Ex-official's son arrested again - News

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Mar. 15, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Ex-official's son arrested again

Brian Atkinson-Turner, his wife are indicted on federal tax charges

By BRIAN HAYNES
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Brian Atkinson-Turner, the son of former Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, and his wife, Kathryn O'Gara, plead not guilty to tax charges Friday at the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse. The couple were previously arrested on child endangerment and drug charges.
Illustration by David Stroud.

The son and daughter-in-law of former Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates were in handcuffs again Friday, this time on federal tax charges.

Internal Revenue Service agents arrested Brian Atkinson-Turner and his wife, Kathryn O'Gara, about 10 a.m. as they walked out of the Regional Justice Center, where a hearing in their unrelated child endangerment and drug case had been postponed.

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A federal grand jury indicted the couple last week on charges of filing a false tax return and failing to file corporate tax returns.

The couple used money from their company, Ad Vibe, to cover personal car and home mortgage payments, and they were paid roughly $169,000 from Atkinson Gates' 2004 campaign fund, the indictment said. But their 2004 personal income tax returns listed only $12,523 in income, according to the indictment, which was sealed until Thursday.

The indictment also said the couple didn't file corporate tax returns for Ad Vibe in 2004 and 2005, despite the company earning at least $310,000 during those two years.

Atkinson-Turner, 25, and O'Gara, 26, could face up to four years in prison each and $350,000 in fines each if convicted on all counts.

They each pleaded not guilty and were released on their own recognizance during a brief hearing Friday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge George W. Foley.

Reached by phone, Atkinson Gates said she had no comment on her son's arrest.

In August, Las Vegas police arrested the couple after a search of their Southern Highlands home turned up a stash of marijuana, feces on walls and a refrigerator containing nothing but yogurt.

Police responded to the house after two people reported seeing a black Mercedes sedan driving erratically in the area.

The witnesses, who also told police they saw a toddler unbuckled in the car, followed the sedan to the couple's home and called police.

Officers also found loaded handguns on the car's floorboard and under the bed in the master bedroom, according to a police report.

During a hearing in the case in January, O'Gara testified that Las Vegas police and agents with the FBI and IRS tried to interview her about an ongoing investigation into Atkinson Gates and threatened to take her 3-year-old daughter if she didn't help them.

She refused to talk with them, she said.

Las Vegas police have been investigating the former commissioner and campaign cash she paid to her son and daughter-in-law from her 2004 election war chest.

According to campaign expense reports, Atkinson Gates' campaign paid the couple and their company more than $407,000 from the 2004 fund.

Law enforcement sources have said the investigation was focused on whether the cash was laundered and wound up back in Atkinson Gates' hands.

Las Vegas police Deputy Chief Kathy Suey said Friday's arrests wouldn't affect the investigation.

Atkinson Gates coasted to a landslide victory in 2004 and a fourth term on the powerful county board.

She resigned from the commission in January 2007, saying she wanted to spend more time with family and pursue education and business opportunities.

Review-Journal writers Lynnette Curtis and Adrienne Packer contributed to this report. Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0281.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. cjp wrote on March 16, 2008 03:22 PM: I knew brian in middle school through high school. He used to get away with things at school back then that no other kid would. Because our private school didnt want to piss off his parents who they needed to get approval on a land deal to build a new school and also donated large amounts of money. His step father, a judge was constantly getting him out of trouble. We will see if they can bail him out of this one, now that all eyes are turned on them. Brian was shaddy even in middle school. He is finally getting what he deserves! AHHH Justice! Sigh wrote on March 16, 2008 08:21 AM: Yvonne Atkinson Gates is a superdelegate. She will probably vote for Clinton and will ask for her son's pardon in exchange for her vote. Just watch. Pardons granted by President Clinton (1993-2001) prepared by the USDOJ http://www.usdoj.gov/pardon/clintonpardon_grants.htm Your right wrote on March 15, 2008 05:11 PM: To the gates family, you forgot one thing. If the Gates get to the FEDS first and give them good stuff they might not have to pay the taxes. Cut an Erin Kenny deal. And Erin might have a job waiting for her with Rhoads Rev. Jeremiah Wright wrote on March 15, 2008 03:09 PM: This is just another attempt to keep the black man down! Betty wrote on March 15, 2008 01:18 PM: Am I to assume that former Commissiner Yvonne Atkinson Gates is completely above board in all her dealings despite the "stuff" going on around her? Is there always fire where there is smoke? RandolphRed wrote on March 15, 2008 12:06 PM: The government in LV is not better or worse than anywhere in the country. The people in LV do a better job of OVERSIGHT than the BIBLEBELT governments(NC,SC,ALA,etc) I like the comment part of the R-J. We don't have that option here with our newspapers...Letters to the editor is our only option. And that's usually long after the article that is commented upon!! plus the newspaper adds a TITLE that is not what the writer intended....ALL government is a COMPLAINT based operation. R-J gives ya'll folks a great way to complaign!!! It might not do any good. But I will say without doubt. That the mayor reads these comments... LV residents, Keep them on their toes, so they won't get too comfortable in those big office chairs... I envy your oversight options. To the gates family wrote on March 15, 2008 11:44 AM: Run to the FEDS quickly. He who gets there first gets the best deal. Remember equal or greater value. Between a former commissioner and a sitting judge the closet might be over flowing. This will be beneficial to all. You get a cushy deal. The public will be rid of the rest of the shysters. native nevadan wrote on March 15, 2008 10:29 AM: doglvr, you are so naive. Oscar is one of the worst things that has happened to Vegas. Do your homework then come back to the board. If you sleep with dogs you will get flees. doglvr wrote on March 15, 2008 10:09 AM: Hey Fed up in Las Vegas.... go be fed-up somewhere else! Don't buy all the hype about Oscar, he's the best thing to happen to Las Vegas in a long time. He has never pretended to be something he isn't, he can't be bought and he truly cares obout our city. NO ONE has done more for revitalizing the city than Oscar. And if he were truly the drunk you think he is he could never be as assessable as we have always found him. Who cares if he drinks gin? He doesn't drive after drinking and it's his time. Mind your own business and if you can't say something nice about Las Vegas, get the hell out! ml wrote on March 15, 2008 09:56 AM: re: How on earth does a super crook like Atkinson Gates, i.e. Airport consessions plus, become a super delegate? Because in the Democrat party ethical standards are not a relevant issue. Read All Comments