Ruling keeps Malone’s appeal alive

Former Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone might yet win a reduction in his six-year prison sentence.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth District recently denied a request by federal prosecutors' to dismiss Malone's appeal. The U.S. Attorney's office has until Thursday to submit a response to the Appeals Court ruling.

Malone, three of his former colleagues and strip club owner Michael Galardi all were sent to prison for their roles in a political corruption scandal, and Malone received the harshest sentence of the five.

Malone pleaded guilty in September to serving as Galardi's bagman and bribing then-commissioners Erin Kenny, Dario Herrera and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey.

Kenny and Galardi, both of whom pleaded guilty in 2003 and cooperated with the government, received 30-month sentences. Herrera is serving a 51-month sentence; Kincaid-Chauncey received 30 months.

Hicks called Malone a ringleader and blamed the Republican who once oversaw District C for corrupting his former colleagues after he left office in 2000.

But his lawyer, Dominic Gentile, contends U.S. District Court Judge Larry Hicks wrongly calculated the sentence in February by combining the amount of bribes paid by Malone and the compensation he received from Galardi as Galardi's lobbyist. Gentile says Hicks applied a sentencing range of between 63 and 78 months when the proper range was 51 to 63 months.

A Bureau of Probation and Parole pre-sentencing report set the amount of bribe money paid by Malone at less than $200,000, which would have resulted in a prison term range between 41 and 51 months. But Hicks ruled the amount was $550,000, which boosted the sentencing range.

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or (702) 384-8710.