GOP chairwoman blasts AG over Krolicki case
CARSON CITY -- State Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Lowden accused Democratic Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto on Wednesday of operating under a "partisan double standard."
Lowden questioned why Masto wants the state to pay $20,000 in legal fees for embattled former Nuclear Projects Agency Executive Director Bob Loux when her office sought to indict Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki on criminal charges.
"A bedrock principle of this nation is equal justice under the law, which means Ms. Masto should either aggressively prosecute Bob Loux or drop the case against Brian Krolicki," Lowden said. "Anything less tells the people of Nevada that their attorney general believes some people are created more equal than others."
Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons made similar objections Tuesday during a Board of Examiners meeting when he questioned why the attorney general did not represent Mendy Elliot, his deputy chief of staff, when a complaint was filed against her. That complaint later was dropped.
But Chief Deputy Attorney General Jim Spencer said Wednesday there is a big difference between Loux's case and those involving Krolicki and Elliot.
A 2005 state law requires the attorney general's office to represent state employees in civil cases before the Ethics Commission if their actions were made in "good faith" during the course of their jobs.
In contrast, Spencer said the attorney general's office does not represent employees who have been accused of criminal violations.
And Masto has said that because her office has worked with Loux repeatedly for more than 20 years on cases involving the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, there would be potential conflicts of interest either in bringing a case against him or representing him in the ethics case.
Spencer added that by law, state employees accused of any type of violation must "submit a written request" asking the attorney general's office to represent them. Loux made that request while Krolicki and Elliot did not, he said.
During a meeting of the Board of Examiners on Tuesday, Gibbons said Masto should be prosecuting Loux on criminal charges rather than paying $20,000 to lawyers who will represent him in the Ethics Commission hearing.
A decision on whether to appropriate the money for Loux's defense was delayed, although the state already has paid $7,800 to that end.
The administration contends that Loux over at least a three-year period gave himself and his staff salary increases far beyond what they legally were entitled to receive.
In a letter to the Ethics Commission, Loux said the administration of then-Gov. Kenny Guinn gave him the authority to increase the salaries.
Spencer said the veracity of Loux's claims is an issue for the Ethics Commission, not something that the attorney general needed to check out before agreeing to pay for his lawyers. Masto said Tuesday that she has asked the Washoe County sheriff's office to investigate Loux and his handling of salary increases. She added Carson City District Attorney Neil Rombardo has agreed to prosecute Loux if he is indicted.
In contrast to Loux's situation, Spencer said, the attorney general's office conducted a criminal investigation into Elliot based on information it received. When Elliot was director of the Department of Business and Industry, she was accused of reducing the fines and punishment The Orleans hotel should have received regarding worker safety problems that led to the deaths of two workers. The office's public integrity section opened the investigation.
Also, Krolicki's situation is different than that of Loux's, Spencer said.
The lieutenant governor was indicted on Dec. 3 by a Clark County grand jury on four felony charges alleging he mishandled state funds during his time as state treasurer.
Lowden maintains a legislative audit concluded that "not a dime" was missing from the college savings program that Krolicki administered.
"No one has even remotely suggested that Mr. Krolicki operated in anything but 'good faith' in establishing and administering this program," she said.
Contact Review-Journal Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900.
KROLICKI DISCLOSES Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki has reported raising more than $160,000 in donations to a fund to pay for his legal defense against felony charges of mishandling state funds. Because of restrictions on donations during and around legislative sessions, the fund was allowed to accept contributions for just 10 days. The disclosure report Krolicki, a Republican, submitted to the Nevada secretary of state Wednesday shows numerous individual donors gave a few hundred dollars apiece. State Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, gave $1,000, as did Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon. Assemblyman James Settelmeyer, R-Gardnerville, kicked in $500. Reno businessman T. J. Day contributed $10,000, and Las Vegas businessman Monte Miller donated $5,000. Both are major GOP donors in Nevada. Republican groups from around the state also gave money. Former state Treasurer Bob Seale, whose company helped manage the college savings program involved in the charges against Krolicki, donated $1,000. Seale has not been accused of wrongdoing. Under state law, the contribution limit for legal defense funds is $10,000. The financial disclosure covers the period through Dec. 31, and the fund accepted donations through Jan. 2. Including those last few days, the fund has raised more than $200,000, Krolicki said. In a statement, Krolicki called the donations “the greatest holiday gift I could ever have imagined.” Krolicki was indicted last month on four felony counts related to his activities while he served as state treasurer from 1999 to 2007. Prosecutors charge that he kept money earned by a state college savings program out of the state accounts where they were supposed to be kept. Krolicki has called the prosecution politically motivated. LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
