Harvey Whittemore

Frederick Harvey Whittemore (born August 17, 1952) is an American lawyer and businessman in the Reno, Nevada area. As an influential lobbyist for the gambling, alcohol and tobacco industries, and for his own ventures, Whittemore was called "one of Nevada's most powerful men." 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.

Whittemore was the president of Coyote Springs Investment, LLC, the land-development company behind Coyote Springs, a controversial $30 billion planned golf course community of 160,000 homes on 43,000 acres (17,000 ha) in the rural Nevada desert. 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.

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. 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 The paper was retracted following widespread failure to replicate the finding, which was determined to be the result of laboratory contamination.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.

Frederick Harvey Whittemore was born in Carson City, Nevada, in 1952, and was raised in Nevada and Arizona. He graduated from Sparks High School in Sparks, Nevada in 1970. Whittemore and his wife Annette met at their college, the University of Nevada, Reno, and married in 1973. Whittemore earned a law degree from Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.

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