| January 26th, 2006 08:39 AM |
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| moy |
No sympathy for Nevada lawmakers who got free Stones
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - The head of the Nevada Center for Public Ethics says state legislators should have known intuitively it was wrong to accept free tickets to attend a Rolling Stones concert in Las Vegas.
"Why do they have to be told it is wrong?" Craig Walton said Tuesday. "Their duty is to the people who put them in office. Every candidate or incumbent should make a statement that our relationships with lobbyists will be at arm's length. This practice of accepting gifts has to stop."
The latest count shows 10 legislators, six Democrats and four Republicans, accepted tickets from Ameriquest, a national mortgage lending company, to the Nov. 18 Stones concert.
An 11th legislator, Assemblyman Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, accepted two tickets worth $630 from Ameriquest to attend a Luis Miguel concert in Las Vegas. Some of the Stones ticket recipients also got Miguel tickets.
Ameriquest on Monday agreed to pay a $325 million settlement to home buyers who were charged excessive interest rates. Customers in Nevada will get $1.7 million under the national settlement.
The tickets were given to the legislators by former Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, a lawyer who represents Ameriquest, the company that sponsored the Stones and Miguel tours.
Assemblywoman Francis Allen, who accepted a Stones ticket worth about $500, said she'll donate that amount of money to Centennial High School.
"Ameriquest did some shady stuff," said Allen, R-Las Vegas. "I don't want to give the appearance of having any association with them, so I am going to pass a check on to a local high school."
Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said Monday that she earlier returned $676 to Ameriquest to cover the cost of two Stones tickets she accepted.
Sens. Warren Hardy and Dennis Nolan, both R-Las Vegas, didn't initially report the tickets on financial disclosure statements that had to be filed by Jan. 15. They're filing amended statements showing the Ameriquest gifts.
Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, who got Stones tickets worth $650, said he won't return the money. He attended the concert with his wife, UNLV journalism professor Mary Hausch - a Nevada Center for Public Ethics board member.
"There was no awareness by anyone that there even was a case going on against Ameriquest," he said. "I never met anyone from Ameriquest. They did not have any issues before us last session, and I am told they don't have any issues coming up."
Assemblyman Scott Sibley, R-Henderson, echoed Coffin's comment. Sibley accepted four tickets worth a total of $1,000 from Ameriquest, two to the Stones concert and two to the Miguel concert.
Other legislators who accepted Stones tickets were Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, two worth $500; Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, two worth $800; Assemblyman John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, two worth $800; and Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, two worth $800. Oceguera and Giunchigliani also accepted $400 worth of Miguel tickets.
Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal
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| January 26th, 2006 09:16 AM |
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| Jumacfly |
suckers!! |
| January 26th, 2006 08:15 PM |
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| Zambero |
I wonder if the fun-loving Nevada legislators have ever accepted complimentary bordello passes? It's "legal" there after all. |
| January 26th, 2006 09:10 PM |
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| WhenTheWhipComesDown |
I think that happens in just about every town. The elite as they
like to think of themselves get the best tickets. It is very wrong,
and deprives other hardworking fans who are willing to pay good
money to see the bands. I suspected this as it was hard to get
good seats for the concert I had in mind. |
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