Kincaid-Chauncey transferred to Las Vegas facility

Former Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey was transferred to a Las Vegas halfway house late Tuesday after spending nearly two years in a women’s prison for her role in one of Southern Nevada’s most notorious political corruption cases.

The Las Vegas Community Corrections Center confirmed Wednesday that the 70-year-old Kincaid-Chauncey was transferred to its Industrial Road facility, where, according to the Bureau of Prisons, she is expected to remain until March.

Kincaid-Chauncey will have far more freedom at the office-style building located behind Circus Circus than she did at the federal prison camp in Victorville, Calif., where she has been housed since Jan. 12, 2007. The facility assists newly released inmates re-establish ties to their families and the community as well as find jobs, according to its Web site.

Kincaid-Chauncey was not available for comment Wednesday. Her husband, Robert Chauncey, said he was asked by the facility’s director not to discuss his wife.

A jury convicted the two-term commissioner on charges of accepting bribes from strip club owner Michael Galardi and his bagman, Lance Malone. Malone and Kincaid-Chauncey served on the county’s board together for four years.

They were two of five charged with delivering or accepting bribe money. Also snared in the FBI’s investigation, which included hundreds of intercepted telephone conversations that led to 2003 indictments, were Galardi and former commissioners Dario Herrera and Erin Kenny.

Kenny and Galardi entered plea deals and testified against Herrera and Kincaid-Chauncey, who were tried together. Malone signed a plea agreement just days before his trial was scheduled to begin last year.

Robert Rose, a San Diego-based attorney who represented Galardi, said the former owner of Cheetah’s and Jaguars was released from a Long Beach, Calif. federal prison camp in July. The 47-year-old, who is in a San Diego halfway house, is expected to be released from the prison system on Jan. 5, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Kenny, who like Galardi was sentenced to 30 months in prison, is scheduled to be released in January. Herrera, who was sentenced to 51 months, is also expected to be released that month. Malone, who drew the stiffest sentence, is serving time at a Lompoc prison and will not be freed until 2012.

When FBI agents first approached Kincaid-Chauncey in 2003, the Democrat acknowledged she accepted two donations from Galardi, one for her grandson’s Olympic ski school tuition and another on behalf of her son, Mark Kincaid, who was running for North Las Vegas City Council.

Galardi, however, testified that he delivered cash bribes to Kincaid-Chauncey on two other occasions.

Kincaid-Chauncey appealed her conviction with hopes the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would clear her name and reinstate her right to vote.

“Mary has always been an honest person, down to earth,” her husband said earlier this year. “She believes in truth and honesty, and she wants to clear her name if possible.”

Malone appealed his six-year sentence. The appeals court has not ruled on either case.

In February, Kincaid-Chauncey’s attorney, Federal Public Defender Franny Forsman, argued that Kincaid-Chauncey was denied the opportunity to put some witnesses on the stand. Forsman said Kincaid-Chauncey was entitled to call other public figures who would have told jurors that Galardi lied when he testified that he also gave them cash.

Forsman also argued that to secure a guilty verdict, the jury should have been instructed to identify a quid pro quo, meaning Kincaid-Chauncey accepted the money with an intent to use her position to benefit Galardi.

“The jury would have acquitted her if they judge looked at the two incidents she admitted to,” Forsman told the appeals panel.

Debbie Swan, a great-niece of Kincaid-Chauncey, said she has done well in prison and has remained upbeat.

“My aunt can always make lemonade,” said Swan, who started working for Kincaid-Chauncey at her North Las Vegas flower shop in 1999 and then bought it in January 2007. “Since she’s been there she’s learned how to use the computer, which is amazing. I mean, when she was with the commission she couldn’t even check her own e-mail. She’s learned how to crochet. She does beading. She’s taken an automotive class, which is funny because she’s never even pumped her own gas.

“She’s taken all kinds of really good classes that are great for her.”

Swan said Kincaid-Chauncey “may be technically a felon” but that’s not how the family sees her.

“I don’t see her as a felon. I’m just glad it’s over and I hope that in the end the appeal goes through and she is cleared. She has lost rights as a citizen and that’s very sad,” she said.

Ellen Leavitt, the 48-year-old daughter of Kincaid-Chauncey’s husband, said her stepmother also learned guitar, can now make bracelets and other jewelry, and has worked on improving her poetry skills.

During her time in Victorville, Kincaid-Chauncey also worked as a mentor to fellow inmates and conducted Bible studies, her husband said earlier this year.

She received an award for walking 500 miles during her first year of incarceration. Robert Chauncey said his wife also became a greeter at the prison.

“Mary has that gift to mentor other people, and this was recognized there apparently,” he said. “They made her a greeter. She meets new, incoming inmates, many of which are very young and some very old. Mary makes sure she explains everything as best she can and tries to make them feel comfortable.”

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. View writer Fred Couzens contributed to this report.