Date: March 14, 2012
Author: Martha Bellisle
URL: http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012303140128
Grand jury meets on Whittemore investigation; judge in WPI case
discloses funds from lobbyist
---------------------------------------------------------------
While a federal grand jury heard about Harvey Whittemore's campaign
contribution activities on Wednesday, a state judge disclosed that he
had received $10,400 from the lobbyist and questioned whether he
should stay on a case filed by the Whittemore Peterson Institute.
Under a shroud of secrecy, the grand jury heard testimony from an
undisclosed list of Whittemore associates and then left the federal
courthouse about 4:15 p.m. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre, who
is handling the case, left soon after and declined to comment on the
status of the hearings. No indictments in the Whittemore case had been
filed at the federal court by the end of the day. The FBI has
investigated whether Whittemore skirted campaign finance laws by
funneling funds through his family and workers to specific candidates.
Meanwhile, a few blocks away in a state courthouse, Washoe District
Judge Brent Adams said the FBI investigation and media attention on
the Whittemore cases prompted him to disclose that he had received
funds from the embattled lobbyist. Adams has been overseeing a case
filed by the Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease
against researcher Dr. Judy Mikovits, who took documents and notebooks
with her after she was fired last year. Adams ruled against Mikovits
last month, saying she did not comply with his order to return all of
the materials to the institute and lawyers for both sides gathered
Wednesday morning to discuss damages. But Adams said he wanted to
instead discuss his future on the case.
Whittemore and his business, Red Hawk Land Co., each gave Adams a
$5,000 contribution in 2008, and two of Whittemore's sons each gave
$200, Adams said. While considerable, the Whittemore funds were only a
fraction of the $300,000 he raised for his re-election bid, he said.
'I can tell you the following facts,' Adams told the lawyers. 'Neither
Mr. Whittemore, his wife or any member of his family have ever
contacted me directly or indirectly about any case, ever, in my 23
years in this position. I've never been at their homes, they've never
been to my home.'
But the rules on judicial conduct and a desire to secure the public's
trust in a fair and impartial justice system prompted him to examine
his position on the case. He said he reviewed the rules and several
cases and then talked the issue over with David Sarnowski, the
executive director for the Nevada Commission on Judicial Conduct, to
help make his decision. The judicial code requires judges to 'act at
all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the
independence and integrity and impartiality' of the judiciary, he
said. The code also has a test for determining if there is an
appearance of impropriety that must be considered in this case, he said.
The first step was to disclose the contributions to the lawyers in the
case, he said, and the second step is for them to discuss the issue
with their clients. If no one thinks there is a problem, they can
proceed, but if the two sides can't agree, then the judge could recuse
himself or one side could file a motion to disqualify the judge.
But Ann Hall, lawyer for the Whittemore Peterson Institute, objected
to Adams' concern. Hall said that Harvey Whittemore does not have 'any
ownership interest' in the institute and is not a party in the lawsuit
against Mikovits. Annette Whittemore is the president of the company
and is the one who will be called as a witness, Hall said. 'She's also
not under grand jury investigation for campaign contributions of any
type,' Hall told the judge. 'She's never even been subpoenaed. But
with respect to Harvey Whittemore, he is not involved.'
Dennis Jones, lawyer for Mikovits, disputed that claim, saying the
Whittemores contributed $5 million to start the institute. Adams also
questioned whether the fact that Nevada is a 'community property
state' when it comes to married couples would make them both a part of
the case.
According to other cases, Harvey Whittemore's former company, the
Wingfield Nevada Group, has sued the institute claiming that while
Whittemore was manager of Wingfield, he spent about $1.7 million of
the company's money to pay institute staff and for the institute to
use the jet. Also, according to documents Hall filed in January,
Wingfield paid Mikovits' salary from Nov. 15, 2006, to Sept. 16, 2007.
At that time, Harvey Whittemore owned Wingfield. Adams said he does
not have any reservations about his ability to preside over the case
in an impartial manner. But he said he has 'a very strong commitment
to the integrity of the system,' and said those involved must
participate in a manner that is transparent and fair. The lawyers must
now decide whether they will challenge his position on the case, and
Adams must decide whether he should recuse himself.
--------
(c) 2012 Reno Gazette Journal
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Source: Reno Gazette Journal
Date: March 14, 2012
Author: Martha Bellisle
URL : http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012303140113
Judge in Whittemore Peterson Institute case considers recusing self
-------------------------------------------------------------------
While the federal grand jury heard testimony Wednesday on Harvey
Whittemore's campaign contribution practices, a state judge said he
was considering leaving a civil case filed by the lobbyist's medical
institute because he received $10,400 in campaign contributions from
Whittemore.
Washoe District Judge Brent Adams has been overseeing a case filed by
the Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Imune Disease against
researcher Dr. Judy Mikovits, who took documents and notebooks with
her after she was fired last year. Adams had ruled against Mikovits
saying she did not comply with his order to return all of the
materials to the institute. When the two sides met Wednesday morning
to discuss a hearing on damages, Adams surprised the lawyers by
disclosing that he had received $10,400 in contributions from
Whittemore and his family.
In light of all that is occurring with the FBI probe and federal grand
jury hearings into whether Whittemore used friends and employees to
funnel contributions to candidates, Adams said he must now consider
whether the judicial rules require him to pass the case on to another
judge.
[Original story below]
A federal grand jury met today to hear testimony in an investigation
into Harvey Whittemore's campaign contribution activities. Assistant
U.S. Attorney Steve Myhre left the courthouse at about 1:30 p.m. but
declined to comment on the proceedings' status. Attorney Scott Freeman
also left the building with some clients just before Myhre, but he too
declined comment. Two weeks ago, a federal grand jury in Reno heard
testimony from about a dozen Whittemore associates. Grand jury
proceedings are secret, and officials have declined to say how much
longer the process is expected to take.
Using a conduit to make campaign contributions as a way to skirt the
campaign finance laws is a felony that could carry a prison sentence.
Ricky Gill, a Republican candidate for the 9th U.S. House District in
California, which covers the Central Valley towns surrounding
Stockton, Calif., sent back checks to Whittemore, his wife and two
sons totaling $6,000, Gill's campaign manager, Colin Hunter, said
Tuesday. Hunter said they decided to return the money 'out of
abundance of caution' after learning about the FBI investigation into
whether Whittemore funneled campaign contributions to candidates
through his family and business associates.
Harvey Whittemore and his wife, Annette, each contributed $2,500 to
Gill's campaign last year, and their sons, Chase and Robert, each gave
$500, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Nevada public
officials have made similar moves, including U.S. Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who dumped Whittemore funds after the FBI
investigation was reported last month. On a single day in 2007, Reid
received more than $120,000 from Whittemore family members and
associates. Reid announced he gave the money to charity. U.S. Rep.
Shelley Berkley, D-Las Vegas; U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev.; and
former U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, also gave away their
Whittemore funds. Two other congressmen who received Whittemore funds
over the past few years did not return messages seeking comment on
whether they planned to keep the money. U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.,
received about $2,500 from Whittemore in 2007 and 2008. And former
U.S. Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., took in almost $12,000 from the
Whittemores, mostly in 2010.
Obey was the chairman of the powerful U.S. House Appropriations
Committee during that period. He left Congress when his term ended
last year and now is a lobbyist for the Washington, D.C.-based firm
Gephardt Government Affairs. Gill's brother and father had business
connections to Whittemore, Hunter said. But Gill has no business ties
to the lobbyist, he said. Gill's brother, Chaman Gill, and
Whittemore's son, Scott Whittemore, are listed as officers on three
companies, according to the Nevada Secretary of State's list of
business entities. The companies include King 888, Hw 30 CQLLC and
Viceroy Brands.Whittemore first came under fire in January when his
former partners in the Wingfield Nevada Group filed a civil lawsuit in
Clark County District Court claiming Whittemore had embezzled and
misappropriated millions of dollars in Wingfield funds.
Whittemore responded with his own lawsuit in federal court, claiming
Tom and Albert Seeno Jr. had used threats of injury and death to force
him to give them his assets. Both sides said they reported the alleged
crimes to local and federal officials. The Reno Police Department said
Tuesday that they have launched an investigation into Whittemore's
claim of death threats.
--------
(c) 2012 Reno Gazette Journal
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Source: Las Vegas Review Journal
Date: March 14, 2012
Author: Jeff German and Ed Vogel
URL: http://www.lvrj.com/news/secrecy-surrounds-grand-jury-investigating-lobbyist-whittemore-142683305.html
Whittemore grand jury secrecy extended
--------------------------------------
Federal authorities on Wednesday extended the cloud of secrecy over a
Reno grand jury investigating the campaign contribution practices of
longtime lobbyist Harvey Whittemore. Steven Myhre, the Las Vegas-based
federal prosecutor leading the investigation, wouldn't comment as he
left the Reno federal courthouse about 1:30 p.m. Reno defense attorney
Scott Freeman also would not comment, as he left with clients just
before Myhre. Earlier, security officers refused to allow reporters to
stay on the second floor of the courthouse where the grand jury was
meeting. One officer said prosecutors didn't want the media near the
panel.
By law, federal grand jury proceedings are secret, but it is unusual
to ban reporters from a hallway in a public courthouse. The grand jury
is investigating allegations that Whittemore, who once wielded much
influence with the state's political hierarchy, funneled tens of
thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to Nevada
federal races. He has denied wrongdoing.
As many as a dozen of the more than two dozen subpoenaed witnesses
appeared Feb. 29, when prosecutors first convened the grand jury.
Whittemore business associates, family members and employees are among
those subpoenaed.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal first reported last month that the
investigation is focusing on allegations Whittemore used his employees
and family members as conduits to help him spread campaign money to
federal candidates as far back as 2007. Allegations surfaced that
employees of Whittemore's former development company, Wingfield Nevada
Group Holding Co., and its subsidiaries contributed to the campaigns
and were reimbursed by Whittemore with company money the same day or
the next day. Conduit contributions are illegal under federal campaign
finance laws that put ceilings on how much individuals can contribute
to candidates.
Grand jury subpoenas served on witnesses sought documents related to
campaign contributions they made and copies of checks to and from the
politically connected lobbyist dating to January 2007. Contributions
made on one date -- March 31, 2007 -- to U.S. Sen. Harry Reid's
re-election campaign have attracted the interest of FBI agents. On
that day, the Democratic majority leader's campaign received at least
$133,400 from 29 Whittemore associates, including his family members
and his employees and their spouses, most of whom each contributed the
maximum allowed $4,600, according to federal campaign reports. Some of
the people who contributed to Reid's campaign on Whittemore's behalf
that day appeared before the grand jury on Feb. 29.
--------
(c) 2012 Stephens Media LLC
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