Wednesday, March 12, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- District Judge Michael Memeo has declined to issue warrants for the arrest of six state and federal officials accused by the Elko Grand Jury of coercing a mining company into paying a $500,000 mitigation fee.
Memeo of Elko agreed with the district attorney's office that the statute of limitations had run out on the gross misdemeanor counts alleged by the grand jury against Willie Molini, director of the state Wildlife Division, three of his employees and two U.S. Forest Service workers.
The grand jury accused the six of criminally coercing the Independence Mining Co. to pay a $500,000 fee for disturbing 5,500 acres of prime winter habitat for mule deer when the company expanded about 60 miles north of Elko.
Memeo, in an order signed Monday, said the court would not take any further action.
The Memeo decision is the latest chapter in the battle between the state and the Elko County Grand Jury.
Peter Morros, director of the state Conservation and Natural Resources Department, blasted the grand jury report, calling it a "witch hunt" aimed at furthering the drive by Elko County to gain control of the public lands.
At a meeting last Friday, Bob Micsak, vice president and general counsel of Independence Mining Co., said it voluntarily entered into the mitigation agreement.
"We do not agree with the findings set out in the presentment of the Elko County Grand Jury in this matter," Micsak said. He said the agreement between the company, the wildlife division and the forest service was "cooperatively developed," to mitigate for past, present and potential future disturbance to mule deer habitat" as a result of the mining expansion.
The mining companies had been silent since the grand jury issued its report last month.
The grand jury had recommended the return of the $500,000 and said the state and federal employees negotiated in "bad faith" knowing they had Independence Mining over the barrel because their gold reserves were exhausted and they had to expand to keep the operation going.
The jury said the state and federal agencies "had essentially absolute control of Independence Mining's financial well being."
Morros heatedly denied his employees were guilty of any impropriety and said the only thing they did wrong was to accept $500,000 when they should have obtained $1.5 million from the company.
Morros has hinted that the employees named in the report may take some legal action against the grand jury. And he complained that two members of the grand jury were employees of Independence Mining.
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