Democratic leader, lawyer Waterman dies of heart attack

Known as a tenacious lawyer who always fought for the underdog, Waterman practiced law in Nevada for more than 30 years and served as the county party’s chairman for more than 20 years.

“The legal community suffered a big loss today,” said attorney Tom Pitaro, who has known Waterman for at least three decades.

Waterman is perhaps best known for his work in politics. He was called “the glue that kept the party together,” said Deecie Zimmerman, the corresponding secretary for the county Democratic Party who has known Waterman since 1976.

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev, issued a statement Thursday calling Waterman a longtime friend who dedicated his life to “building the foundation of the Clark County Democratic Party.”

Waterman was born in Lawrence, Mass., lived in Boston and earned a law degree at Suffolk University in 1955. His daughter, Hanah Shields, said he initially came to Nevada because he was following his then-wife, whom he later divorced.

Waterman had several high profile cases during his legal career. He defended Peggy Wham, who was convicted of murder for paying a New Jersey hit man to kill her husband, Harry Wham, in the 1980s. Authorities said Wham wanted her husband dead so she and her boyfriend could take over his Keyboard Lounge, a popular establishment.

Wham was sentenced to life in prison but the state Pardons Board released her in 1998. She was suffering from cancer at the time of her release.

More recently, Waterman was set to defend Daimon Hoyt, who was accused in January of trying to hire a hit man to kill District Judge Michelle Leavitt, a prosecutor and a Las Vegas police detective.

Nevada Supreme Court Justice Michael Cherry, who had tried criminal cases with Waterman, called Waterman a “top-notch fighter for his clients and the constitution.”

Waterman’s many friends in political circles described him as passionate, idealistic and a committed old-school liberal.

“He was a believer,” said longtime Democratic activist Harriet Trudell, the political director of the Nevada Democratic Party and a close friend of Waterman. “He was absolutely committed to social justice and he truly believed the Democratic Party was the only thing that kept people safe and gave them a fair chance. That was his life, that was his creed.”

Waterman could get worked up about perceived injustice to the point where he “would become just beside himself,” as when the subject was the inheritance tax, which he supported, she said.

“He loved the grand act, the drama. He didn’t like details,” Trudell said.

In the 1970s, she recalled, “We marched for everything. The Vietnam War, welfare, choice: Somebody said, there was a protest, we started marching, then found out why.”

In 2004, Waterman fulfilled a dream by being elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. He had been to national conventions before, but this one was special. The event was a homecoming of sorts because it was in Boston, said John Ponticello, president of the Paradise Democratic Club.

“That was like a last hurrah for him, going back home to Boston as a (John) Kerry delegate,” Ponticello said.

The current chairman of the county party, John Hunt, said Waterman’s dedication never wavered.

Hunt last saw Waterman at Saturday’s county Democratic convention at the Thomas & Mack Center at UNLV. Waterman came to vote.

“I gave him a hug, and he felt so frail,” Hunt said. “He was true blue.”

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.