Loux case demands impartiality

To the editor:

I am writing in response to your Feb. 14 editorial, " 'There's no punishment there,' " which asked, "Where is Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto on this?"

On Sept. 11, I received a constituent complaint requesting "an investigation of Bob Loux, director of Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects, for malfeasance in office and possible criminal activity."

Upon receipt of the complaint, I decided the issue must be fully and fairly investigated to the fullest extent of the law. However, I also recognized there was a conflict of interest, and a perceived conflict of interest, for my office to investigate and potentially prosecute this issue.

Over the past 20 years, Mr. Loux has had an ongoing working relationship with my office in this state's fight against the federal government regarding the Yucca Mountain Project. Particularly, Mr. Loux has been utilized by my office as an affiant in two federal court cases: U.S. v. State (U.S. District Court, Nevada) and Nuclear Energy Institute v. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia). Additionally, I was aware that an ethics complaint had been filed against Mr. Loux and, pursuant to state law, I was required to represent him in that proceeding.

Under the Nevada Supreme Court Rules of Professional Conduct, lawyers are ethically obligated to refrain from conflicts of interest when representing a client. Because of my office's ongoing working relationship with Mr. Loux and its potential representation of him in the ethics proceeding, I made the appropriate decision to refer the criminal case to an independent law enforcement agency to investigate.

It is commonplace for one law enforcement agency in this state to seek assistance from another law enforcement agency if there is a conflict or the appearance of a conflict in a particular criminal case. I immediately referred the case to the Washoe County Sheriff's Office to ensure an independent and speedy investigation of the matter. Additionally, I contacted the district attorney in Carson City and sought approval for the Washoe County Sheriff's Office to refer the case to him for potential prosecution.

My decision on this matter had nothing to do with politics, partisanship or sympathetic leanings. It had everything to do with protecting the integrity of the legal process. I do not condone the actions taken by Mr. Loux. However, it is not my duty to usurp the role of the courts in this matter. It is in the people's best interest that, whatever the outcome of the criminal investigation and potential prosecution, there should be no question that the outcome is based on a full, fair review by independent parties.

Your editorial asked where I am in this case. The answer is that I have fulfilled my duties by ensuring a fair and impartial investigation and potential prosecution by independent sources to resolve this matter to the satisfaction of our state laws.

CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO

CARSON CITY

THE WRITER, A DEMOCRAT, IS NEVADA'S ATTORNEY GENERAL.

Madoff money

To the editor:

The U.S. government is one giant Ponzi scheme. We take in money from all over the world, which we have already spent, and pay interest to our investors with new money coming in.

We pay more than $400 billion a year in interest on our $11 trillion national debt. We have to keep this Ponzi scheme going, so maybe Bernie Madoff should be our treasury secretary.

ANTHONY TIDEI

LAS VEGAS

Californication

To the editor:

Nevada is in financial trouble. But our legislators have been dragging their feet on actually doing anything about reducing our budget shortfall. They have been waiting for the federal "stimulus" to bail us out.

Now they have it. The next step is almost certainly a tax increase so we can continue to have our many desirable programs and social benefits.

Surely our legislators understand that raising taxes during a recession that borders on a depression is absolutely the wrong economic move. We can hope they would look at our huge neighbor, California, as an example of bad economic moves. Not long ago, the Golden State was booming as the center of the technology world. But state spending grew about 40 percent in the five years ending last year.

Now California is in big trouble with a huge deficit, the highest unemployment and the worst state credit rating in the country. California also has the second-highest home foreclosure rate behind Nevada.

The California Legislature has responded by raising taxes. Soon, California will have the highest state sales tax rate, at 8.25 percent, and the highest income tax rate, at 10.55 percent, in our nation.

Such tax-and-spend measures have caused California's job losses and the net loss of about 1.4 million non-immigrant residents, who have gone elsewhere in the past decade.

California's problems demonstrate that taxing and spending are not the answer. Nevada should not emulate California's runaway liberal governing. We need to reduce our tax burden and better control our spending.

We can pray our legislators will take the right steps to control our budget.

Richard N. Fulton

HENDERSON