Suspended Pahrump Justice of the Peace Michele Fiore, despite being found guilty by a federal jury of wire fraud, can still serve in Nevada — at least for now.
Fiore was suspended without pay on Monday after the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline ruled unanimously. The Las Vegas Review-Journal previously reported that since her initial suspension, she has been paid over $20,000 despite not sitting on the bench. In a public hearing, Fiore’s attorney, Paola Armeni, stated that all the Nye County commissioners supported Fiore’s request to keep her pay during her suspension. But Nye County’s Public Communications Manager, Arnold Knightly, states, “The county commissioners have not made a public stance on the continuing pay for Judge Fiore.”
Earlier this month, a federal jury found Fiore, 54, guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud while she was a Las Vegas city councilwoman in 2019.
Prosecutors said that Fiore raised more than $70,000 for a statue honoring Alyn Beck, a police officer killed in Las Vegas in 2014. But instead of using the funds for the statue, prosecutors said that Fiore spent the donations on rent, plastic surgery and for her daughter’s wedding. None of the donations were found to have contributed to the unveiling of the statue in 2020.
Although Fiore has yet to be sentenced, she won her nonpartisan primary election on June 11 in Nye County by nearly 57 percent of the vote, which means Fiore won outright and would remain as Department B’s justice of the peace, according to the NRS.
Fiore was first suspended with pay by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline after she was indicted. Pahrump Justice of the Peace Kirk Vitto has doubled his workload as he has taken over her court cases.
As of Thursday, the commission has yet to make its final decision to bar Fiore from practicing law in Nevada.
The commission is one of the only boards that can bar a judge from practicing law in the state.
This is not the first time a judge was involved with a wire fraud case.
Barred
The commission has previously barred only three judges from practicing law in Nevada, one of whom was indicted with at least one count of wire fraud, like Fiore.
Former Clark County Justice of the Peace Steven Jones was one of six defendants who were key players in a high-yield investment scheme case that ended up collecting roughly $2.6 million from their victims.
Prosecutors said the defendants were simply enriching themselves by using the money for gambling and living expenses.
The scheme promised investors that the loan would be repaid with an overly promising rate, according to court documents. But when victims did not see a return on their investment and questioned the legitimacy of the high-yield investment, investors were sent to Jones, a sitting Nevada district judge, who would vouch for the fake investment, according to court documents.
Jones also used his position as a judge to delay legal repercussions on the investment scheme, which allowed the scheme to continue for almost a decade, prosecutors alleged.
During the investigation, the FBI found Jones was related to the scheme after he was linked to a joint banking account with laundered money.
Jones signed a plea to two counts of conspiracy charges for defrauding 22 victims of millions in the investment fraud scheme in 2014.
It wasn’t until 2016 that the commission was able to file a judgment against Jones after he was suspended in 2012.
It took the commission roughly four years before Jones was “forever” barred from serving in any judicial office due to his attempts to delay their investigation.
Other instances
The last judge to be barred by the commission was Washoe County Family Court Judge David Humke. Humke was barred after admitting to violating the Revised Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct, according to court documents.
Humke admitted he lacked the knowledge and ability to carry out his legal and administrative tasks of his family court room. In one instance, the commission found that the former Washoe County judge improperly placed a 5-month old child with its paternal grandparents in Utah.
Humke did this with no jurisdiction over the grandparents and wasn’t able to make any effort to terminate the parental right of the biological parents. Upon multiple requests from the parents, the child had to remain in the grandparents’ custody for two years.
He as barred in 2019, a year after being suspended.
Another judge barred from practicing law was former Goodsprings Township Justice of the Peace Dawn Haviland, who was barred for multiple allegations.
Among those allegations, as a judge, Haviland sealed her son-in-law’s criminal battery record after having a clear conflict of interest. Haviland also wrongfully sentenced a man to eight months in jail without criminal charges with no bail, according to the commission’s findings. The commission found this was a violation of a civil protective order and a failure to comply with the law.
She was barred a year after she was suspended.
The commission usually makes their final conclusion after a judge is sentenced in their case and currently, the commission is prohibited from commenting on Fiore’s case. Once a decision is made, it will be available on the commission’s website at www.judicial.nv.gov.
Contact Jimmy Romo at jromo@pvtimes.com. Follow @JimmyRomo.News on Instagram.