Executor threatens claim against public administrator

In life, Virgil “Vince” Bogdan was a prolific writer of letters to the editor, speaking out against costly public official salaries, complaining about dangerous traffic situations and skewering Democrats.

His favorite saying was voters were “as confused as mosquitos in a nudist camp.” In a Community Viewpoint June 6, Bogdan railed against nepotism in the Nye County Sheriff’s Office and one of his favorite gripes, campaign signs littering the scenery. Bogdan urged people to vote for the Flagman, Ray Mielzynski. One comment turned out to be prophetic, “in the meantime vote for me, I’m running for the nearest exit.”

Bogden died unexpectedly June 10, when he ran for the exit of life, he was found in his driveway. Despite his disdain for anything to do with the government in real life, one of his co-executors complained government is getting involved in dealing with his will.

Vicky Sharron, who is third on a list of co-executors in Bogdan’s will, complained to Nye County Commissioners last week about the way the public administrator’s office became involved. Cynthia Pavel Pollack, who is the first person named as executor and lives in Michigan, Sharron said, adding Deputy Public Administrator Robin Dorand-Rudolph informed Pollack she would need an in-state, co-executor.

“That is not the law. The law specifically states if you are an out-of-state administrator you must have an administrator who lives in the State of Nevada. Vince put me on his will to make sure that the state would not get involved. No offense to anyone here, but he believed he paid enough in taxes, they weren’t going to get a penny more,” Sharron told commissioners. She added an administrator is much more restricted by law than an executor.

In an interview with the Pahrump Valley Times, Sharron said in Bogdan’s wallet was a card instructing people to contact her, but Dorand-Rudolf ignored it. The deputy public administrator went into Bogdan’s house and found the name of the second co-executor, Sherrie Beck, on the refrigerator. Sharron said she was the only one of the three co-executors that lived in Pahrump. Bogdan died without any children or siblings.

Five days after Bogdan’s death, Sharron said Pollack, the first co-executor, arrived from Michigan. Dorand-Rudolph took her to the law offices of Stovall and Associates to sign documents naming her as co-executor of the will, she said.

“Vince wrote his will to keep the county out of it. She (Dorand-Rudolph) had Cindy sign these documents and Cindy was told not to tell me or Sherrie what happened at the attorney’s office,” Sharron said.

Second co-executor Beck owned the house Bogdan lived in, but Sharron said they weren’t allowed to enter while they waited for Dorand-Rudolph to take an inventory.

“There was no way she could be emergency co-executor because there were three executors on the will,” Sharron said of the deputy public administrator. “When everything was done and over, we knew Cynthia was listed as first executor, if the first executor can’t do it, it goes to the second and the same to the third.”

Sharron told county commissioners she would be filing a complaint with the district attorney’s office. But DA Brian Kunzi said it’s a civil matter, not a criminal matter.

On Aug. 18 Sharron said she was asked by an attorney to sign a document declining executorship but refused. Sharron said Dorand-Rudolf couldn’t be the co-executor with the two other people listed as co-executors.

Sharron said she has hired an attorney to pursue the matter, which is in Fifth District Judge Robert Lane’s court.

Dorand-Rudolf sought to refute the accusations about another charge against the public administrator’s office, which was front page news in another Pahrump publication. She said most of Bogdan’s possessions were in a trust.

“I am not involved in anything in the trust, I am only assisting Cynthia with things that are outside the trust,” Dorand-Rudolf said. Almost all of his estate is going to non-profit, charitable organizations, she said.

“My job is to simply help Cindy corral the assets that are not going into the trust and once those assets are gathered, they’re put into the trust where the final distribution to all his charitable organizations is made,” Dorand-Rudolf said.

Pollack said the published account was a lie.

“Robin is not raping Virgil’s estate. Nobody is taking whatever they want. All that has to go through me and I haven’t received a penny nor spent one from Virgil’s estate,” Pollack wrote in a letter to the editor after the published article. “Yes I could do this all for basically free, but there are monetary and time costs for that. I live out of state. Plane fare is very expensive to fly to Nevada often to handle this. By hiring Robin I cut Virgil’s costs by having expert help. Hiring an attorney to do all of this it would cost the estate a lot more.”

Dorand-Rudolf said she met with Pollack and her husband at Stovall’s law office and went through Bogdan’s items she put in a bag. Pollack looked at the list she wrote and signed off it was accurate. Dorand-Rudolf said the items she’s handling from Bogdan’s estate included gold coins that could be appraised at from $160,000 to $194,000, a motor home, a car and a bank account with a small amount of money. The gold coins were all photographed and catalogued, Dorand-Rudolph said.

“Quite frankly, this estate is nobody’s business except mine. Vicky Sharron is listed as a successor trustee under Sherrie Beck, only if, for some reason, Sherrie cannot serve. Sherrie is listed under me. If I cannot serve I am listed as executor and first successor trustee and I am handling this estate legally and the way I see fit. I am also the only one of the three who is related to Virgil,” Pollack wrote.

The public administrator’s office is allowed by statute to collect 4 percent of the first $15,000 of value, 3 percent of the next 85 percent and 2 percent of everything over $100,000.

“She (Pollack) was Virgil’s first choice to handle his affairs, she mounted up, she came out here, we sat with a lawyer, he explained the process and successor No. 2 and successor No. 3 would only be called into service if Cindy was unwilling or unable to do what Virgil asked her to do,” Dorand-Rudolph explained.

“The documents Virgil created are some of the best I’ve ever seen. The majority of those assets — he protected them so I don’t have to get involved with them, no government agency had to get involved with them. it’s just jumping through the hoops to get the assets for them,” the deputy public administrator said. “The part I’m working on is small compared to the total of the estate.”

Sharron claimed in her remarks to the county commission Bogdan’s estate could be worth $4 million. “I’m sure he’s spinning in his grave,” she said.

Not unlike mosquitos in a nudist camp.