Ethics complaints dismissed against Cortez Masto, lawmaker

CARSON CITY -- Complaints that charged Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and state Sen. Mike Schneider with using their influence to restore the license of a homeopathic doctor were tossed out Thursday by the Nevada Ethics Commission.

Ethics Commission members Erik Beyer and Jim Shaw said there was insufficient evidence to show Masto and Schneider broke ethics laws as a result of their inquiries into the license suspension of Daniel Royal. The complaints were filed by Edward T. Reed, identified as a former attorney general employee.

Reed had been the deputy attorney general who monitored the Board of Homeopathic Medical Examiners. Royal was president of the board.

According to the investigative report, Schneider asked Masto to look into the situation when an attempt to serve subpoenas on Royal and Dean Friesen was made in his office at the Legislature in 2007. Unknown to Masto, her office had been investigating the men.

Schneider also was accused of showing up at a board meeting to urge members not to remove Royal as president. He had been Royal's patient for a month in 2005, according to an Ethics Commission report.

Later that year, the senator again asked Masto to look into the matter after Royal's license was temporarily suspended on grounds he allowed Friesen, an unlicensed pharmacist, to practice homeopathy in his office.

Masto agreed after speaking with Schneider to have another deputy attorney general investigate the matter and based on her reports sought to have Royal's license restored, according to Ethics Commission documents.