Danny Tarkanian wants TV stations to stop airing opponent’s attack ad

Congressional candidate Danny Tarkanian’s old ties to a fraudulent charity continue to haunt him.

His leading opponent, state Sen. Michael Roberson, launched a recent television-only ad attacking Tarkanian’s involvement with a telemarketing scheme and his role as a registered agent for companies that acted as fronts for fraudulent charities.

Tarkanian’s attorney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Las Vegas television stations Tuesday demanding they stop airing the ad, which was paid for by a Roberson campaign committee.

According to the letter, the ad makes the same claims that Tarkanian’s 2004 state Senate opponent, Democrat Mike Schneider, made leading up to the election, which Tarkanian eventually lost.

Tarkanian successfully sued Schneider for defamation over those comments made in ads and in a debate that aired on a local political talk show hosted by journalist Jon Ralston. Schneider’s insurance company agreed to pay $150,000 to Tarkanian in 2009.

Tarkanian was the registered agent for the company Master Fundraising, meaning he accepted legal documents and notifications from state offices on behalf of the company. The company’s director, Jan Wrobel, was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 1999 for defrauding elderly victims out of more than $3 million.

His involvement with the company has haunted Tarkanian at almost every political turn he’s made.

During his 2006 run for secretary of state, his opponent Democrat Ross Miller used his involvement in television ads, as did Tarkanian’s 2012 congressional opponent Democrat Steven Horsford.

Tarkanian sent a similar cease-and-desist letter after Horsford’s ads aired in 2012.

Horsford refused. Tarkanian lost both races.

Roberson’s campaign manager, Jeremy Hughes, said they have not been served with the letter. Tarkanian wants to keep his involvement with the companies out of the public eye because of the damage it’s done in past elections, Hughes added.

“One of the reasons voters have rejected Danny Tarkanian over and over again is because of his involvement in a telemarketing scheme. Danny Tarkanian was an attorney and registered agent for multiple clients that bilked victims out of millions of dollars. That is an indisputable fact,” Hughes said. “Tarkanian is desperate to keep this information from voters but his last-minute attempts to hide this will not work — it hasn’t in the past and it won’t now.”

Contact reporter Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.