‘This is a political persecution’: Blundo pleads not guilty in Las Vegas courtroom
A former Nye County commissioner pleaded not guilty to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges in a Las Vegas courtroom Tuesday.
Leo Blundo attacked the case against him in a statement to reporters after his hearing.
“We’ve got the deep state swamp in Nye County,” he said, adding, “This is a political witch hunt, plain and simple, and I look forward to being vindicated.”
Blundo, 41, is accused of seeking fraudulent COVID-19 relief funds for his restaurant in Pahrump, Carmelo’s Bistro.
He received over $500,000 through federal initiatives including the Paycheck Protection Program and Restaurant Revitalization Fund, according to his indictment.
When submitting applications, he provided false documents and inflated his restaurant’s revenue, payroll and number of employees, prosecutors alleged.
The Nevada U.S. attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Blundo’s remarks.
“Fraud will not be tolerated in our community — regardless of the position or identity of those involved,” FBI Las Vegas Special Agent in Charge Christopher Delzotto said in a previous news release. “Fraud erodes public trust and undermines the institutions our communities rely on every day.”
In court, Blundo said he had read the indictment and could not afford to hire a private attorney. U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts appointed the federal public defender’s office to represent him.
Blundo appeared in court out of custody, and the judge said he would remain released on a personal recognizance bond, meaning a promise to appear at his hearings and not violate the law.
Nothing indicted that Blundo was a flight risk or dangerous, said Albregts.
He was elected to the county commission in 2018 and served on the body for four years, but failed to win reelection. He has also served as chair of the Nye County Republican Party.
A reporter asked Blundo after court how the case against him could be a witch hunt when he, a Republican, was being prosecuted by federal prosecutors under President Donald Trump’s administration.
He suggested the prosecutors were holdovers from the administrations of Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
“This is a political persecution, you know,” he said.
“We got to be like Trump,” he added. “And I’m going to be very much like Trump in this. We’re going to fight, fight, fight.”
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com.
