Thursday, April 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
HIS CAREER ON THE bench all but destroyed, District Judge Gerard Bongiovanni is digging in to battle his criminal indictment on corruption charges.
The 50-year-old jurist, I'm told, turned down a deal offered by the government several months ago to plead guilty to a couple of the charges contained in the 13-count indictment unsealed Wednesday.
"He wanted to fight the allegations because he believes in his innocence," says one source close to the embattled judge.
Bongiovanni has hired fiery defense lawyer Tom Pitaro, a veteran of many wars with the government.
And Bongiovanni himself is likely to play a key role in his defense now that he has some time on his hands.
He's suspended from the bench, and though he has filed for re-election this year, he's not likely to do much campaigning with a federal corruption indictment hanging over his head.
Bongiovanni stands accused of the most serious of all crimes -- using his office to enrich himself and his friends.
This case, which even links Bongiovanni and his staff to Mafia associates, has become a black eye on Southern Nevada's judiciary.
On the surface, the evidence, which includes wiretaps and informants, is damning, indeed. And Bongiovanni's liberal reputation on the bench isn't exactly bolstering his position with his colleagues, who are likely to drop him like the proverbial hot potato.
Though it's been talked about for months, the timing of the indictment surprised the legal community here, and for that matter, Bongiovanni's own lawyer.
Pitaro says he was told by the U.S. attorney's Organized Crime Strike Force that an indictment wasn't likely until June.
But what has enraged Pitaro the most, and given him an early edge in the public relations battle, is the way the government treated Bongiovanni and manipulated news of his indictment.
The judge was arrested at his home -- rather than summoned, as Pitaro had earlier suggested -- and hauled off in handcuffs to the federal courthouse Wednesday morning.
FBI agents forgot to take into consideration that Bongiovanni's wife, Marilyn, is incapacitated by an advanced stage of multiple sclerosis and relies on the judge's care to maintain her existence. Marilyn Bongiovanni can't talk or walk, and she eats and relieves herself through tubes.
Fortunately for Bongiovanni, a housekeeper showed up shortly after agents took him into custody to look after his wife.
When Bongiovanni made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Lawrence Leavitt, the government said it didn't consider him a flight risk and would not oppose his release on his own recognizance.
So why, then, didn't it simply issue a summons (something it commonly does) for the judge to answer the charges in court at a later date?
Pitaro could hardly contain his anger at the government for the cold-hearted way in which it staged Bongiovanni's arrest. A television news team even was tipped off to see him escorted to the courthouse.
"It was nothing other than a cheap publicity stunt," Pitaro charges. "What an indecent thing to do. The government ought to be ashamed of itself."
Maybe the government is ashamed. And then again, maybe it feels it was right to send a strong message to the community that public corruption won't be tolerated.
Whatever its feelings, the government now knows it's got a fight on its hands with Bongiovanni.
* Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., has picked up some unlikely financial support from Gov. Bob Miller's former chief of staff.
Ensign's latest campaign report shows he received a $500 contribution from Scott Craigie on Feb. 23, just four days after Ensign's chief Democratic opponent, state Sen. Bob Coffin of Las Vegas, announced he was entering the race.
I'm told that Craigie, who left Miller's Democratic Cabinet in 1995 to go into private business, hasn't always gotten along with Coffin over the years.
Today, Craigie is director of government affairs at R&R Advertising, run by Billy Vassiliadis, the governor's top political adviser.
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