Las Vegas, Nev. – Former Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone, age 44, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty today to violating federal racketeering laws for bribing former County Commissioners Dario Herrera, Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, and Erin Kenny, and depriving the County Commission and citizens of Clark County of their right to honest services, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

"This is clearly an excellent day for the citizens of Clark County," said U.S. Attorney Bogden. "Mr. Malone is now the third person to admit that there was a coordinated effort to defraud Clark County and its citizens of the honest services of public officials for the benefit of Michael Galardi and his businesses, and the fifth person to be convicted of these crimes. These offenses strike at the very foundation of our government, and it reaffirms that elected public officials are not above the law."

The plea agreement states that Lance Malone, Michael Galardi, Dario Herrera, Erin Kenny, and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, constituted a criminal organization that existed for the purpose of 1) increasing the profitability and competitive advantage of Galardi's strip clubs; 2) harassing and retaliating against certain individuals; 3) enriching the individual members of the enterprise; and 4) concealing from the County Commission and the citizens of Clark County the payments of money, property, and services from Galardi to the public officials. It describes over 16 "payments" made by Galardi or Malone to Herrera, Kenny, and Kincaid-Chauncey between October 2000 and November 2002. The "payments" to Herrera included frequent payments of thousands of dollars in cash, a $10,000 campaign contribution to Silver State Voter Contact, golf outings, and lap dances at Cheetah's. Payments to Kenny included frequent payments of thousands of dollars in cash and a $10,000 campaign contribution. Payments to Kincaid-Chauncey included payments of thousands of dollars in cash and $5,000 in tuition for her grandson's ski school.

Official acts for which Lance Malone and Michael Galardi bribed the public officials included the passage of a Clark County Ordinance that increased the separation between strip clubs from 500 to 1000 feet; the issuance of zoning use permits and liquor license for Jaguars; and the defeat of a proposed ordinance that would have limited touching between dancers.

In addition to admitting the violations of federal racketeering laws, Mr. Malone agreed to forfeit up to $750,000 in assets derived from the proceeds of his crimes, the exact amount to be determined by the Court.

Lance Malone is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, 2006, at 10 a.m. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The Court is free to exercise its discretion to impose any reasonable sentence up to the maximum set by statute for the crimes of conviction.

A jury found Dario Herrera and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey guilty of conspiracy and multiple counts of wire fraud and extortion under color of official right. They were sentenced in August to 50 months and 30 months in prison, respectively.

Michael Galardi pleaded guilty in October 2003 to violating the RICO Act, and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 27, 2006, at 10:00 a.m. Erin Kenny pleaded guilty in July 2003 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, and will be sentenced at a later date.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Schiess, First Assistant United States Attorney Steven W. Myhre, and Department of Justice Trial Attorneys David Malagold and Tom Ott.

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