Voters to select new leadership in Nye County DA’s office

The Nye County District Attorney’s Office will have new leadership in 2019, with current DA Angela Bello falling to Chris Arabia in the Republican primary this past June. Arabia now heads to the general election to square off with Democrat Nicholas Del Vecchio.

Chris Arabia

“First of all I want to thank the voters for giving me the opportunity to be here. It was a tough primary against a tough opponent and I was very happy to win. I will do everything I can, if I win the general, to justify that faith in me,” Arabia stated in an interview. “I think there are three things that are the foundation of my candidacy.”

First, Arabia highlighted his values, noting they fit nicely with those of Nye County’s residents. “I could live anywhere in the country because I do federal defense work but I chose to settle here. I love Southern Nevada but I especially love Nye County, the way of life and the freedoms and values that we have here mean a lot to me. Having come from the northeast, Boston, I appreciate the differences. Just the general way of life, people being left to their own devices but then everyone is able to pull together.”

The second pillar of his bid for election is the skill set he can bring, Arabia said.

“You can have great ideas and values but if you don’t have the skills to put it into place then it doesn’t really help. As a lawyer I have been very successful in jury trials, appeals, I just argued in front of the 9th Circuit in San Francisco… The only place I haven’t really been is the U.S. Supreme Court… When you add to that the fact that I also run my own law firm and have management experience from way back, I think that the skills and the ability to manage and lead will allow me to go into the DA’s office, exert strong leadership and hopefully increase and improve the efficiency of the way cases are prosecuted, and on the civil side, trying to provide good advice to the county commission and other entities.”

“The third thing is, I want to say as little as possible about my opponent but, this is a guy from Las Vegas who has been banned by the Nevada Judicial Commission from ever running for judge in this state because of, let’s just say, severe moral and ethical violations. It’s unfortunate that he would think that is an appropriate springboard for him to come out here in Nye County and want to be the DA. But I am not running because of him, I am running because I think I can do a really good job for the people here and I will, if I am fortunate enough to get elected. I am asking for your support.”

To learn more about Arabia visit www.CA4DA.com

Nicholas Del Vecchio

This year is not Del Vecchio’s first foray into the political arena, as he has past experience as an elected judge and this marks the third time he has attempted to secure the Nye County DA’s seat. The biggest factor driving him to run this year, he noted, was his belief that all voters should have a say in their elected DA.

“This particular time around, basically what prompted me to file was the fact that no one in my party filed. So I knew that I would go right to the general election and more importantly, I decided to run to give the voters a choice,” Del Vecchio stated. “And I’ll say this; I like my chances.”

Del Vecchio detailed that he can bring 30 years of legal background to the DA’s office, remarking that in this aspect, he holds the advantage over his opponent who has fewer years of experience.

“My ability as a former district court judge is going to be unique in the courtroom in that I will be able to think like the judge and… more importantly, have a better idea of what it will be like litigating cases before him or her,” Del Vecchio said. “My experience includes being a former Nye County deputy DA, a Clark County DA’s Office conflicts attorney and a Clark County District Court judge for eight years. I was also selected among 29 applicants for court-appointed indigent paternity court representation. I have extensive experience in both civil and criminal law.”

Del Vecchio said his sights will be squarely focused on the prosecution of child support, elderly abuse and domestic violence cases. Goals for Del Vecchio include bolstering community outreach.

“I liked the fact that the current DA has excellent public contact. I love the Donuts with the DA and I plan to carry that on. I think public contact is very important… I want to think in terms of, I’m going to be what you call a ‘daily DA.’ I hope to be in court almost all the time.” Del Vecchio also wants to partner with others in Nye County to create a job corps program to help those who are struggling to pay fines, fees, child support, etc., stating, “That’s a big, big part of it.”

On a more difficult topic, Del Vecchio candidly addressed his removal from the bench by the Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission in 2008. At that time, charges were filed against him in relation to sexual impropriety with an employee during work hours, among other situations.

“I did learn from it. I learned you are responsible for your own actions. And in that ilk, I admitted what I did, I apologized for what I did and I attended and completed counseling,” he said. “I will further note that those doings never had any impact on my ability to practice law and they were not ethical findings. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel remorse over what happened.” Del Vecchio said the woman in question was at one point his stepdaughter but that had only been the case for three months in the early 1980s, long before the situation that led to his removal occurred.

Though he resides in Las Vegas now, Del Vecchio noted he is already purchasing land in Pahrump, with plans to relocate here. For more information contact Del Vecchio at 702-334-2310.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com