Harvey Whittemore

Frederick Harvey Whittemore[1] (born August 17, 1952) is an American lawyer and businessman in the Reno, Nevada area.[2] As an influential lobbyist[3] for the gambling, alcohol and tobacco industries, and for his own ventures,[4][5] Whittemore was called "one of Nevada's most powerful men."[2] In 2012, Whittemore came under grand jury investigation, initiated by the Federal Election Commission, to determine whether he should be indicted for breaking federal campaign contribution laws. He was charged with four felonies with convictions on three of the counts, and sentenced September 2013 to two years in prison. He was also given a $100,000 fine, along with two years supervision after his incarceration and 100 hours community service.[6][7]

Whittemore was the president of Coyote Springs Investment, LLC, the land-development company behind Coyote Springs, a controversial[8][9] $30 billion planned golf course community of 160,000 homes on 43,000 acres (17,000 ha) in the rural Nevada desert.[10][11] Whittemore's close relationship with Senator Harry Reid came under scrutiny because of perceived legislative and political pressure favors allowing Coyote Springs to overcome regulatory problems.[12][13]

Whittemore, whose daughter, Andrea Whittemore-Goad, is a chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patient, founded a research center known as the Whittemore Peterson Institute to investigate the condition.[14][15] Members of the Institute notably claimed in 2009 that a mouse virus was the cause of CFS. The paper was retracted following widespread failure to replicate the finding, which was determined to be the result of laboratory contamination. Whittemore's business partners filed a civil suit against Whittemore, accusing him of improperly using company resources to support the institute.

  1. ^ "Indictment caps lobbyist Harvey Whittemore's dramatic fall from grace - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". June 10, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Myers, Dennis (March 3, 2005). "Public power, private man". Reno News Review.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Listless was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference LAT20082006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ProHealth was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Sonner, Scott (May 29, 2013). "Developer Guilty of Illegal Contributions to Reid". Seattle Post Intelligencer.
  7. ^ Bellisle, Martha (September 30, 2013). "Update: Harvey Whittemore gets 2 years in prison; appeal promised". rgj.com. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  8. ^ Frederick, Sherman (April 23, 2006). "The birth of Nevada's newest town". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  9. ^ Neubauer, Chuck (August 29, 2006). "Advocates Sue Over Nevada Land Exchange; Groups charge in federal court that the Bureau of Land Management violated the law in its swap with Coyote Springs developer Harvey Whittemore". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California.
  10. ^ Lipper, John; Jim Efstathiou, Jr. (February 26, 2008). "Las Vegas Running Out of Water Means Dimming Los Angeles Lights". Bloomberg.
  11. ^ Riley, Brendan (March 31, 2008). "Developer seeks rural Nevada water for $30 billion project". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  12. ^ "Harry's deal". The Pittsburgh Tribune. September 25, 2007. Archived from the original on August 6, 2010.
  13. ^ Waldman, Peter (February 2008). "When Harry Met Vegas". Portfolio. Condé Nast Digital/Bizjournals.
  14. ^ Grady, Denise (October 12, 2009). "Is a Virus the Cause of Fatigue Syndrome?". The New York Times.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Powers2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).