to pay then-Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald to push through zoning changes that benefited Davidson's clients.

Davidson's opening brief is due to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth District on May 2. A new surrender date for Davidson has not been set.

During Davidson's trial, prosecutors claimed Davidson conspired with former Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone, who later became a lobbyist, to establish a corrupt relationship with McDonald.

Clark Derrick, an Arizona-based attorney representing Davidson, claims that Davidson's trial attorney, Dominic Gentile, had a conflict of interest because his clients included both Malone and Davidson. He said the conflict resulted in an unfair trial for Davidson.

"Although the first indictment against Mr. Davidson made no mention of Lance Malone, the pleadings make clear that Mr. Gentile knew Mr. Davidson was under investigation for conspiring with Lance Malone to bribe public officials," Derrick's motion states.

Gentile said Thursday that he was "surprised" but wouldn't comment further.