Though not under indictment, Robinson’s political future irreparable

Fact: The FBI investigated North Las Vegas Councilman William Robinson on bribery allegations starting in 1993.

Fact: When the Las Vegas FBI presented the case to then-U.S. Attorney Kathryn Landreth in 1995, she declined prosecution.

Her quote, according to two of the six federal sources who helped me piece together the events of more than 15 years ago, was along the lines of: "The first public corruption indictment during my tenure is not going to be an African-American."

But that wasn't the only reason Landreth decided against prosecuting Robinson, a North Las Vegas city councilman since 1983 who is now running for mayor.

The basics of the story were first reported Monday by KLAS-TV, Channel 8 reporter George Knapp. The FBI investigated Robinson after a businessman went to the bureau and said Robinson was shaking him down for bribes. The businessman introduced an FBI undercover agent to Robinson and over nearly two years, there were tapes made of conversations between Robinson, the businessman and the undercover agent.

Landreth became U.S. attorney in 1993, the choice of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid. She had no prosecutorial experience and little courtroom experience, but she was a lawyer and had been Reid's debate coach. Because of her inexperience, she relied heavily on the advice of career prosecutors in the office.

Here are the other reasons I was told Landreth decided against indicting Robinson:

• There was ambiguity in what Robinson said on the tapes. He didn't state clearly he would accept money to sell his vote on a zoning matter. Robinson would have been able to argue he would have voted that way anyway, so there was no quid pro quo.

• The money paid wasn't that much, perhaps less than $2,000, according to the memories of two sources.

• The FBI agent posing as a drug dealer used profane language on the tapes and Landreth believed he would look bad on the stand.

Randy Prillaman was the FBI special agent in charge when Landreth turned the case down. Though FBI officials argued the case was a good one, they didn't try to go up the chain of command in the Department of Justice, because "there is danger in going above their heads," a source said.

Landreth, now working for the Nature Conservancy in Reno, e-mailed me this statement: "Department of Justice policy prohibits me from confirming or denying the existence of any investigation during my tenure as U.S. Attorney or the existence of an individual who was subject of an investigation. I am still bound by that requirement even eight years after leaving office. The public record supports the fact that neither I nor any of the senior career prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office would have declined to prosecute a meritorious case."

FBI officials wouldn't have presented the case for prosecution unless they believed it was righteous, but believing and proving aren't the same, and prosecutors foresaw problems at trial.

Public corruption cases are always tough and this case "wasn't a slam dunk, it would have been a challenging case," one source said.

He recalled Robinson discussed having the "drug dealer" subscribe or contribute to a newsletter the councilman was involved with. "The money was ostensibly a subscription or advertising." The source recalled Robinson saying on tape, "This is up to you. You really don't have to make a contribution."

That sort of quote would have given a defense attorney material to work with to convince jurors of Robinson's innocence.

Robinson issued a statement saying the allegations are false, and because charges were never filed, "that is vindication enough."

The timing of the news report smells because it's so obviously political. Knapp broke it Monday, 10 days before the start of early voting and nearly a month before the June 2 election.

Robinson's opponent is Councilwoman Shari Buck and while her fingerprints aren't on the story, it benefits no one but her, especially because it was broken after the primary, not before, when another candidate might have replaced Robinson as a finalist for mayor.

Robinson's political career is likely ended, even if people believe the timing of the story is a political dirty trick. The rumor he wasn't indicted simply because he is black is now in context. But that won't help Robinson win his election.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison/.