Why Did the Ethics Commission Whitewash the Reno Mayor's Airport Kickback Contract?By Sam Dehné
By Sam Dehné
The Nevada "Ethics" Commission did not allow itself to be blinded by the facts... when it whitewashed the circumstances surrounding the mayor's plush kickback contracts with his political subordinates at Reno's Airport. The E.C. was forced to meet after the mayor was caught with both hands in the cookie jar...
In the Fall of 1997, this long-time clique of the same old "good ol' boys (and a few token girls)" huddled into a small room at Nevada U. and asked almost all the wrong questions. And when honest answers were thrown at them, they either ignored them or reverted to innocuous gobble-dee-gook to circumvent the facts and arrive at their obviously pre-ordained decision. A decision to merely slap the cookie crumbs from the mayor's fingertips... in abject defiance of the SPIRIT of city and state laws that define and control good and honorable government.
Their inane conclusion was: It is all right for the mayor to do whatever is necessary to get plush government-funded kickback contracts for his private company, but once he has those contracts, then, and only then, must he keep an arm's length away from his cronies at the Airport and at EDAWN (Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada).
Some of you are probably thinking by now; There you go again, Sam... Okay - how about this? How about running through just a few of the facts that were presented as sworn testimony... evidence that totally underwhelmed this Commission:
1. Fact: The mayor did get a plush $27,500 contract from the Reno Airport Authority.
2. Fact: The mayor and city council hand out plush part-time jobs to 4 of the 8 people on the Airport Authority Board... the controlling body.
3. Fact: These political subordinates "serve at the mayor's pleasure".
4. Fact: Within days of the appointment, his personal favorite, Sue Camp, paid him back by seconding the plush government contract that his private company had been seeking, unsuccessfully, for several years. (This, by the way, was her only day as an Airport "trustee"... as she was immediately re-appointed to an even "plusher" part-time position on the Washoe County Commission... paying $40,000 plus those standard government perks. Whew!! Busy, busy.)
5. Fact: This plush Airport CONTRACT was not advertised for bids or offered to others... such as UPS and FedEx... as demanded by legal bidding-process laws.
6. Fact: There was no disclosure by the mayor or the Airport of his ownership of the company that was receiving the plush government kickback contract.
7. Fact: As an example of the clandestine nature of the proceedings, when somebody asked who owned the company, there was a loud silent pause, followed by, "a man called Jeff Griffin". (As in, "Ladies and gentleman we present... a man called Bill Clinton".) This was the mayor... the man who helped appoint them to their plush part-time jobs.
8. Fact: When asked why he went for what had to be a questionable contract, the mayor alibied by saying that he wasn't making enough money on his mayor's salary and needed another "arrow for his quiver".
9. Fact: After this kickback contract was doled out by the mayor's cronies, the mayor and Airport continued to desecrate honorable business and government ethics... by letting the employee company (the mayor's private company) draw up the contract, and set itself up to be the exclusive operator of the Airport's Free Trade Zone... GROSSLY OVER-STEPPING THE BOUNDS OF THE ALREADY ILLEGAL CONTRACT.
This, and other facts and evidence presented to the Commission, succinctly revealed there was a plot concocted between the mayor's company and some of his subordinates at the Airport to illegally feather the mayor's nest.
As a VERY MINIMUM, shouldn't the Commission have immediately:
a. declared the mayor's kickback contract with the Airport illegally null and void?
b. directed the state attorney general to investigate further as to the racketeering implications of the nefarious activities?
c. asked the mayor to voluntarily take a lie detector test... to examine the dimensions and legality of his wheelings and dealings?
The Commission has possibly made some honorable decisions in the past, but in this instance, by refusing to take honorable and effective action, the Commission effectively conducted a Kangaroo Court... and declared ITSELF null and void in the eyes of the public.
If this had been an Honor Code meeting at the United States Air Force Academy, the Commission, itself, quite possibly would have been expelled or disbanded... as it ignored the fact that its job is to examine violations of the "SPIRIT OF THE LAW"...
4 more Ethics Violations Filed Exposing Reno Mayor Griffin "misdeeds" (click)
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