Unluckiest guy in Vegas will win lottery if he’s not charged in UMC case

Ousted University Medical Center CEO Lacy Thomas might be the unluckiest guy in Las Vegas -- and not just for the obvious reasons.

Thomas is the subject of a nine-month Metro investigation into the highly suspicious awarding of contracts at the county hospital. Earlier this month, Metro detectives submitted a 60-page report supported by voluminous backup material outlining what police believe was a criminal conspiracy by Thomas to play favorites with his pals and associates from Chicago, where he once ran a Cook County hospital.

They did so little work -- none at all in some cases -- that employees and auditors noticed. Thomas was fired in part for a lack of candor with his superiors at Clark County about the enormous losses the hospital was experiencing. Auditors found the hospital lost $34.3 million in fiscal year 2006 -- more than double the $15.5 million Thomas had reported to county commissioners.

Such incompetence would be comical if you weren't on the hook to pay the tab.

Losses at UMC are nothing new -- the indigent care center runs a river of red ink -- but Thomas failed to keep County Manager Virginia Valentine and others fully informed on the latest problems. Thomas was so incommunicative, in fact, that some observers called him evasive. Others noted that despite the fact UMC was slow in paying its bills, some companies -- those tied to Thomas and his friends -- were paid quickly.

Thomas should have known that such bill-paying efficiency would stick out.

All this bodes ill for Thomas, and District Attorney David Roger said his office will closely evaluate the police investigation for possible criminal charges. He also said it was possible the police work would first pass through a grand jury. Thomas will be a certified lottery winner if he isn't hit with multiple corruption-related charges.

That's troublesome, but here's something to chew on: Thomas might not have experienced this dilemma even a few years ago. His odd behavior would have been spotted sooner or later by auditors, but chances are good he would have been allowed to resign without a scandal or criminal investigation.

What's changed?

The community, for one.

Southern Nevadans have been pummeled by one local government scandal after another. A full quorum of former county commissioners is in prison in connection with the G-sting political corruption case. Add to that the pending felonies against former Commissioner Lynette Boggs, and word of a federal investigation of ex-Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, and you have a whole new ballgame down at the Clark County Government Center.

Looks like Lacy Thomas picked the wrong time to play the ward-heeling Chicago alderman at UMC.

To make matters more difficult, the public fallout from those political scandals has fueled investigative interest in such affairs from Metro and the DA's office. Cases that were once the domain of the feds are now getting a hard look from local detectives.

That leads us to yet another reason Thomas is unlucky. Even with their tight budget and time restraints, Metro detectives Mike Ford and Bob Whitely plowed through boxes of documents seized in a raid at the hospital to assemble what appears to be a pattern of cronyism and questionable dealings that promise to give Thomas nightmares for years to come.

Metro's investigative bulldogs work with an unofficial clock ticking on cases that have the potential to be time- and budget-consuming. They must work quickly to reach a preliminary determination that further investigation will obtain results. There's not much room for exploratory committees.

"From the very beginning when we received this information, we did a preliminary check, a review of what we have to determine whether or not we think we have a good chance of developing provable criminal case," Metro Deputy Chief Kathy Suey said. "They're very manpower intensive, and we don't have unlimited resources.

"From the very beginning it was pretty obvious that many of the contracts awarded by Lacy Thomas were given to his friends, acquaintances, and business partners from Chicago. After we received that information, we decided to go forward with a full criminal investigation."

Results of that investigation, which is ongoing, now rest with the district attorney.

In a Southern Nevada political climate in which county shenanigans are no longer tolerated, chances are good Lacy Thomas will remain the unluckiest man in Las Vegas for some time to come.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0295.