Tuesday, May 27, 2003 | 10:04 a.m.
Former Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone came out of hiding Friday afternoon, saying that he is not a witness in the FBI's public corruption investigation and that he has not spoken with federal agents on the advice of his attorney.
"On Wednesday (May 14) FBI agents came to my home in the early morning hours and sought to question me about my relationship with the (topless club owners) Galardis and others," Malone said. "I asked to call my attorney, and on his advice I refused to answer any questions, and have not talked to the FBI since.
"I am not, and have never been, in the custody of the U.S. Attorney as a government witness at any time."
Malone said that he was holding a news conference only to dispel what he called false reports regarding his activities.
"I elected to follow my attorney's advice, but nevertheless there has been a great amount of press coverage, much of it inaccurate," Malone said. "Under the law I have the presumption of innocence, but certain members of the press have relied on sources who have lied about me.
"I'm just asking you to please be fair."
Malone read his two-minute statement in the conference room of his attorney Don Campbell's downtown office, 700 S. 7th St. Malone was accompanied by his wife and Campbell, and all of them refused to answer questions after the statement.
Malone said that the investigation and media reports have been especially hard on his children.
"My family has been hounded out of its home by reporters crawling through our back yard, looking over our walls, and even looking into our windows," Malone said. "I have two toddlers that are 2 and 4, and this has been a terrifying experience for them."
After the news conference Campbell refused to give reporters a copy of Malone's statement.
The media had been seeking comments from Malone since May 14, when FBI agents raided the Cheetahs and Jaguars topless clubs as well as the offices of the clubs owners, Jack Galardi and his son, Mike Galardi. After he lost a bid for re-election to the County Commission in 2000, Malone went to work as a consultant for the Galardis.
His association with the Galardis included delivering campaign contributions from Galardi employees and other Las Vegans to San Diego city council members whose offices were raided May 14 at with the Cheetahs location in that city, according to reports in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
In the days after the raids, Peter S.Christiansen, attorney for the Galardis, said he was not able to reach Malone.
One of search warrants obtained by the Sun noted that agents were looking for documentation of payments to Las Vegas Councilman Michael McDonald, County Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey and former County Commissioners Erin Kenny and Dario Herrera.
The search warrant, however, did not mention Malone. When asked if the former Metro Police officer was a part of the investigation, an informant for the investigation or if the FBI knows his whereabouts, FBI spokesman Special Agent Daron Borst has repeatedly refused to comment.
Malone was a Clark County commissioner until 2000, when voters replaced him following an ethics scandal. After Malone left office, the Galardis became clients of Malone's G.R. Consulting, even though he had been a vocal critic of strip clubs when he was an elected official.
Malone has been involved in political controversies in the past. In 1998 Malone was stung with an ethics law violation after he placed an acquaintance's name on a list of potential McCarran International Airport concessionaires and voted for her in 1997 without disclosing his relationship.
He was also at the center of a controversy involving a vote on a neighborhood casino in Spring Valley in 2000.
Malone initially said he would vote against an application by the Boyd Group to build a neighborhood casino in Spring Valley, but then he changed his mind, angering officials with Station Casinos, which was also planning to build a casino in the area.
Shortly afterward a flier that was later revealed to have come from Station Casinos appeared, stating "You just can't trust Lance Malone."
Malone also was one of the commissioners who participated in a controversial May 1999 vote involving Jack Galardi.
Ardel Jorgenson, the county's director of business licensing, had asked the commission for funding to send investigators to Atlanta to investigate Galardi, who also owns strip clubs there and who was seeking approval to open Jaguars in Las Vegas.
But by a 4-3 margin, the commission turned down her request. Malone, Kenny and Herrera, along with Commissioner Myrna Williams, voted against the funding.
FBI agents have interviewed Jorgenson about that vote.
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