Knappster: Grand jury takes up G-Sting developer fraud suspicions

By George Knapp

At long last, the next phase in the G-Sting political corruption probe may be ready to pop.

As informed readers already know, G-Sting began as a federal investigation of alleged bribery of elected officials by key players in the topless nightclub industry. The politicians were allegedly taking money hand over fist from the jiggle joints. Three big names have been indicted here and will stand trial. Three others have been charged in San Diego. Their trial is set to begin in May. Along the way, two central players (former County Commissioner Erin Kenny and topless club owner Mike Galardi) entered guilty pleas and will cooperate with prosecutors.

We've all been waiting for months for the other shoe to drop. It appears the Florsheim is about to hit the linoleum.

Informed sources say a federal grand jury heard testimony last week about alleged corruption that does not involve the topless industry. The panel is reportedly focused on "developer" issues, that is, the question of whether certain movers and shakers in the development community were handing out cold cash in return for political favors. In particular, jurors heard testimony about the infamous CVS Pharmacy incident. Kenny has reportedly told federal investigators that she accepted $200,000 for her help in changing the zoning of land at Buffalo Drive and Desert Inn Road to allow for the construction of a pharmacy. Don Davidson, a vice president at Triple Five Development, is suspected of being involved with the payments to Kenny, although Davidson's lawyer disputes the involvement of his client in such skullduggery.

It is not known whether Kenny herself has testified before the grand jury, but since she has promised to cooperate fully in exchange for a light sentence, it would not be unreasonable to guess that she has made, or soon will make, an appearance. Kenny presumably could tell tales about other developers as well. According to testimony given to the feds by Galardi, Kenny boasted that she was getting a cool 20 grand a month from one local builder in exchange for using her influence on his behalf. (By the way, it doesn't take a psychic to guess the name of this other developer.)

I'm told some of those who may have been asked to appear last week are regular folks who have only peripheral knowledge of the CVS land deal. At least one is a person who owns land in the same area. The big question is whether the grand jury probe will go beyond the CVS incident and look into the larger picture of just how much influence home builders and developers have wielded with our elected officials.

The Erin Kenny tapes

As a footnote to the Erin Kenny story, here's an odd little item that came my way. You may recall news coverage last year concerning a taped conversation between Kenny and a family member in which the commissioner reportedly inquired about how to hide $200,000 in an offshore account. Wouldn't it be something if that tape turned out to have been staged? The way I hear it, the tape really does exist, but the person on the other end was an FBI agent posing as someone else. The recording may have been created for the purpose of scaring the hell out of another potential witness by giving that other person the impression that everything Ms. Kenny said on the phone was recorded by federal agents.

What if it turns out there were no wiretaps whatsoever on Kenny during the long G-Sting probe? What if the feds only bugged former Commissioner Lance Malone in the belief that he was the central link between the money man, Mike Galardi, and the elected officials, including Kenny? Hoo boy, that sure would put a different spin on the entire case. It may be slightly sneaky on the part of the feds, but it doesn't sound illegal. Sometimes, law enforcement has to reach into a bag of tricks in order to get the job done. This trick, if it really happened this way, sounds like the product of a very creative mind.

The `other' airport deal

As Mercury readers may recall, this column long ago predicted that a nasty, behind-the-scenes dispute involving real heavyweights could burst open in a very public way and embarrass a lot of people. The timing of the prediction was off by many months, but the prediction is finally about to come true. At issue is the proposed Ivanpah airport, a mega-project that has attracted some major players over the past few years. Apparently, these bigwigs thought they had a solid deal in place with the county and with McCarran officials to do the groundwork for the Ivanpah project. Somewhere along the way--AFTER the airport received the green light from local and federal authorities--certain county poobahs slammed the door in the faces of the folks who had done all the groundwork at Ivanpah.

Get ready to hear the whole sordid story soon. A truly nasty lawsuit is being prepared. The names of those already deposed will make your head spin. And I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the Ivanpah mess, which could cost taxpayers millions of dollars in damages, might end up dovetailing with the stench emanating from certain deals now under investigation at that other airport, McCarran. Watch this space next week for the full story.

Names, faces, paranormal tidbits

Movie actress Teresa Russell will offer some star power during the upcoming rally to save wild horses. Russell and other celebrities will be on hand Feb. 22 at the West Charleston Library to try to get the public interested in fighting back against a new federal law that allows wild horses to end up in slaughterhouses. Actress Bo Derek, another horse lover, has been asked to participate as well. The public is invited to the 4 p.m. event. ... Earlier that same day, the Mount Charleston Summit will be held to discuss the many problems facing the Spring Mountain area. Sen. Harry Reid will preside over the event. Reid is expected to funnel money from the sale of federal lands to help bail out Charleston. Expect some heated discussions that day. ... Services will be held Saturday for local mathematician and screenwriter Ed Toupin, who passed away several months after barely surviving a terrible motorcycle accident. Among Toupin's many interests was "remote viewing," a psychic technique developed by the CIA. He studied with Dr. Angela Thompson of Boulder City. Services are slated for 10 a.m. at Bear's Best Golf Course. ... Later this month, news anchor Peter Jennings will host an ABC News primetime special about UFOs. I'm told the approach being taken by the network guys is very serious. One local who was interviewed--Col. John Alexander, a retired Army Intelligence officer and published author who previously worked with the Las Vegas-based national Institute for Discovery Science, which studied UFO cases.