Judge allows Whittemore evidence in campaign contribution case

Fo rmer power broker Harvey Whittemore lost his bid Wednesday to persuade a federal judge to toss out key evidence in his illegal campaign contribution case.

After a daylong hearing, Senior U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks denied a defense motion to suppress the evidence on grounds the government obtained it without a warrant, violating Whittemore’s Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The evidence, contained in 81 boxes of materials taken from Whittemore’s office, included documents identifying surrogates Whittemore is accused of using to funnel $138,000 in illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2007.

“The bottom line is I can’t find anything that was done improperly by the government here,” Hicks said from the bench.

Whittemore’s May 14 trial before Hicks in Reno is now moving forward.

Hicks said he was swayed by the testimony of longtime criminal defense lawyer Richard Wright, who spent two hours on the witness stand explaining how he tipped off the FBI to Whittemore’s conduct and steered agents to the evidence they needed.

At the time, Wright represented Whittemore’s former partners, Thomas and Albert Seeno of Wingfield Nevada Group, a land development company.

After Whittemore left the company, the Seenos sent the 81 boxes to the Las Vegas law firm of James Pisanelli, who was representing the brothers in civil litigation over their break-up with Whittemore.

FBI agents examined the boxes at Pisanelli’s office and then subpoenaed documents relevant to their investigation.

Vincent Savarese, one of Whittemore’s lawyers, argued that agents had no right to “rummage” through the boxes without a warrant and basically did an “end-run around on the Fourth Amendment.”

But Hicks sided with prosecutors, who argued the agents properly obtained the documents through the subpoenas.

He concluded that the agents did not violate Whittemore’s Fourth Amendment rights as they gathered the evidence with the help of both Wright and Pisanelli, who also testified Wednesday.

Whittemore, 59, an attorney who once wielded political influence as a top lobbyist in Carson City, is accused of duping Reid’s campaign committee into believing the $138,000 in contributions were lawfully made by his employees and family members.

Prosecutors contend he violated federal campaign laws by reimbursing the surrogates with his own money.

Whittemore, who is free on his own recognizance, faces charges of making excessive campaign contributions, making contributions in the name of another and making a false statement to a federal agency.

The indictment charges him with lying to both the FBI and the Federal Election Commission, which regulates campaign contributions.

Contact reporter Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Follow @JGermanRJ on Twitter.