The jury that will decide whether former Las Vegas Councilwoman Michele Fiore committed wire fraud was seated on the first day of her federal trial Tuesday.
Attorneys said witnesses could include Gov. Joe Lombardo, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Las Vegas Councilwoman Victoria Seaman.
Fiore, 53, of Pahrump was indicted by a federal grand jury in July on wire fraud and conspiracy charges. Prosecutors allege that she raised tens of thousands of dollars for a statue of fallen Metropolitan Police Department officer Alyn Beck, but spent it on herself and her daughter’s wedding.
Fiore, who most recently served as a Pahrump justice of the peace, has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutor Alexander Gottfried said Tuesday that Lombardo and Seaman could be witnesses, along with prominent Las Vegas defense attorney David Chesnoff. Michael Sanft, Fiore’s attorney, added Goodman to the possible witnesses list.
Lombardo was among the donors who gave to the statue project.
When the trial resumes Wednesday, jurors are expected to hear opening statements from Sanft and prosecutors. Prosecutors said their statements will take eight to 10 minutes. Sanft estimated his would last 45 minutes to an hour. Once those statements are over, the prosecution will begin calling witnesses.
Jury selection
About 64 potential jurors filed into U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey’s courtroom Tuesday morning.
“Jury service is one of the highest duties of citizenship,” she told them.
Over the next hour and a half, a number of the potential jurors tried to get excused from that duty, many because of scheduling issues.
One man said he was about to move out of state.
Another said he’s a stay-at-home dad who needs to take his kids to school. A few had trips planned during the 2½-week trial period.
An older woman said she had to care for her bedridden husband and had no one who could help her.
After sidebar conferences between the attorneys and the judge, some prospective jurors, including the woman who had to care for her husband, were excused.
No one said they had given Fiore money, but two juror candidates told Dorsey they had voted for her. Both were dismissed.
The judge also asked questions about potential jurors’ interactions with and opinions of the government.
One man said he thinks the FBI and Department of Justice have become politicized. “Some things are personal prosecutions,” he said.
He was ultimately dismissed.
Dorsey previously ruled that Fiore cannot introduce evidence or arguments regarding a vindictive or selective prosecution theory.
‘Other bad acts’
Prosecutors and Sanft have argued about whether prosecutors can introduce evidence of “other bad acts,” like evidence relating to allegations that Fiore used campaign funds for personal expenses, laundered that money and falsified campaign finance reports to conceal her actions.
“Fiore has repeatedly defrauded donors to her campaigns, her political action committee, and even her Section 501(c)(3) charity by secretly diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to those entities for her personal use,” prosecutors alleged. “This has enabled the defendant to live beyond her means, using donor money to pay for rent, plastic surgery, vacations, and her daughter’s wedding.”
Sanft argued that prosecutors should be prohibited from introducing evidence about Fiore’s financial transactions “before the event regarding the statue.”
Fiore’s home was raided by the FBI in 2021 as part of a campaign finance investigation, the Review-Journal previously reported.
On Friday, after hearing arguments from Sanft and prosecutor Dahoud Askar, Dorsey said she would likely rule at the start of the trial, which she did.
Dorsey said she would allow some of the disputed evidence to be presented for the time period in which Fiore is accused of raising money for the statue. Some evidence also may be presented from as far back as December 2018, when Fiore announced the statue idea, and after February 2020 to allow prosecutors to follow the money, she said.
The last donations prosecutors said Fiore received were given in February 2020.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.