DA levels corruption charges against Stateline sewer district
By Evan Maxwell, Reno Gazette-Journal
Long-simmering political tension between Lake Tahoe casinos and the government of Douglas County broke out into open warfare last week.
In an extraordinary three-hour presentation before the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners last Monday, District Attorney Mark Jackson leveled charges of corruption, illegal collusion and political malfeasance against the leadership of a sewer district that treats millions of gallons of Stateline casino and resort sewage.
Severin Carlson, a Reno attorney who is representing board members and employees of Douglas County Sewer Improvement District 1, challenged Jackson’s right to offer his presentation to the board Monday, saying it amounted to “a public flogging” that was “not a valid use” of a public meeting.
The district attorney called for dissolution of the sewer district, a public agency that he said has not held elections in more than 30 years. He said the district’s board of directors has colluded in the last year to manipulate Douglas County politics in promotion of a plan to dump Lake Tahoe sewage in the Carson Valley.