Bryan, Gibbons blast testimony by mobster

BILOXI, MISS. -- Members of Nevada's congressional delegation are denouncing today's scheduled testimony of ex-Chicago mobster William Jahoda before the National Gambling Impact Study Commission.

Jahoda, who became a government witness in 1989, was listed as a speaker on a crime panel this afternoon under an assumed identity.

Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., and Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said Wednesday from Washington that Jahoda's appearance reinforces their belief that the anti-gaming forces on the nine-member commission are controlling its agenda.

Bryan suggested that Chairwoman Kay James, an emerging leader in the religious right, which is spearheading a nationwide anti-gambling campaign, is "up to her old tricks" again.

"Testimony from a mobster really has no relevancy to the commission's work," Bryan said. "This is all part of the agenda of the chair to portray gaming in its most sensational and unfavorable light."

Bryan was an early critic of James, an administrator at a Virginia university founded by televangelist Pat Robertson, when the commission launched its two-year industry study in June 1997.

James has repeatedly insisted that she has gone out of her way to ensure that the panel conducts itself in a fair and objective manner.

Charges of bias against the industry, however, have dogged the panel at several of its five hearings on the road this year.

Gibbons directed most of his anger at the man James installed as acting director, Timothy Kelly.

The freshman congressman said Jahoda's testimony illustrates how Kelly and other anti-gaming staff members are trying to "structure the results of the study.

"This does nothing but give a black eye to the people of the casino industry," Gibbons said.

Alan Feldman, a Mirage Resorts vice president who has been attending the federal commission hearings across the country, accused Kelly of turning the proceedings here into a circus.

"It's such a disservice to this commission," Feldman said.

Without criticizing James or Kelly, one commissioner, retiring Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible, agreed with Bryan and Gibbons that Jahoda doesn't appear to have anything of value to offer the commission.

"Calling a mobster to testify doesn't have much credibility," Bible said. "It looks to me like he's trying to profit from telling some old war stories."

Kelly, meanwhile, again said he has made a strong effort to set up a fair agenda here and in New Orleans where the panel will conclude its two days of hearings on Friday. He said if anything there are more pro-gaming than anti-gaming witnesses scheduled to talk.

Jahoda, who ran the Chicago mob's largest illegal gambling operation before turning on his associates, was to testify in this afternoon about the evils of gambling.

He was listed as a witness under the alias Bobby Jay, of the Portland-based Americans Against Organized Gambling.

In 1986, Jahoda created a stir in Washington when he testified behind a screen under heavy guard before the House Judiciary Committee, which was considering the legislation that created the gambling commission.

His appearance there was condemned by the casino industry and Nevada's congressional delegation.

Bryan and Gibbons said Wednesday that Jahoda can only offer testimony about illegal gambling, which is not the main objective of the federal commission.

" We're all opposed to illegal gambling," Bryan said. "I think he has very little to contribute."

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