Retrial for lawyer Gage to begin May 27

A retrial for Noel Gage has been scheduled for May 27, and the Las Vegas attorney said he will not resolve his federal fraud case before then by accepting a plea bargain.

"I can categorically tell you that I won't plead guilty to anything, because I'm not guilty," Gage said Friday.

Gage, 69, spoke publicly about the case Friday for the first time since a hung jury resulted in a mistrial March 18.

In an interview with the Review-Journal, the lawyer said prosecutors offered him a plea deal during the trial, a proposal that "was ill-defined but included the obligation to testify falsely against other individuals."

"I told them to take their offer and put it where the sun don't shine," Gage said. "Of course, I had to do that through counsel."

He said he has no information that would help the government's case.

Gregory Brower, the U.S. attorney for Nevada, said federal prosecutors do not discuss the details of plea negotiations. "But when we do engage in negotiations, we do not make ill-defined offers, and we certainly do not require defendants to testify falsely as part of a plea deal -- and did not in this case," he said.

The case began last year with the indictment of medical consultant Howard Awand. He is accused of recruiting a network of doctors and lawyers who conspired to cheat clients and enrich themselves.

A superseding indictment added Gage to the case in May. Gage, who repeatedly has asserted his right to a speedy trial, went to trial first. A trial for Awand is to begin Oct. 14.

Senior U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush declared a mistrial for Gage after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict. The judge asked the jury not to speak to reporters or attorneys, and Gage said he has no direct knowledge of the jury vote. A Review-Journal columnist reported that jurors had voted 8-4 to convict Gage.

Gage explained the guilty votes by saying prosecutors portrayed him in court as a rich trial lawyer.

"The only thing worse than being portrayed as a rich trial lawyer is being portrayed as a politician," he said.

He said some jurors also might have been swayed by government witness Melodie Simon, who uses a wheelchair.

"I think there's a sympathy factor for Melodie, but the fact is, her testimony favored me," Gage said.

The day the jury retired to the deliberation room, Quackenbush tossed out 13 of the 19 counts against Gage, leaving the jury to focus on only one matter: Simon's treatment.

Simon, now 49, was paralyzed after having back surgery in 2000 and hired Gage to file a lawsuit. He initially told Simon that he could secure a judgment of $8 million to $10 million, but she ultimately got a $2.3 million settlement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Schiess told jurors that the amount of the settlement plummeted when Gage joined the conspiracy with Awand. The prosecutor said Gage backed off the surgeons who operated on Simon because they were "Awand's boys" and feared losing lucrative referrals if he angered Awand.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0264.