Peter Liakopoulos guilty of bribery
On Wednesday, July 1, the Pahrump Valley Times reported that the trial of former Nye County Commissioner Peter Liakopoulos was underway.
The Public Defender, Tom Gibson, in his opening statement to the jury told them the prosecution was “politically motivated”
The prosecutor, Conrad Hafen, told the jury Liakopoulos had contacted former Pahrump Town Board Chairman Laurayne Murray three times asking her to appoint Liakopoulos’ wife as curator of the veteran’s museum.
In exchange for his wife’s appointment, Liakopoulos offered to vote for a half-cent county sales tax increase.
The defense contended Murray, whose husband works for the Pahrump Valley Fire-Rescue Service, had a grudge against Liakopoulos, as did the sheriff, Tony DeMeo, as those two departments would have benefited from the added revenue if the half-cent sales tax passed.
Gibson argued, “Why didn’t the state prosecute Murray for her involvement in the alleged deal?”
“It’s OK if Ms. Murray does it but not Mr. Liakopoulos, and you know why? It’s the smelly, stinky, grimy world of politics,” Gibson said.
The defense attorney argued “Murray and the state attorney general are both Democrats, while Liakopoulos is a Republican,” reported Mark Waite of the Times.
“This is politics. Get the Republicans out, get your Democrat buddies in there,” Gibson argued.
“No law has been violated whatsoever. We will show you through the state’s witness the embellishment, the lies. It’s a classic ‘he said, she said,’” Gibson said. “This is a case of sour grapes from a tattletale who did worse, who ran to the police.”
“The jury found Liakopoulos guilty of felony bribery and misdemeanor counts of offering a reward for an appointment and graft by a public officer.”
Liakopoulos is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 24. [Las Vegas Review Journal]
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