Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Constable faces co-workers’ accusations

Las Vegas Constable Bob Nolen is facing an election-year rebellion within his office.

A majority of Nolen's 10 deputies and support staff charged in an interview with the SUN that Nolen is "abusive" to them and rarely spends more than an hour or two in the office each day.

The workers said morale and salaries are at an all-time low and that deputies are constantly in fear of losing their jobs.

All but one former deputy, Leonard Griffin, who's running against Nolen this year, agreed to the interview on the condition they not be identified.

"Employees are uncomfortable and under stress all the time," Griffin said. "They're constantly being intimidated. As a result, the public is being shortchanged."

A current worker charged: "Bob is basically running that office like a slave plantation. He's a petty tyrant who has no respect for other people."

Deputies interviewed said Nolen often has bragged to them that he is not accountable to anyone.

The constable -- an elected, self-supporting position not answerable to county officials -- oversees evictions and the serving of legal documents for the courts.

Nolen, appointed by the County Commission in October 1993 after a scandal forced the resignation of Constable Don Charleboix, conceded morale is bad at his office. But he insisted the office has been modernized and is running "100 percent better" under his direction.

"Nobody's stealing money from the public, and I'm not selling any badges," Nolen said, alluding to the troubles of his predecessor, who stepped down after being indicted on misconduct charges.

Not in office

Nolen, an ex-Las Vegas councilman with strong political connections, acknowledged that he spends a lot of time away from the office and does much of his constable's work over his cellular phone.

Records show his monthly cellular bills have run as high as $82, a figure Nolen said is reasonable.

Nolen said no law forces an elected official to spend eight hours a day in the office.

"As long as my office is running properly and in an efficient manner, that's my duty and my responsibility," he said. "They (his deputies) seem to think I should punch a timecard."

Nolen also acknowledged that he has frequently worked on political campaigns on constable time. He said he was intimately involved in former Sheriff Ralph Lamb's race in 1994 and City Councilman Gary Reese's last year.

Assistant County Manager Dale Askew explained that Nolen's political activities "violate the spirit" of the county's policy barring employees from working on campaigns on county time. But because Nolen is an elected official, Askew said, the county can't do anything about it.

'Great job'

Overall, Askew, who has regular contact with Nolen, gave the constable high marks for his performance.

"He's doing a great job," Askew said. "He has re-established fiscal integrity and credibility of the office, and that has left a good feeling here."

Askew, however, said he would encourage Nolen to take care of his morale troubles.

"Obviously we need to solve the problem," Askew said. "We're looking to him to solve it."

Nolen insisted he has not been abusive toward his deputies.

"All I ask of them is to do their job, and they know what their job is quite well," he said.

Nolen said morale has been harmed because of a recent pay scale change, his promotion of a longtime friend to the chief deputy position, and Griffin's own political ambitions.

"I've run the office for almost 30 months at no cost to the public," Nolen said. "We're getting papers served in spite of the efforts of a few individuals on my staff who've made their political alliances known."

Nolen said Griffin, who left the office last month, has been making outlandish promises to deputies to win their loyalty.

Griffin charged that Nolen fired him because of his political aspirations and his key role in organizing the Las Vegas Constables Association, the new collective bargaining agent for the deputies.

But Nolen countered that Griffin actually resigned, and he produced a letter of resignation he said Griffin had given him.

State complaint

The Constables Association, meanwhile, has filed a complaint against Nolen with the Nevada Local Government Employee-Management Relations Board.

In that complaint, a half-dozen deputies charge that Nolen has retaliated against them for their organizing activities.

Nolen denied the allegations, insisting he doesn't object to the union.

He said the morale problems within the office began last August, shortly after he went back to a traditional performance-based pay scale when the constable's office was re-established as an independent agency.

The County Commission had placed the office under the supervision of the sheriff's civil bureau for the first seven months of 1995. During that period, deputies were paid a flat rate of $16 an hour.

Deputies told the SUN their salaries have been cut drastically, some by as much as $20,000 a year, by the performance scale, which pays them based on the number of papers they serve.

"They have to realize that that's the way it has to be," said Nolen, who added the performance scale is the most efficient way to run the office.

Hiring friends

Nolen explained that some of his deputies also became jealous of his recent appointment of Doug Tharp, brother of former North Las Vegas Police Chief William Tharp, as his chief deputy.

Deputies interviewed by the SUN alleged that Tharp isn't qualified for the position, a charge Nolen rebutted.

The deputies also questioned why Nolen has hired the son of his former business partner, Dave Briggs, as a deputy. Nolen sold his successful private investigation firm, Corporate Intelligence International, to Briggs when he accepted the constable's job.

Nolen defended the hiring of Mike Briggs, saying he has proved to be one of his best workers.

Deputies also criticized Nolen for allowing Briggs to have papers served on constable time for his father's company.

But Nolen said his office frequently provides that service to other process servers, who always pay for the work.

Nolen said he understands that his men are going through some tough times, and he's trying to be patient with them.

"Time will take care of the morale problem," he said. "Sooner or later, the guys will realize they've got to get back to work and take care of the public's needs."

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