Storm swirls around alleged gaming probe

Tempers are flaring in a civil suit against Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa in which a former state investigator alleges Del Papa opened an intelligence probe of top gaming regulators.

Since August, ex-investigator Mike Anzalone has been unable to take Del Papa's sworn deposition and obtain documents from the attorney general that could shed light on the alleged secret inquiry.

Last week, attorneys representing Del Papa, who denies launching an intelligence investigation, filed a motion in District Court seeking to delay Del Papa's scheduled testimony on Tuesday until after next week's election. The attorney general is seeking a third term in office.

Solicitor General Mark Ghan and Senior Deputy Attorney General Bridget Branigan alleged that Anzalone's Phoenix lawyer, Christine Manno, was pressing the deposition so close to the election for the purpose of "annoying, harassing, embarrassing and intimidating" Del Papa.

But Manno responded in court papers that the attorney general's office has been stonewalling the production of evidence in the case.

She also accused Ghan of sending her an "extremely offensive" letter in which he threatened to file a complaint against her with the Nevada State Bar if she tried to subpoena Del Papa to Tuesday's deposition.

"This suggestion was never an attempt to harass the defendant, be malicious or attempt to influence the outcome of an election as Mr. Ghan stated," Manno wrote. "Undersigned simply wanted to take a deposition, which she had every right under the law and rules of court to do, and was forced into deciding that the only way to assure defendant's presence was through the serving of a subpoena."

Manno also contends that she left a voice message for Branigan canceling the deposition amid the bickering minutes before Branigan and Ghan filed for a protective order last week in court to put off Del Papa's testimony.

The Phoenix lawyer is asking Discovery Commissioner Thomas Biggar to impose sanctions on the attorney general's office for what she calls "outrageous discovery abuse."

Biggar has scheduled a hearing on the legal dispute Tuesday morning.

Anzalone filed suit against Del Papa in February, alleging he was forced to resign because he wouldn't go along with the secret intelligence probe of then Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible and others at the board.

Anzalone contended he got caught in the middle of a political feud between Del Papa and Bible, who retired in September after 10 years at the board's helm.

At one point, Anzalone contended in his suit, Deputy Attorney General David Thompson, who was spearheading the investigation for Del Papa, had asked him to obtain Bible's telephone and bank records, a request Anzalone said he refused.

The probe is said to have stemmed from a criminal inquiry into the activities of Ron Harris, a former Control Board computer whiz who was accused in a massive slot cheating scheme.

Harris pleaded guilty and began cooperating with the attorney general's office. In a videotaped debriefing, he leveled unsubstantiated allegations about the people at the Control Board who had built the criminal case against him. None of the allegations, however, were substantiated.

No charges ever were brought against Bible or any other members of the Control Board, and Harris, now serving a prison term, ultimately was discredited by Del Papa, among others.

Del Papa, meanwhile, has strongly insisted that she did not open an intelligence investigation.

"It's rubbish to suggest that Bill Bible and other Gaming Control Board members were investigated," she said after Anzalone filed his suit.

Del Papa, however, has denied a Sun request to open her files in the Harris case.

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