Charge could be dismissed
Prosecutors move to drop a felony count against Whittemore
Federal prosecutors moved Monday to dismiss a felony count accusing onetime power broker Harvey Whittemore of lying to the FBI.
A federal jury in Reno last month deadlocked on that charge when it convicted Whittemore of unlawfully funneling more than $133,000 in campaign contributions to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Senior U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks then declared a mistrial on that count.
In court papers Monday, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre said the government sought the dismissal to “conserve the time and resources that would be expended in a second jury trial.” But Myhre said the government reserves the right to file a superseding indictment against Whittemore on the lying charge if a federal appeals court overturns Whittemore’s conviction on three other counts.
Whittemore, 59, an attorney who became a wealthy developer after giving up his lobbying career, has vowed to appeal his conviction.
He was found guilty of making excessive campaign contributions, making contributions in the name of another, and causing a false statement to be made to the Federal Election Commission. His sentencing is Sept. 23. Whittemore was indicted in June after an FBI investigation into his 2007 fundraising efforts for Reid, his longtime friend.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Whittemore met with Reid at an upscale restaurant on the Strip in February 2007 and promised to raise $150,000 for the Nevada Democrat’s re-election campaign.
Whittemore hatched the scheme days before the March 31, 2007, campaign contribution deadline without Reid’s knowledge in an attempt to fulfill his promise to the senator, one of the most powerful members of Congress, prosecutors alleged. Whittemore was accused of giving money to 29 family members and employees of his former development company, Wingfield Nevada Group and then using them as “conduits” for illegal contributions to Friends for Harry Reid.
At the time, Whittemore was developing Coyote Springs, a master-planned community in Southern Nevada, and needed congressional help to overcome government hurdles.