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Enter Agent Yablonsky, now 55. Yablonsky immediately ruffled the local establishment with his aggressive style. He installed a hot line for Nevada residents reporting official corruption and pursued investigations that helped to indict reputed underworld figures involved in skimming profits at casinos. He also targeted Claiborne, reportedly telling acquaintances that he wanted the judge's picture hanging on his wall. But the trophy stayed out of reach until the arrival of an unlikely ally: Nevada Brothel Operator Joseph Conforte, whom Claiborne had once successfully defended against a charge of white slavery.
Even in a state that has legalized sin, Conforte, 58, falls into a special category. He set up shop in the 1950s, building the Mustang Ranch outside Reno into Nevada's biggest bordello. Over the years, Conforte has been linked to political payoffs, arson and murder. In the 1960s he served time for attempted extortion and tax evasion. In 1980 he faced five years in federal prison for a conviction in another tax case. He was also up on a state charge of bribery, and the local D.A. was talking about seeking a life sentence for Conforte as a habitual criminal. Conforte skipped to Brazil, but within months he was in touch with federal authorities.
Last week, testifying in a raspy Sicilian accent, Conforte said that in December 1978 he paid Claiborne $30,000 to help quash grand jury subpoenas for two of his prostitutes who had 5 been called as witnesses in a probe of voter fraud. Three months later, Conforte said, he again met with Claiborne, who suggested that he could get a federal appeals court to overturn Conforte's tax conviction. Conforte testified that the judge told him, "We need $100,000 to get things started." With that, Conforte produced $55,000 in bills and stuffed them in Claiborne's pockets.
Claiborne denies all charges. His lawyers argue that the grand jury subpoenas were not quashed, and Conforte's tax conviction was upheld. In cross-examination the defense attacked Conforte's motives, pointing out that his prison sentence has been cut from five years to 15 months. Conforte admitted that his tax debt, estimated to be as high as $20 million, had been reduced to $7.3 million. Contends Chief Counsel Goodman: "It's a tremendously weak and vindictive case."
Not so, says the Government, which is prepared to call some 80 other witnesses. The prosecution has introduced evidence, including canceled checks, to show that the judge failed to declare part of his income. The unofficial line among Las Ve gas bookmakers makes Claiborne only a 7-to-5 underdog. Explains one bookie: "The evidence against him is strong. But Harry has an awful lot of friends in Nevada."
—By Anastasia Toufexis. Reported by Richard Woodbury/Reno