Las Vegas NowI-Team: Trading Favors for Campaign Cash?

I-Team: Trading Favors for Campaign Cash?

Nevada's system of electing judges means the decision-makers have to ask for campaign funds, often from the very lawyers who try cases in front of them. They say it's not an ethical dilemma for them, but is it? The FBI has an audiotape in which a prominent local attorney speaks candidly about how he uses campaign dollars.

The attorney's name is Bob Vannah. He is one of about two dozen local professionals who are suspected by the FBI of participating in a conspiracy to rake in tens of millions of dollars from insurance companies and their injured clients.

Mr. Vannah hasn't been charged with anything, but he didn't know he was being recorded when he told a colleague that cold, hard cash goes a long way in the local halls of justice.

"Last year, I took State Farm for about $100 million. I mean, literally $100 million. I mean, I just devastated them," said Robert Vannah on audiotape.

Lawyer Bob Vannah is one of the most successful personal injury attorneys in the state -- maybe in the country. And he isn't shy about touting his successes. Vannah is one of nearly two dozen local doctors and lawyers who were subpoenaed by a Federal Grand Jury.

In 2006, the L.A. Times published a scathing series about cozy relationships between Las Vegas lawyers and judges. Vannah told the Times, "Giving money to a judge's campaign means you're less likely to get screwed. A contribution isn't going to buy special treatment."

But in a private conversation secretly taped by one of Vannah's colleagues, he expressed a much different opinion. Vannah bragged about raising tens of thousands of dollars for the campaigns of five District Court judges.

"Most of those guys go out there -- a good night on the campaign trail is $5,000. $35,000 for, obviously they just drool," he said.

Will these drooling judges do whatever Vannah asks? On the tape, Vannah says the judges understand his code language.

"Obviously, you understand. I mean, if you control whether they get re-elected or not, when it comes time. I never talked to them and say, 'Hey listen, I want to meet you in the backroom and this is the deal.' That doesn't happen. We go to court. We go there honestly. We're there, but they know who we are and when it comes down to it, I just say to the judge, ‘This is a big deal to me. This is not ticky tacky. This is a big motion and this is really important.' There's a couple of different ways, but by and large, that's the message," he said.

Is Vannah merely bragging to a colleague about his influence with judges who accept campaign money? Maybe. It's a two-way street. During election season, attorneys are inundated with invitations to fundraisers for judges. Many regard it as something akin to extortion - pay, or else.

Some law firms have embraced the situation. They stage their own fundraisers for judges, barbeques or cocktail parties. At best, it's an ethical gray area. Lawyers are the principal source of campaign funds for judges but there are no restrictions on them appearing before the same judges.

For example, in 2002, 54 lawyers and law firms gave money to the campaign of Judge Sally Loerher. Of the 54, 51 had cases before her according to the L.A. Times study.

Bob Vannah is one of several lawyers whose relationship with self-described medical fixer Howard Awand has drawn federal scrutiny. Awand is considered the hub of the so-called Medical Mafia conspiracy, the central player who put doctors together with lawyers and who organized fundraising parties for his favorite judges.

On the tape, though, Vannah expressed great concerns that Awand had been shooting off his mouth, "Howard was telling everybody he, he was telling people that he had the judges in his pocket. I've heard him say it -- I would deny I've heard him say it -- but I've heard him say, ‘Yeah, I've got five or six judges that will do anything I want.' I want to tell you something, I know all those judges. There's five or six judges that will do anything I want. They don't do it for Howard, so it's for me. I mean, we've got some great friends over there."

Campaign forms for a select group of local judges show that Awand has been successful in raising money from his list of doctors and lawyers. On the tape, Vannah says he confronted Awand about bragging in public.

"So I say to him, ‘What do you say that s*** for? You know these people, but that kind of s*** goes around and makes you look like you're somehow involved in some kind of corruption. We're not corrupt. We're not corrupt. I mean, we are not corrupt. That's just not happening, so stop doing that s***.' So it got to the point where some of the judges hear that s***, and they're going to be mad at me cause they're like, ‘Why are you putting me with this guy that now goes around and makes it look they set up pipelines,'" he said.

Howard Awand was indicted by the U.S. Attorney and is to be tried in the fall. Bob Vannah hasn't been charged and told us he has done nothing wrong. Although the first trial in the Medical Mafia conspiracy ended in a hung jury, prosecutors have made it clear they're not done yet.

Vannah's lawyer did not return calls for comments but Vannah has said in the past that he has done nothing wrong. Although only two people have been indicted so far, assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Myhre told the media that the probe is ongoing and wide-reaching.

As for the names of the judges mentioned by Vannah on the tape, we've found no proof that any of them did anything unethical in their dealings with him. However, we're still looking into this and may have more in the future.

Email your comments to Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp