THE BANANA REPUBLIC OF RENO
 Originally published in 1998. It was true then and
it's true now in 2011.  Just some of the names have
changed. But not very many of them!

"This special page is dedicated to informing citizens about the terrible
corruption in Northern Nevada government that continues unchecked.
It will be updated continuously... or as long a corruption continues...
which will likely be forever." Sam Dehne

A debt of disdain is owed to these Special Interests for providing the bad government
that makes this report possible... and necessary:
Reno City Hall
The Reno Airport Board and Top Brass
The Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA)
Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN)
Washoe County Commission
Nevada (un)Ethics Commission
Northern Nevada Voting "Machine"
Mister Griffin has to go! Section 1.080 of Reno Charter (right in the front) says very plainly:
1. The mayor and councilmen shall not:
(b) Be elected to any office... the compensation for which, was increased
or fixed by the city council until 1 year after the expiration of the term for which he
was elected.
2. Any person holding any office proscribed [forbidden] in Sec 1. shall automatically
forfeit his office.
This was created to be an "Anti-Nest Feathering Device"... to prevent exactly what this
city council did just 2 weeks ago... voted themselves a pay raise... AND voted
themselves right out of office.
Folks, this is as plain as day. Any idiot can understand it. There is no way this person posing as
mayor can now legally stay in office. He must (by even the sloppiest interpretation of this law) be removed.
The Reno Airport Ethnic Cleansing Committee continues to have secret meetings...
in defiance of the dictates of good and honorable government. In defiance of the spirit of
the laws of Nevada. What's new?
Anybody who thinks that Population Growth in Reno is flat is crazy.
Anybody who thinks Quality of Life in Reno is "up" (as reported in the Reno
Gazette) is crazy.
Just try to drive around town... or open your eyes and ears... or breathe the
polluted air while waiting at all those red lights...
Airport traffic projections are down drastically. Will this stop the ethnic cleansing
of Rewana Farms concentration camp? No!
As reported earlier, the Reno Airport selected the female from San Jose
to be top dog. As adamantly demanded at the interview, she should have to
live near the airport... so she can be subjected to the terrible noise, danger,
blight and pollution... like the rest of dozens of 1,000s of Reno citizens.
Will she? She refused to do this. Not one of the Airport's aviation amateurs
lives near the airport.
The mendaciously manipulative mayor has no mandate.
Just over 1 out of each 8 eligible voters voted for him.
Voters do not trust local government.
That is why only 1 out of 4 eligible voters even show(ed) up to vote.

There were 4 cases of pedestrians being killed on the streets of
Reno in November of '98 alone...
If this isn't a record, it is quite an average. Reckless driving
is the modus operandi... a direct result of the helter-skelter need
to be somewhere else fast... and of course the free booze that flows at casinos...
Fat cats think of it as the Reno Pedestrian Road Kill Factor... which is roughly
described as the amount of body bags that are acceptable... to sustain
the current cancerous growth...
The current mayor's re-election motto of the man posing as Reno mayor was
"Promises Made - Promises Kept".
The problem is that, unbeknownst to citizens, he is referring to... his cronies, casinos,
and developers. Not the citizens!
How can citizens trust a city hall and mayor that paid a crony an absurd
$750/DAY to set up an ice skating rink?

Reno city hall has never ever accounted for the $550,000 that
was embezzled from public funds and funneled to the (private) elitist Mayors Conference.
Nor has it revealed how much was paid to the mayor's cronies whom he secretly
appointed to run the boondoggle.
Government officials feel that it is okay to meet secretly with people who are looking
for work under them... opening the door for all types of illicit hanky panky. It happened at
the Reno Airport... as they looked for new top brass to perpetrate their cancerous
growth policies.
The Voting Registrar, Secretary of State, and the Attorney General find no problem with
4,563 (known) violations of the voting law. Such actions can allow citizens to arrive at no conclusion
other than that the voting machine is rigged.
If new schools are needed (a big "if"), they must be paid for by the greedy people who have created, and
benefit from, the "need"... the casinos, the developers, the businesses... all bringing in low-wage jobs.
Mayor Jeff Griffin voted on the appointments of airport trustees who then voted to give
the mayor's private company an airport contract with lucrative, long-term huge profits for the
mayor. The farcical Nevada ethics commission ruled there was nothing wrong with this ...
while also ruling that the mayor must not do the same type of thing in future.
City Attorney Patricia Lynch failed to enforce a key anti-conflict-of-interest section of the
city charter for about ten years. When this was brought to public light, nothing was done to
identify and remedy ramifications of her non-enforcement (which could carry a price tag in
the multimillion-dollar range). By contrast, an outspoken council member ... and a strong
advocate for changes in Reno government ... was forced to resign when she temporarily
moved from her ward to attend the needs of a new husband having cancer.
City Attorney Lynch turned her back on the issue of who owns the streets in Reno's casino
district until the issue was finally pressed by concerned citizens. If the streets are owned
by private entities, questions should be answered about public money being used to police
and maintain such streets; it seems that millions of public dollars may have been illegally
spent over many years to pay for the policing and maintenance of private property ...
including property owned by gambling entities.
After the death of a well-respected off-duty Reno police officer in an unauthorized
parachute training accident, the Reno council decided to authorize such training ... with the
provision that there would be no more such training.
Although Reno representatives to the airport authority are appointed by Reno's mayor
and council ... and serve at the council's pleasure, the man posing as mayor and council
claim they have no control over actions of their appointees.
The manager of Reno's redevelopment agency was recently fired for allegedly stealing
moving expenses from the city under false pretenses. The district attorney investigated
and did not support the alleged theft. The fired manager is known to be a whistleblower
regarding questionable practices of the city manager. It has been publicly reported that
the City of Reno wasted over $5,000 attempting to prove that the fired manager stole
$3,000 in moving expenses from the city.
The fired redevelopment agency manager has reported that (before his termination) he
was instructed by the city manager to plan redevelopment meetings so that
then-Councilmember Judy Herman could not attend due to her other time obligations. Ms.
Herman was, and continues to be, a critic of redevelopment plans.
The city council permits key committees and boards to be stacked with representatives of
special interests.
The City of Reno plays games with its reporting of city business to the public. The City of
Reno does not always tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. In the past
year, the city has beefed up its "community relations" department with a budget that
comes close to a million dollars. Persons have been hired for the subject department who
can be fairly interpreted as spin doctors and damage-control doctors, i.e. distorters of
truth, i.e. liars.
The First Amendment rights of outspoken critics of Reno government have been denied at
the council table on more than one occasion.
When speaking to the council during formal meetings, critics of Reno government are
permitted less time than speakers who are friendly toward Reno government.
The City of Reno refuses to give straight answers to questions raised by critical citizens.
When one critic of Reno government recently faxed a set of questions to city hall, the fax
was quickly transmitted back to the sender with "REFUSED" imprinted on each page in
letters 6" tall.
Reno officials employ various means to circumvent the state's open meeting law ...
including coordinated non-quorum meetings and often crooked one-on-one "briefings."
The council and person posing as mayor often invite the perception at table that discussion
of a given sensitive issue is really taking place... while in actuality the decision was made prior
to table discussion.
Most Reno officials feel they have been empowered by their elections to function as
dictators who are not responsible for sounding and honoring the will of the people on
controversial issues. Reno has a dictatorship by oligarchy.
Property tax revenues have been increased at a fairly constant 16% each year for several
years. City officials want the public to believe that growth is being held to under 4%.
The smoke and mirrors city budget is presented on paper in a manner that can not be easily
understood by the average citizen. Expenses such as the cost of legal settlements are hidden.
City government activities give top priority to, and revolve around, matters pertaining to
Reno's downtown casino district.
Public money from the city's general fund is used to subsidize gambling operations ... i.e.
"casino welfare".
Public money is used to subsidize "affordable" housing for employees of casinos that can
afford to pay such employees more.
Public money ... and Federal funds ... are to be used to put train tracks in a ditch through
downtown Reno for the benefit of casinos.
Public money was used to subsidize a committee to organize the 1998 meeting of the U.S.
Conference of Mayors in Reno. When a concerned citizen asked the mayor for
information about the organizing committee (chaired by the mayor), the mayor firmly told
the citizen that the committee was "none of your business."
Public funds are given to a number of entities which do not permit public attendance at
their meetings... especially the super-secret EDAWN... that contributes heavily to the blight
and devastation of the area.. soliciting companies that do not pay their way.
Millions of public dollars were spent to build a river walk in the downtown casino district
for the veiled benefit of casinos.
The person posing as mayor and council members who have taken significant campaign donations from
gambling interests do not feel it to be a conflict of interest when they vote to approve huge projects that benefit
such gambling interests.
The mayor and council see nothing wrong in awarding city business to major
campaign donors and fund raisers.
The city council permits a rate of residential construction that has injured the market
values of existing homes.
Council oddities include approving the agenda for a meeting, and then
immediately departing from such agenda.
When a recent candidate for mayor asked the state's athletic commission for permission
to hold an exhibition boxing match with a popular ... and consenting ... judge, his request
was turned down. The commissioner who instigated the refusal is a friend of Mister Griffin's
and was appointed by the mayor and city council to represent Reno on the Reno Airport
authority board ... even though the person, Luther Mack, was not a Reno resident at the
time of his appointment to the board ... nor during the term of his appointment.
Reno has a monopoly daily newspaper, The Reno Gazette-Journal. This publication can
not be trusted to always tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Its
publisher, Sue Clark-Johnson, sits on the board of the parent company of Harrah's
casinos. One of its columnists, Frank Partlow (a retired Army general), can be perceived
as functioning as a paid lobbyist at Reno City Hall ... and is not a Reno citizen. Partlow
heads a group of heavy-weight "business" persons known as The Northern Nevada
Network; although General Partlow has been asked many times to disclose the Network's
current membership, he refuses to do so.
A former member of the city council was arrested for drunken driving (with a man on the
front hood of her car). When the day came for her appearance in court, the arresting
officer was conveniently out of town. The case was dropped because there was no one
present to testify against the former council member.
Many Reno residents are concerned with cancerous growth and would like public
discussion leading to a public vote on growth limits. Reno officials are deaf to citizen input
on this issue.
Some Reno residents would like to know why local casinos are not taxed on gross
revenues as is the case in Clark County, Nevada. Reno officials are deaf to citizen
questions on this issue.
Many Reno citizens want to know why some casino property taxes are being dropped at
the same time that residential property taxes are being increased,
When entities with political juice want to build major commercial and residential projects,
no credible community impact studies are conducted before rubber stamp approval is
given.
Casinos that could afford to pay their low-tier employees a living wage do not. Charity
food kitchens report that more than a few casino employees are regular partakers of their
meals.
Citizen activist Sam Dehne submitted an application for the position of Reno City
Ombudsman. This application was reported "lost" by the city and Sam was never
interviewed for the position.
Sam also submitted a standing application for any Reno council appointment
to the Reno Airport authority board. This application was "purged" from
city files without Sam being notified of a change in city policy regarding standing
applications. Prior policy was still being presented on the city's Website at the time Sam's
airport application was purged. Sam is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and a
retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. This outspoken critic of corruption and stupidity at
Reno City Hall has knowledge of flying operations superior to those of other members of
the airport authority board.


Some people say Sam IS YOU-TUBE (click)

father, writer, boxer, fighter pilot, bomber pilot...
airline pilot, union leader, orator, watchdog...
philosopher, newspaper editor, newspaper reporter...
song writer, musician, singer, televison
(boxing) announcer, and entertainer...


Find out why Sam is so Humble (click)


MORE Banana-Mania (click below):



Concerns about Reno's Current Fraudulent Mayor
Read Citizen Watchdog

Reno's Noodleheaded Government
Internet Free Reno

Do you have any reports? Send Email (click)

Click back to The Reno Citizen