Sheriff Tony DeMeo DA Bob Beckett

It isn’t every day that Pahrump and Nye County makes the Wall Street Journal. The headline in the Journal issue of July 6 heralds “High Noon in Pahrump, Nev.: Sheriff Arrests the District Attorney.” The sub headline reads “The D.A. Chooses Not to File Charges Against Himself, Investigates His Nemesis.”

The article begins “Like a scene from a Western movie, the two top lawmen here are settling their scores in public.” Forging onward the Journal reports the D.A. appointed a special prosecutor “to investigate possible abuses of power by the sheriff’s office and other public officials.” The special prosecutor filed felony charges against deputy sheriff, David Boruchowitz, for arresting Beckett.

The Journal article proceeds to explain the arrest of District Attorney Robert Beckett by Sheriff Tony DeMeo’s deputy for allegedly “misusing public funds.” Then it points out that “…the D.A., refuses to charge himself.”

“[A]fter he (Boruchowitz) was summoned to lock himself in the corrugated metal county jail, he sent out a press release with his own mug shot announcing he had been arrested. A judge later rejected the charges, contending Mr. Beckett didn’t have the power to appoint a special prosecutor. So Mr. Beckett refilled the charges himself.”

The Journal then describes Nye County as “twice the size of New Hampshire…Most of the county is so desolate that for years the military conducted atomic testing here.…Its sparse local economy includes a gold mine and a dairy farm, as well as seven brothels whose fees finance the county’s ambulance services.” Pahrump gets its mention as being 45 minutes from Las Vegas and the “local government struggled to keep up with the proliferation of houses and mini-malls strewn across the desert.”

The Journal characterizes the beef between DeMeo and Beckett this way. “Mr. DeMeo complains that his department arrests people who never get prosecuted. Mr. Beckett contends that some of the sheriff’s cases aren’t solid.”

“I’ve often said they need a mother to stop the fighting,” said Mr. Beckett’s wife, JoDee Beckett. “It’s like two little boys.” [Read more →]

The state of the criminal justice system in Nye County has so many twists and turns it makes your head hurt to try and keep it all straight. Never seen or heard anything like it. It is challenging to try to keep up with it all and describe it in an understandable way. It is all entangled in Nye County politics.

The beginning of it all, at least in public view, started with the arrest of Ted Holmes, a former retired police officer, questioning an out of state police officer about displaying his police badge in Nevada. Holmes is a candidate seeking to unseat the Sheriff of Nye County, Tony DeMeo. That led to the Sheriff’s Office obtaining a search warrant for Holmes’ police badge and a confrontation at an airport hangar and the arrest of Mr. Holmes. Holmes appeared in court later but was given a “certificate of dismissal.” So far as I can determine it no formal charges were filed against Mr. Holmes…at least yet. Holmes has maintained he committed no crime and that his arrest was motivated because he is running for the Sheriff’s job.

Along about this same period of time the District Attorney, Bob Beckett, fired Chief Civil Deputy Ron Kent. No reason for the firing was given except that it was over a complaint by a former DA Office employee. Kent alleges his firing was politically motivated. Beckett is running for re-election; Kent filed seeking his election to Beckett’s seat.

Then came the arrest of Beckett by the Sheriff’s Office on allegations Beckett embezzled money from the Nye County Bad Check Program. Beckett claims the Check Program was under the supervision of Kent and that his arrest was politically motivated. Beckett promptly “appointed” attorney Leslie Stovall as a “special prosecutor” to investigate political corruption in Nye County.

The Sheriff’s Office, complained Stovall was inappropriately appointed by Beckett without the Nye County Commissioners’ approval. Judge Tina Brisebill issued an order which “effectively barred” Stovall from representing defendants in a court of law, according to the Mirror. It is also reported that Brian Kunzi, an employee of the Nevada Attorney General’s Office, also a candidate running for Beckett’s seat eliminates the Attorney General from prosecuting the case(s).

All that may have made your eyes glaze over—but wait there’s more as they say in the commercials.

It was quiet about a week then on May 20 it was reported that Conrad Claus, a Clark County former prosecutor was filing a criminal complaint containing 25 counts against Nye County Sheriff’s Detective David Boruchowitz accusing him of “burglary and assault in an effort to harass candidates seeking public office” naming Scott Cobel, also running for Sheriff against DeMeo and Holmes as “victims.” The news report stated that Conrad was a “special prosecutor” named by Beckett.

In a news conference Claus claims Boruchowitz had “kicked in a door at a home where teenagers were gathered on April 17” and subjecting the teenagers” to search and a breathalyzer tests, all without a warrant. Further Boruchowitz is accused of making “untrue statements” about Holmes in the application for the search warrant leading to the arrest of Holmes.

That is essentially a summary of the state of affairs in the Nye County Criminal Justice System as it appears to me at the moment.

Goodness knows what the final cost of all this will be in the end. It is going to cost the taxpayers in lots of legal costs. Whatever the cost the money that will be spent might have been better used to saving the Mt. Charleston School.

Nonetheless, the whole thing stinks to high heaven.

[Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal; Las Vegas Sun; Pahrump Valley Times; Pahrump Mirror]

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports today that criminal charges are being filed against Nye County Sheriff’s Detective David Boruchowitz.

Photo of Conrad Claus from the Las Vegas Review Journal.

The RJ report further indicates that a “new special prosecutor,” Conrad Claus, named by Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett announced the charges at a press conference in in Clark County. Claus said the criminal complaint contains 25 count and will be filed in the Nye County District Court.

Boruchowitz participated in the arrest of District Attorney Beckett on May 5 alleging 40 counts of embezzlement.

Claus outlined the case against Boruchowitz, who he described as a rogue cop who has abused his authority to smear and harass Beckett and two candidates who are seeking to unseat DeMeo.

In the criminal complaint, Boruchowitz is accused of lying to obtain a search warrant that led to the arrest of sheriff’s candidate Ted Holmes, who was booked March 12 for impersonating a police officer but has yet to be formally charged.

The complaint also charges Boruchowitz in connection with an April 17 incident in which he and other officers allegedly kicked in the door of a Pahrump apartment without probable cause and illegally searched a group of teenagers, including the daughter of sheriff’s candidate and Nevada Highway Patrol officer Scott Cobel.

Claus said that if convicted on all the charges Boruchowitz is “looking at the rest of his life in prison.”

The RJ additionally reported that Claus, presently in private practice, is a former Clark County prosecutor. In latter April Claus held a press conference at the Nye County Courthouse and related a harassment complaint and numerous other allegations against Ron Kent, currently running against Beckett in the upcoming election.

Stay tuned. This scenario has all the makings of a TV soap opera.

Photo: MARK SMITH / PVT
Leslie Stovall, left, is acting as a special prosecutor for Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett, at right, with wife Jodee. Stovall and Beckett addressed the issues surrounding the DA’s arrest during the Thursday news conference.

Nye County District Attorney, Bob Beckett, and the Nye County Sheriff’s Office are arguing over validity of embezzlement allegations pending against Beckett.

The Sheriff’s Office began an investigation after being approached by Nye County Treasurer Gary Budahl, who asked for help in auditing the district attorney’s Bad Check Program bank account because Beckett allegedly wouldn’t comply.

The bad check program contains funds recovered from bad checks. It is run through the district attorney’s office, and Beckett had control of where to distribute the funds, police said. Officers obtained a search warrant and are examining the account. Financial records were seized during the search. The account at Bank of America was frozen.

[Read more →]

Nye County District Attorney, up for re-election, has been arrested and being held in jail.

News 3 has confirmed that Nye County District Attorney Robert Beckett has been arrested.
He is facing numerous charges including embezzlement and misappropriation of funds. His bail has been set at $207,500.
According to the Nye County Sheriff’s Office, Beckett operated a “bad check program” through his office.
It has been alleged that an audit revealed Beckett made numerous donations with funds collected through this program to numerous organizations throughout the community, some of which directly benefited his family members.
One donation is alleged to have been made to help a friend pay off a loan.

Update May 6, 2010: Las Vegas Review-Journal. Some additional information has been publicized in the Review-Journal:

Beckett, who was arrested without incident, has said the investigation was the result of political enemies.

“They don’t have their facts straight,” Beckett said Wednesday evening. “They misinterpreted the law, and then they took exceedingly inappropriate action.”

Beckett, who was arrested in a bizarre DUI incident in California more than a year ago, seeks his fifth term and is in a heated race that includes Ron Kent, his former chief civil deputy; disgraced former Clark County Family Court Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio; and Brian Kunzi, a senior deputy attorney general.

Beckett was released by midafternoon on his own recognizance. Because he is the district attorney, a special prosecutor will be named to handle the case, DeMeo said.

DeMeo denied the heated election was behind the arrest.

“This wasn’t motivated by politics,” he said.

Beckett has been charged with more than 40 counts, including 20 counts of fraudulent appropriation of property, 20 counts of misconduct of a public officer, one count of malfeasance of office and one count of embezzlement.

DeMeo said he was unsure how much money is involved because the account “was rapidly depleted” and had about $15,000 left.

“One thing that was interesting is we found evidence a car payment was made for a family friend,” DeMeo said.

“That’s not true,” Beckett said. “I never used that account to pay off anything for family or friends.”

Beckett said the funds were given to charities, but DeMeo said it doesn’t appear the money was used for “altruism.”

The bad check fund had never been audited in 13 years, Beckett said.

DeMeo was unsure whether that was accurate, but he said Nevada law spells out that such accounts must be audited by county treasurers.

Beckett reportedly had skipped several meetings requested by Nye County Treasurer Gary Budahl and Dan McArthur, the county’s independent auditor.

The bad check fund receives its money from people charged with writing bad checks. The money is supposed to be used to reimburse victims of bad checks. Bad-check writers also must pay fees on top of their reimbursements.

DeMeo said he did not know how many people were fully reimbursed.

Beckett last week said the fund was being phased out because “people aren’t writing bad checks anymore.”

He said he would call a news conference “once I sort through this mess. Until then, I can’t say anything else.”

Contact Doug McMurdo at dmcmurdo@reviewjournal. com or 702-254-5512.

In the Pahrump Valley Times (March 17, 2010 issue, page A9) is reporter Mark Waite’s coverage of Nancy Lord who is seeking election to represent the Republican Party in the June 8 primary election for District Attorney of Nye County.

Nancy Lord, attorney for the Con­cerned Citizens for a Safe Commu­nity (CCSC) is a candidate for Nye County district attorney competing in the June 8 Re­publican primary. She is running against four other Republicans for Republican nomination.

The other Republicans are in­cumbent Bob Beckett and former Nye County Chief Civil Deputy District At­torney Ron Kent, Michael Root and Charles G. Watkins. This post will focus on Lord.

She ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 1992 as the running mate of Andre Marrou. They placed fourth in the popular vote with 432,179 votes, a half-percent of the total.

She received her law degree from Georgetown University. Until 1983 she worked for Abbott Laboratories. She was on the board of directors for the National Associa­tion for the Reform of Marijuana Law (NORML) and for the Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA).

Lord came to Pahrump in to stay in July 2006.

She filed a series of lawsuits to block the federal detention center. The lawsuits centered around alleged failure of Nye County Officials to hold publicized public meetings over approving the detention center. They all failed.

“Had I been advising the commis­sioners, these meetings would have been publicized,” Lord said. “I’d like to think about it as a lost dog. You notice when somebody loses a dog, you see it everywhere. Something as serious as a scoping meeting for a detention center should have been publicized as widely as when someone loses a dog.”

Lord says she is the most qualified candidate for DA. Her election is a chance to make a difference for the town, she said.

“I see a real problem with property they deserve and are real devastating to the victims. I see political pros­ecutions, such as Harley Kulkin’s, that are a huge waste of resources and shouldn’t be happening,” Lord said.

Lord says she is fundamentally still a Libertarian. She is against mari­juana laws but will prosecute offend­ers as long as the drug is illegal in Nevada. Lord said she won’t pros­ecute a case where someone’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated due to an illegal search.

“I am not required to represent the county commissioners personally. I will represent Nye County as if it’s a corporate client, and I have over a decade of experience in that regard,” she said.

She proposes to begin training sessions for deputy DAs.

“I’ve got 20 years’ experience as an attorney and additional experience be­yond that as an attorney. I’ve managed staff,” Lord said.

During the consumer session for the Utilities Inc. rate increase Thursday, Lord said she wouldn’t prosecute any­one who refused to let an inspector on their property to look at their water meter. She also wouldn’t enforce any law that required Pahrump residents on wells to hook up to a water and sewer grid.

[Source: Pahrump Valley Times. The PVT issue of March 17, 2010 is not online as of this writing. It should be available on line sometime later today. Links to external sources have been added to provide the reader with groups mentioned in Mr. Waite’s article in the PVT. The photo of Ms. Lord if from Mr. Waite’s article in the PVT. With my thanks.]

The primary election in Nye County is just ahead. Those not registered to vote that intend to vote have until May 8 to register by mail. Between May 9-18 they can register in the Nye County Clerk’s office. Early voting will begin on May 22.

So, now that the time for candidates to register for the elective offices they’re running for is closed who is running for what? Here is the list I consider to be the most major offices up for the Nye County election:

For Nye County Assessor:

• Kathleen L. Bienenstein—Democrat
• Shirley Matson—Republican
• Sandra M. Musselman—Democrat (incumbent)

For Nye County Clerk:

• Andrew “Andy” Alberti Jr.:–Republican
• Sandra “Sam” Merlino—Republican (incumbent)
• Norma Jean Opatik—Republican

Nye County Commissioner, District IV:

• Andrew “Butch” Borasky—Republican (incumbent)
• Donna C. Cox—Republican
• Sandra D. Darby—Libertarian
• Carl L. Moore Sr.—Republican

Nye County Commissioner, District V:

• Paul Holder—Democrat
• Laurayne Murray—Democrat
• Fely A. Quitevis—Republican (incumbent)
• Dan Schinhofen—Republican

Nye County District Attorney:

• Bob Beckett—Republican (incumbent)
• Nicholas Anthony Del Vecchio—Democrat
• Ron Kent—Republican
• Brian T. Kunzi—Democrat
• Nancy Lord—Republican
• Michael Root—Republican
• Charles G. Watkins—Republican

Nye County Public Administrator:

• Robin Dorand-Rudolf—Democrat
• Falkon Finlinson—Independent American Party
• Donna J. Jokinen—Democrat

Nye County Recorder:

• Deborah Beatty—Republican
• Byron P. Foster—Republican (incumbent)
• Cindy Wyrick—Republican

Nye County Treasurer:

• Gary S. Budahl—Democrat (incumbent)
• Darryl Lackey—Republican
• Michael W. Maher—Republican

Nye County Sheriff: (Non Partisan)

• Scott Cobel
• Tony DeMeo (incumbent)
• Ted Holmes
• Ray “The Flagman” Mielzynski
• Gerald “Bear” Smith

Pahrump Town Board: (Non Partisan)

• Bill Dolan (incumbent)
• Carolene Endersby
• Anthony Greco
• Isabel Isherwood
• Lu Komorowski
• Harley Kulkin
• Frank J. Maurizio (incumbent)
• Michael A. Miraglia
• Warren Pawliuk
• Jim Petell
• Amy Riches
• Don Rust
• Nicole Shupp (incumbent)
• Eric Vessella
• Tom Waters

There are other offices not on this list which will be on the ballot. Each are important, of course, but the ones I’ve listed are the ones I think are generally more important to follow.

First, let me say (or more accurately—write) that this election is a primary election. That means that you voters get to pick which candidates get to go on to the general election which will take place in November. The primary election allows you to pick what you consider to be the cream of the crop.

Second, I’ll be writing about the upcoming primary election in the weeks ahead. It is no secret that I am a Democrat and tend to favor Democratic candidates. So I head into this election season with that bias. However, I’ll also tell you I have and will in the coming election vote for at least one Republican on this list.

Past all that I hope to be as objective and factual as I can be. That is the best I can do.

I look forward to this election. I’m interested in why these people are running for the office they seek and what they hope to accomplish in doing so. We can all learn together.

Finally, I offer a tip of my hat to each of them. It takes somewhat special people to run for an elective office. Most of us never do. It is hard work. It is expensive. There is little thanks given for doing it. I thank each of you for doing what the majority of us would never do. So, show us what you’ve got.

So, if you are interested on my take on the election you are welcome to follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Featheriver. Every post I write on this blog goes out on Twitter also. You won’t miss anything that way.

Ron Kent, Candidate for DA of Nye County

Last Monday, former Chief Civil Deputy District Attorney Ron Kent, having been terminated from his former job, is running for election to replace to replace current District Attorney Bob Beckett.

Kent kicked off his campaign last Monday at Wulfy’s Sports Lounge in Pahrump. Over 200 people showed up to hear Kent speak.

The question was “Why are you running for District Attorney?”

Kent explained “After agonizing over this for quite some time, I determined to run for the district attorney’s office. I’ve been asked several times ‘why are you gunning for the D.A.’s office?’ Really, after thinking about it, what came to mind was the expression, ‘what you see is what you get.’” He was referring to Beckett’s performance Pahrump Mirror reporter, Paul Jones, wrote. [Pahrump Mirror, Thursday, March 11, 1010, page 3]

Kent added,

For the past 15 years under the administration of the incumbent ‘what you see is what you get’ and this is what you will receive as the citizens and the voters of Nye County into the future.

Kent said he believed a vote for Beckett would be a vote for “maintaining the status quo.”

[T]he time is long overdue that we raise the bar for the district attorney’s office, that we bring the D.A.’s office into the new millennium. I believe that we need to increase the level of service and the quality of service to the citizens because, as I said before, you all deserve better.

It was reported that Mr. Kent was born in Nevada and has been practicing law in Nevada the past 27 years. He took the Chief Deputy District Attorney position 12 years ago.

He said the thought his experience within the DA’s office and knowledge of the community and government uniquely qualifies him to assume the position of District Attorney.

I know what works in the D.A.’s office, but even more so I know what does not work in the D.A.’s office. I believe that with the 27 years of experience in the broad filed of civil and criminal law that I have, my proven leadership skills, as well as the fact that I am intimately aware of all the problems confronting government, your leadership. All of these components, coupled together, uniquely equip me to act as your district attorney and build the D.A.’s office into a law firm, a real law firm, something that every citizen in this county should be proud of.

He went on to indicate he has plans to implement and improve the current systems in place in the office with programs he had been working on for years.

If I’m elected district attorney, I have plans in place to take administrative measures to improve the efficiency of the office, the productivity of the office, but once again, and most importantly, to increase the quality of the legal deliverables that ultimately are for the benefit for all of you in this room, your neighbors, your families and your businesses.

Kent is a graduate of Las Vegas High School. He holds a BA degree in Philosophyand Psychology from UNLV. He earned his degree in law from Southern Western University of Law in California.

Politically Nye County belongs to the Republican Party. Local elections are always full of Republican candidates. Only a scattered two or three Democrats jump into the local election meat grinder.

I was startled when I picked up the Pahrump Valley Times yesterday, March 10. Right there on the front page was the headline Two Dems file for DA. Naturally, having been a prosecutor myself, I read the article by reporter Mark Waite with some interest.

The two Democrats are Brian Kunzi and Nicholas Anthony Del Vecchio. I don’t personally know either man. I recall, vaguely, meeting Kunzi at some event somewhere but it was only a momentary handshake. I’ve never met Del Vecchio but have heard of him.

Until then I was aware of only two other candidates running the county office: The current incumbent DA Bob Beckett and Chief Deputy Ron Kent, both Republicans, are running.

The office of District Attorney is a partisan office. So it would appear that in the primary election Beckett and Kent will oppose each other for the nomination of the Nye County Republican Party. Similarly Kunzi and Del Vecchio will be the contestants for the nomination of the Nye County Democratic Party.

The winners of the primary will then provide the choice of all Nye County voters in the general election in November.

I’ve never thought much about the fact the DA’s office is partisan in Nevada. In California it is nonpartisan in theory, but very partisan in reality.

Being of the Democratic persuasion I am pleased that Democrats may, finally, begin contesting local elections in Nye County. Having competing political party elections help provide more choice to voters.

That said, just how does the ordinary voter go about learning enough about these four men to make an intelligent decision as to which one they’ll vote for? It is much more difficult to learn sufficient facts about each candidate to determine which should be the District Attorney.

Most of us think of the DA as the person who prosecutes people accused of commission of a crime. Actually, the DA is considerably more than just that. Criminal prosecutions is the primary role, of course. However, the DA is also an administrator of his office. He has to have the ability to see that his office operates smoothly and efficiently. That means he has to know something about organizing the structure of his office to accomplish that task. Then there is always the problem of hiring qualified personnel to do the myriad of tasks of running an office. Secretaries, clerks, investigators, and competent deputy prosecutors, and in some offices paralegals, to get all the normal daily stuff done.

The administrative role also requires someone with the ability to deal with judges, which can sometimes be a pain. Also, the DA needs to be able to interact well with the law enforcement agencies who supplies him with the criminal cases he must prosecute. In Nye County those law enforcement agencies would primarily be the Sheriff’s office and the Nevada Highway Patrol.

Additionally he has to deal with the County Board of Commissioners, specifically for his operating budget. In Nye County, different than California, the DA is also the legal counsel for the Board of Commissioners. That function is primarily one of civil law.

He is also the individual with the responsibility of collecting child support from absent parents in both welfare and non-welfare cases.

The District Attorney wields a lot of power. His primary duty is to see that justice is done. He possesses virtual total discretion in what cases he prosecutes. Sometimes that requires Solomon-like wisdom.

So, you may begin to see that it may not be all that easy to select who you want to be the DA. It will be interesting to see how all four candidates conduct their campaigns and who gets elected and why.

DA Bob Beckett

The office of District Attorney is one of the most important county offices in existence. One for which voters should look for experienced, level headed, mature and competent candidates to fill.

Mr. Beckett is a Republican who has been the District Attorney of Nye County since 1995. His announced opponent in the race is Mr. Ron Kent, former Chief Civil Deputy District Attorney of the Nye County District Attorney’s office.