Disbarred Las Vegas lawyer sentenced to federal prison
Disbarred Las Vegas lawyer Lawrence Davidson was sentenced Monday to eight years and nine months in federal prison.
Davidson, 45, the last defendant in the political corruption investigation that sent four Clark County commissioners to prison, also was ordered to pay $936,300 in restitution.
In handing out the sentence, Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt said that he was "disappointed" by Davidson's actions, which "very seriously" affected many people.
Neither Davidson, dressed in jail garb and chains, nor his lawyer, Assistant Federal Public Defender Shari Kaufman, addressed the judge.
Davidson, who fled to Israel in 2006 rather than face two criminal trials, came back to the United States a year ago and surrendered to the FBI.
One of the cases involved fraud and money-laundering charges stemming from irregularities in his law practice.
He also faced trial on conspiracy, mail fraud and money-laundering charges in the political corruption case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Schiess moved to dismiss those charges Monday as part of a plea agreement.
Schiess told Hunt that Davidson's misconduct as a lawyer was about as "egregious" as it gets, damaging the lives of his clients and the reputation of the legal community.
Davidson, who once practiced personal injury and medical malpractice law, was accused of negotiating settlements for his clients without their permission. A 2005 indictment alleged that he fraudulently negotiated 17 settlements totaling $936,300 over 14 months. Davidson, who has been in custody since his surrender, pleaded guilty in May to 20 counts of mail fraud and four counts of money laundering in that case.
He also pleaded guilty to several additional charges that stemmed from his unlawful flight to Israel, including failing to appear at trial, obtaining a false passport and engaging in identity theft.
The political corruption case against Davidson spun off the sweeping corruption scheme involving former strip club operator Michael Galardi, who pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors.
Four former county commissioners, Erin Kenny, Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, Dario Herrera and Lance Malone, ended up with federal prison terms in the scheme.
Davidson and his father, former development company executive Donald Davidson, were charged in a bribery conspiracy that involved getting a CVS Pharmacy placed in a neighborhood.
The elder Davidson was accused of paying Kenny $200,000 after she helped push through the necessary zoning changes for the pharmacy. His son was alleged to have created the bank account to conceal the illicit payments. Kenny cooperated with prosecutors.
In 2007 a federal jury was hung on the charges involving Kenny but convicted Donald Davidson of trying to pay off former City Councilman Michael McDonald. Donald Davidson was sentenced to two years in prison.
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.
