Nevada

Unaired ‘Vegas DA’ reality TV show sparks controversy by recording defendant’s chat with lawyer

At the request of Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, the Las Vegas criminal court system has been cooperating with the producers of Las Vegas D.A., a “docudrama” about his work. But not every defense lawyer is smiling for the camera, and footage of a chat between attorney Frank Kocka…

Feb 22, 2016 1:55 PM CST

Prison time for counseling service owner may not bode well for attorney in related case

The former owner of a Las Vegas counseling service that provided phony certificates of completion to individuals required to take court-ordered programs was sentenced Wednesday to two to five years behind bars. The prison term for Steven Brox, 50—who made a tearful apology to no avail and was taken immediately…

Feb 17, 2016 2:55 PM CST

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy is charged in 2014 cattle-graze standoff as he heads to Oregon protest

After Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and militia supporters prevailed in an armed 2014 standoff concerning cattle trespassing on federal land, the government wasn’t in any hurry to bring criminal charges. However, when Bundy traveled this week to Portland, Oregon, in a reported plan to support two of his sons after…

Feb 12, 2016 11:20 AM CST

Law student is shot and killed while pounding on apartment door

A third-year law student was shot and killed last week while banging on an apartment door in a tragic misunderstanding, his friend says. The student, 31-year-old Richard Rizal McGee, was visiting Jonathan Wade in Las Vegas when the incident occurred, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. After a night of drinking,…

Dec 29, 2015 7:24 AM CST

Another lawyer is indicted in alleged scheme to file false certificates of completion with court

A Nevada lawyer was indicted Thursday on 138 felony and misdemeanor counts, accused of providing phony certificates of completion for clients to Las Vegas Justice Court between 2008 and 2010. A bench warrant was issued for Vicki Greco’s arrest and bond was set at $50,000 in the Clark County case,…

Dec 10, 2015 4:55 PM CST

2nd lawyer investigated in probe of forged certificates of completion for court-ordered counseling

A grand jury in Nevada is hearing evidence against another lawyer in an ongoing criminal investigation of forged certificates of completion for court-ordered counseling and community service. The Clark County probe of criminal defense attorney Vicki Greco follows July raids by Las Vegas police of her home and law office,…

Dec 3, 2015 12:30 PM CST

Battle over whether patient is alive returns to Nevada district court

A Nevada hospital is seeking new medical tests for a college student on life support in a legal battle with her father over whether the 20-year-old woman is legally alive. The dispute over the status of Aden Hailu is back in Washoe County District Court as a result of a…

Dec 2, 2015 8:49 AM CST

‘Butterball’ operation puts officer dressed as turkey in crosswalk to reduce pedestrian fatalities

A state highway patrol officer dressed in a turkey costume is trying to keep pedestrian traffic fatalities down in Nevada’s Clark County. Dubbed “Butterball One,” the joint operation by state police, metropolitan police and Clark County school police is ticketing drivers who fail to stop as Trooper Chelsea Stuenkel strolls…

Nov 19, 2015 2:40 PM CST

Half Price Lawyers is back in business

A Nevada law firm called Half Price Lawyers has reopened under new management. The name is provided under a licensing arrangement, Vegas Inc. reports. The law firm, taken over by lawyer Glen Truitt in 2013, closed its Las Vegas and Pahrump offices in February, the Pahrump Valley Times reported at…

Nov 16, 2015 8:35 AM CST

Las Vegas jurist sets low bail for defendants he says were stopped for ‘driving while Hispanic’

A Las Vegas justice of the peace raised eyebrows when he set low bail for two accused drug mules, saying they seem to have been stopped for racial reasons, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Wednesday. One has since fled. Eric Goodman, a justice of the peace for the Las Vegas…

Oct 8, 2015 4:55 PM CDT

Once-convicted lawyer turns tables on feds, seeks $215K for defense fees in $52M mortgage-fraud case

Convicted two years ago in a $52 million mortgage-fraud scheme, a New Orleans lawyer won a reversal of his conviction in July from a federal appeals court. Now David Mark hopes to get reimbursement from the government of some $215,000 in attorney’s fees and costs, due to alleged wrongdoing by…

Sep 14, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

Once-secret brief filed by federal prosecutors details scheme to defraud Vegas HOAs

Now that 42 defendants have been convicted in a federal corruption case over a scheme to fleece Las Vegas area homeowners associations of millions of dollars, prosecutors have released a brief filed under seal. It provides new details about the scheme operated by convicted mastermind Leon Benzer, a former construction…

Aug 20, 2015 4:30 PM CDT

Data brokers sold consumer info to scammers who stole $7M, FTC says

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against a Florida-based data broker operation. It contends two affiliated companies collected and sold consumer payday loan applications between 2009 and 2013 to a company that used the information for a $7 million fraud. While defendants Sequoia One and Gen X Marketing…

Aug 12, 2015 2:20 PM CDT

Real estate agent takes plea in unusual adverse possession case; his lawyer says it should be civil

Initially charged with two dozen felonies, a former real estate agent pleaded guilty to seven and got probation this week in an unusual criminal case that centers on adverse possession. At issue were four North Las Vegas homes Eric Alpert allegedly broke into and converted for his own use, renting…

Aug 12, 2015 11:00 AM CDT

Mastermind gets 15 years in ‘mind-boggling’ scheme to fleece Vegas HOAs of millions

Bringing to a close the largest known public corruption case in Southern Nevada, a federal judge on Thursday sentenced a former construction company boss portrayed by prosecutors as its mastermind to 15½ years in prison. The case, which brought down multiple attorneys among a total of nearly 40 defendants, involved…

Aug 7, 2015 11:37 AM CDT