KNAPPSTER George Knapp is a longtime reporter and anchor for KLAS Channel 8.

Thursday, May 29, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Knappster: Local officials' G-Sting spin not convincing

By George Knapp

Thank goodness we got all the nonsense cleared up and that the record has finally been set straight. It's no wonder the news biz has such a bad reputation, considering all the terrible errors that have been made in reporting the Operation G-Sting story.

Lance Malone, the central figure in the joint FBI-Metro investigation of political corruption and topless bars, says the reports of his cooperation with g-men are greatly exaggerated. The only singing Lance is doing these days is in the shower, according to the statement he read at the office of his attorney, Don Campbell, who, coincidentally, is a former federal prosecutor and who still has many friends in the FBI and U.S. attorney's office. (Is it true that Campbell once had to sue Malone to get the former commissioner to pay his legal bill?)

Damn, how did we all get this so wrong? I guess we were misled by the fact that Malone disappeared from view just hours before the feds and cops raided topless joints and other locations here and in San Diego. Not even his employers, the Galardis, could find him for a little chat. Perhaps Lance had been on vacation in the Arctic, far removed from any newspapers or TV, and didn't know about this. Boy, he sure must have been surprised when he got home and had time to catch up on current events.

I suppose we will just have to take Lance at his word (contrary to what those old political fliers warned us.) I mean, face it, if he really was cooperating with the government, he'd have to come out and admit it. You know, the same way that undercover narcotics officers have to admit they're cops if asked by a dope dealer. And the same way those FBI agents who interviewed Mary Kincaid had to fully disclose that she really was a target of the probe.

Now that we all know he's a standup guy, I'm certain that Malone's many associates, including the recipients of his financial largesse, can breathe much easier. The next time Malone meets with his political pals to have coffee or drop off an envelope, they'll all probably have a good laugh over this misunderstanding. Heck, I'll bet the Galardis won't even pat him down for microphones the next time they get together. And then everyone will go back to chatting up a storm on their cell phones, confident in the knowledge that no one is listening.

Oh, and we also can be thankful that friends of Erin Kenny have cleared up that misinformation about her campaign stops at local topless joints. Kenny has acknowledged being a target of the G-Sting probe, but her friends seem more concerned about addressing my report that she solicited campaign donations from topless dancers, with the blessings of the Galardis, who own two of the clubs Kenny visited.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, Kenny's pals say. She only visited those clubs because she wanted to help the fledgling dancers' union, which is trying to organize local strippers. Erin's a friend to labor, we are reminded. Besides, the owners of the clubs weren't anywhere near the joints at the time of her visit. Sure, topless clubs are well known for allowing just any ol' political candidate to wander in, mosey around, and, by the way, unionize the dancers while they're there. I'm sure the Galardis have an open-door policy for anyone who runs for office. Come on by, have a drink, get a lap dance.

That certainly seems to have been the case for City Councilman Michael Mack, who also has tried to clear things up about his own experiences at local topless clubs. Mack acknowledges the FBI has a video of the councilman getting a lap dance at Cheetahs. The tape shows there was no hanky-panky, we are assured, no knob job, no hide-the-salami, just a good old-fashioned lap dance, you know, a little writhing, grinding, rubbing and sliding by a nearly naked nubile dancer, the kind of dance that's perfectly legal in the city but which is more strictly regulated in the county.

I'm not sure anyone really cares if Councilman Mack visits strip clubs, whether it's on a regular basis or only five times altogether, as he insists. Nor does it seem particularly newsworthy that he has sworn to never go into one of the places again. After all, they aren't illegal and many would argue that it's just good clean fun. But I think it's fair game to ask Mr. Mack why he will no longer drop by Cheetahs or Jaguars for a topless two-step. Why not? Is there something wrong with these businesses? Are they immoral? Because if so, then why has the councilman signed on to handle advertising and marketing chores for the soon-to-open Treasures topless club? It makes him look ridiculous to swear off nudie joints, then say in the next breath that he will rake in money for advertising them. He explains that he doesn't need to actually visit the clubs to handle their marketing chores. Man, that's rich.

I heard attorney Rick Wright complaining on Jon Ralston's show the other day that a terrible injustice has been done to Mr. Mack. In Wright's view, Mack was slimed for no reason. Someone leaked the story about the lap dance video, even though Mack has nothing to do with Operation G-Sting, and it ended up on the front page of the paper. By itself, Michael Mack getting a lap dance isn't much of a story. But this is a guy whose ethics and judgment have been questioned many times during his short career as a politician. He's trying to rebuild his image, so he does it by hanging out in strip bars and by signing up to work for a nudie joint, a joint whose owners are not held in high regard by law enforcement in two states?

Mr. Wright also went on a rampage in his defense of County Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, another unfortunate victim of dastardly news leaks and sneaky tactics by the FBI. Poor little grandmotherly Mary, sitting there in her bathrobe, offering tea and Rice Krispie treats to the feds, and never suspecting for a minute that she might be a target. Oh deary me. Those rascally FBI agents sure fooled her.

Ms. Kincaid-Chauncey isn't a na•ve little old lady, ignorant of the ways of the big bad world. She's been around the block. Hell, she's held one public office or another for the past 20 years. She's not only on the County Commission, she's the chairperson. Maybe it's true she's never had a traffic ticket, but when two FBI agents come to your house and question you for two hours, and it happens on the same day as the highly publicized strip club raids, even Aunt Bee of Mayberry might deduce that something is in the works.

After dealing with this cast of characters and their lame explanations, I wouldn't blame the Galardis if they decided to cooperate with the government. I know federal prosecutors had an impromptu meeting with Mike Galardi the other day and would probably love to hear his side of this sordid tale. Maybe the Galardis feel they are the victims in this, extorted by greedy politicians. Oh, the tales they could tell.

Attorney Wright did drive home an important point. Everyone mentioned above is presumed innocent. No charges have been filed. No one has been convicted of anything. And now that Lance Malone isn't cooperating with the government (insert snicker here), perhaps these matters will never come to trial. We shall see.