Political opponents of the Railroad management board could be searching for ways to overcome their minority status to bring criminal charges confidential sources revealed this week. While no smoking gun of out right felony fraud or embezzlement was discovered in a city paid for forensic audit of the Railroads finances last year there may have been enough incidents of sloppy accounting to merit perhaps misdemeanor criminal charges against either the railroad board of directors or executive director Mark Basset.
Even before the ‘forensic audit was performed last year the fact that the Ely railroad lived a hand to mouth existence was not exactly secret. In fact the rail management board was taken to task by its own auditors for the past two years before. Those audits of the railroad found far from stealing from the railroad, its employees particularly Executive Director Mark Bassett have lent the organization money when they should not have.
In fact it was those improper loans to the railroad the council first used as its reason to assert its control over the railroad and ‘clean house’.
What is troubled many Ely residents is that after the “cleaning” there might not be much of a house left. This June Ely voters repudiated City Councilman Marty Westland- the leader of the anti railroad board, in the municipal election that swept most of the new good ol’ boys out of power and put a new slate on the council.
Westland was defeated by Kurt Carson. The other council incumbent Tammy Carlgren was also soundly defeated by Pat Robison. In the open race for Dale Derbidge’s seat Jolene Gardner bested Mike O’Brien. The only incumbent to survive the thrashing was Mayor Melody Van Camp who bested Central Theater owner Don Purinton .
Van Camp victory was the only solace anti railroad supporters could take along with her allies who still had two years to their terms; Bruce Setterstrom and Sam Hanson.
Already Van Camp has learned the difference between being in the majority to being in the minority.
Twice earlier this year Van Camp’s effort to replace Railroad board directors was stymied by this new majority and it is very probable that a vote to make a criminal complaint against the Railroad would also die on a 3-2 vote.
There could however be other options such as going privately to the White Pine District Attorney or even making a complaint to the Sheriff’s office.
Pressing criminal charges could however kill the Railroad.
For 30 years since the railroad was created and about half that time under the direction of Bassett, the Nevada Northern Railway has built an international web of supporters both in government and from private corporations and individuals. That support whether in the form of governmental grants, private donations or out right gifts turned what was once a nice collection of obsolete engines and cars into one of the few operating historic railroads in the world and a significant money maker for Ely. Without that on going support many locals fear the Nevada Northern could easily revert to a quaint pile of junk.
That could happen especially if the council not only replaces the entire board and if the new board fires Basset.
“You are talking about years if not decades of carefully cultivated relationships being destroyed in one fell swoop,” said one current director. “Who on the new board will know who to talk to the next time a grant request comes along or an endowment is up for renewal? People like to know who they are dealing with and it is not like there is a shortage of good causes to donate to.”
In the worse case scenario that criminal fraud is charged, funding to the railroad would dry up immediately. However even if nothing serious is found the bitter relationship between the city council and the railroad could give many previously generous donors reason to look elsewhere to give their money.
