The Battle for Las Vegas: The Law vs. The Mob by Dennis Griffin Page B

first-class honest cop who wanted to do a good job. His integrity wasn’t an issue with those who worked with and for him. Those same people also agree that he was politically naïve and not a proponent of the art of compromise; McCarthy was more the type to make decisions based on what he thought was right, stick to his guns, and let the chips fall where they may. One such decision created a firestorm even before he took office.
    In order to implement his campaign promises to reform Metro, McCarthy needed people he could trust in positions of authority within the department. That meant, for example, promoting patrolmen and detectives he felt he could rely on to upper-level management positions over others with more seniority, rank, and experience.
    Many of the people who felt they deserved promotions had been Lamb supporters and weren’t happy with McCarthy’s election to begin with. The news that they were being bypassed in favor of what they thought were McCarthy’s cronies went over badly. Their reaction wasn’t limited to locker-room grumbling. On December 28, 39 Metro officers filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the legality of McCarthy’s appointments.
    Gary Lang, who had agreed to hold two positions in the new administration, Legal Advisor to Metro and Counsel to the Sheriff, was aware that emotions were running high even before the lawsuit was initiated. On Thanksgiving Day after the election, he received a bomb threat at his residence and was forced to leave his home for two days; no bomb was found. The lawyer isn’t sure members of Metro made the threat, though. He believes that many people in Clark County who had benefited from their relationship with Ralph Lamb over the years were threatened by the election results.
    Lang litigated the class-action suit on behalf of Sheriff McCarthy. It was his position that, unpopular or not, McCarthy had no choice but to make the promotions he did. And he was confident the Sheriff had the authority to make them. The court found his argument convincing and ruled in McCarthy’s favor in January. The case was over, but resentment lingered.
    Intelligence Bureau
    One of the people McCarthy tapped for advancement was destined to become a key player in the efforts to restore Metro’s damaged image, as well as in the fight against Tony Spilotro. Kent Clifford, a former Las Vegas Police Department vice and narcotics detective, had been working for McCarthy at Metro. Clifford was promoted to Commander and put in charge of the Intelligence Bureau. It was a hot-potato assignment, with pressure to produce results almost immediately. Was the appointee up to the task? John McCarthy certainly thought so.
    Kent Clifford was born and raised on a farm in Idaho. Upon graduation from high school in 1963, the 18 year old and a buddy left home to make their fortunes, ending up in Las Vegas. Drafted into the Army in 1965, Clifford attended Officer Candidate School. The new Second Lieutenant then spent a year in Germany, where he was promoted to First Lieutenant. That assignment was followed by a 12-month tour in Vietnam, where he was awarded Silver and Bronze stars for his performance in battle. After being discharged, he returned to Las Vegas and enrolled in the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.
    Shortly before graduating in 1972, he was sitting in a political science class when the professor started a discussion about the American flag. According to her, the flag was merely a piece of cloth that could be used as a shirt, tablecloth, or rug; even burning it wasn’t a problem. Those comments enraged Clifford, who raised his hand and told the professor, “You shouldn’t be telling the kids that kind of garbage.” As the combat veteran spoke, several students began clapping. His fans turned out to be cops who were enrolled in the same class. Afterward, they invited him to have lunch with them. During conversation Clifford mentioned that he was looking for a job. His new friends