Tuesday, March 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
ATTORNEY GENERAL Frankie Sue Del Papa remains locked in a damage control mode -- not a good state of mind for someone exploring a bid for governor.
It seems she's developing writer's cramp trying to rebut the suggestion here Feb. 27 that her chances of running for governor have been harmed by the controversy over the leaked Ron Harris tapes.
In letters to the editor and to top state officials, Del Papa appears more worried about attacking me, the messenger, than finding out who leaked copies of the top secret videotapes to ABC News.
Harris, a former State Gaming Control Board electronics expert convicted of slot cheating, alleged in the tapes (made by Del Papa's office) that slot machines can be rigged in Nevada and that Gov. Bob Miller wielded influence over the board on behalf of certain licensees.
Everyone under the sun has denied the allegations, and Del Papa could not substantiate them.
Now, the attorney general and David Thompson, the deputy who conducted the interviews with Harris, say the ex-Control Board employee has little or no credibility.
But that's not likely to prevent fallout from ABC's Prime Time Live broadcast Wednesday night that many believe will be embarrassing to the casino industry and Nevada's regulatory system.
Del Papa and Thompson deny their office was the source of the leak, which may have prompted ABC to pursue the story.
The unwanted publicity comes at a time when gaming is under the microscope in Washington. President Clinton is considering naming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible to a nine-member commission to study gambling's impact on America over the next two years.
The attorney general's office has drawn criticism within the casino industry -- the biggest contributor to political campaigns in the state -- for making the tapes before checking out the information from Harris and then losing control of the tapes.
Bible regards Harris as one of the biggest threats to the casino industry. His name recently was added to Nevada's Black Book of undesirables banned from casinos.
But though Harris pleaded guilty to four counts of slot cheating in August, he has yet to be sentenced. For months, the Control Board has been pushing for a stiff jail term.
Del Papa, meanwhile, embarked on her damage control mission as soon as she started taking political flak for the way the Harris matter has been handled.
On Feb. 28, Del Papa sent a letter to the editor indicating she was correcting what she called "erroneous and misleading statements" by me.
But she ended up correcting nothing.
Instead, she attempted to justify her investigation into the Harris accusations, which included alleged wrongdoing by others at the Control Board, and she made a point of denying being the leak to ABC.
Not satisfied with disparaging me with the boss, Del Papa struck again in a letter this week to members of the Nevada Gaming Commission.
Del Papa again claimed that her office was not the leak.
Then, she added: "Unfortunately, Jeff German is attempting to invent a controversy where none exists."
If there's no controversy, why is Del Papa spending so much time fueling it?
Doth she protest too loudly?
As it turns out, there are only two primary sources of the leak.
Since Harris' attorney can't recall ever receiving any tapes, the only other copies were maintained at the Control Board and the attorney general's office.
At the board, the tapes were kept by one of Bible's most trusted underlings. There's certainly no motive there to let them out.
But that's not necessarily the case at the attorney general's office, which hasn't enjoyed a great relationship with the Control Board over the years. Relations between Bible and Del Papa particularly have been strained.
Thompson even acknowledges that he didn't have sole possession of the tapes at the AG's office.
The best way to put this controversy to rest, it seems, is to investigate how videotapes of a thoroughly discredited state witness wound up in the hands of the media.
But then, maybe Del Papa has a reason not to push for an investigation.
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