Erin Kenny
Encyclopedia
Erin Leigh Callin Kenny is a former Democratic politician from Nevada
.
Kenny earned her law degree on May 17, 2002, from William S. Boyd School of Law
, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
. She subsequently failed the Nevada bar exam.
in 1992, defeating Republican
incumbent Brad Goetting.
Kenny was elected to the Clark County Commission in 1994. Running against Richard Moreno, she won with 50.26% if the vote. Kenny ran again in 1998 and won reelection with 52.56% of the vote against challenger Steve Harney.
On April 19, 2001, Kenny appeared before the Nevada Commission on Ethics
, accused of pressuring county employees to break into the Clark County administration building to get payroll records. She was cleared of wrongdoing in a 3 to 1 decision.
Kenny was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
in 2002, but was defeated by Republican incumbent Lorraine Hunt
.
Early in 2003 Kenny was implicated in Operation G-Sting
, a federal corruption investigation involving a Las Vegas strip club. She agreed to plead guilty and turn state's evidence
in exchange for a lighter sentence. On July 24, 2003, Kenny plea
ded guilty to a "three-count criminal indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud for the purpose of depriving the citizens of Nevada of her honest services
as a Clark County Commissioner." The investigation ultimately resulted in the convictions of several other former elected officials, including former county commissioners Lance Malone, Dario Herrera
and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey
. After her guilty plea, Kenny was hired by developer Jim Rhodes as a consultant. On July 18, 2007, she was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined a total of $200,000 for her taking of bribe money.
On October 16, 2007, Kenny reported to the federal prison camp in Phoenix, Arizona
, as inmate no. 36965-048 to start serving her 30-month sentence on political corruption and bribery charges. Since there is no parole in the federal prison system, she will need to serve 25.5 months (2 years, 1.5 months) before her sentence expires and she is released (approximately December 2009).
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
Kenny earned her law degree on May 17, 2002, from William S. Boyd School of Law
William S. Boyd School of Law
The William S. Boyd School of Law is a law school accredited with the American Bar Association. It is located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada and is the only law school in Nevada. The school is also home to the Wiener-Rogers Law Library, the Saltman...
, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Nevada-Las Vegas is a public, coeducational university located in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada, USA. The campus is located approximately east of the Las Vegas Strip. The institution includes a Shadow Lane Campus, located just east of the University Medical Center of...
. She subsequently failed the Nevada bar exam.
Political career
Kenny was elected to a single term in the Nevada AssemblyNevada Assembly
The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year terms from single-member districts. Each Assembly district contained approximately 47,400 people as of the 2000 census, although...
in 1992, defeating Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
incumbent Brad Goetting.
Kenny was elected to the Clark County Commission in 1994. Running against Richard Moreno, she won with 50.26% if the vote. Kenny ran again in 1998 and won reelection with 52.56% of the vote against challenger Steve Harney.
On April 19, 2001, Kenny appeared before the Nevada Commission on Ethics
Nevada commission on ethics
Nevada Commission on Ethics is a commission that investigates ethics violations by government officials or employees in the state of Nevada in the United States....
, accused of pressuring county employees to break into the Clark County administration building to get payroll records. She was cleared of wrongdoing in a 3 to 1 decision.
Kenny was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
The Nevada Lieutenant Governor is an elected office in the U.S. state of Nevada. The Nevada Lieutenant Governor is based in Carson City, Nevada and elected for 4 year terms. The 33rd and current Lt. Governor for the 2007-2011 term is Brian Krolicki....
in 2002, but was defeated by Republican incumbent Lorraine Hunt
Lorraine Hunt
Lorraine T. Hunt is an American politician. She is the former 32nd Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. State of Nevada, serving from 1999 to 2007...
.
Early in 2003 Kenny was implicated in Operation G-Sting
Operation G-Sting
Operation G-Sting was an FBI probe into bribes and unreported campaign contributions taken by Clark County Commissioners in Clark County, Nevada and commissioners in San Diego, California. The scandal portion, was also known as Strippergate, especially in San Diego...
, a federal corruption investigation involving a Las Vegas strip club. She agreed to plead guilty and turn state's evidence
Turn state's evidence
To turn state's evidence is when an accused or convicted criminal testifies as a witness for the state against his associates or accomplices. Turning state's evidence is occasionally a result of a change of heart or feelings of guilt, but more often is done in response to a generous offer from the...
in exchange for a lighter sentence. On July 24, 2003, Kenny plea
Plea
In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a civil or criminal case under common law using the adversary system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a criminal defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response to a criminal charge, whether that...
ded guilty to a "three-count criminal indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud for the purpose of depriving the citizens of Nevada of her honest services
Honest services fraud
Honest services fraud refers to a 28-word sentence of , added by the United States Congress in 1988, which states: "For the purposes of this chapter, the term, scheme or artifice to defraud includes a scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services."The statute...
as a Clark County Commissioner." The investigation ultimately resulted in the convictions of several other former elected officials, including former county commissioners Lance Malone, Dario Herrera
Dario Herrera
Dario Herrera is a former Democratic politician from Nevada. Herrera was considered a rising star in the Democratic Party until his defeat for election to the United States House of Representatives in 2002 and his subsequent convictions on federal public corruption charges.-Political...
and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey
Mary Kincaid-Chauncey
Mary J. Kincaid-Chauncey is a former Democratic politician from Nevada. Kincaid-Chauncey served on the Clark County Commission until she was defeated for reelection and subsequently convicted of federal corruption charges.-Political career:...
. After her guilty plea, Kenny was hired by developer Jim Rhodes as a consultant. On July 18, 2007, she was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined a total of $200,000 for her taking of bribe money.
On October 16, 2007, Kenny reported to the federal prison camp in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, as inmate no. 36965-048 to start serving her 30-month sentence on political corruption and bribery charges. Since there is no parole in the federal prison system, she will need to serve 25.5 months (2 years, 1.5 months) before her sentence expires and she is released (approximately December 2009).