Attorney on trial in crash scam

Rachael Levy

Tuesday, June 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

A Las Vegas attorney accused of orchestrating more than 30 fake car accidents says professional victims tricked him into believing their injuries were real.

Norman Reed, 34, said he -- like other Southern Nevada attorneys -- was unaware that he was being used in an elaborate insurance fraud scam.

But the federal government alleges that Reed is a greedy lawyer who willingly broke the law for cash.

The government contends that Reed had to know the accidents were staged because the same people kept showing up at his office seeking help in filing insurance claims.

"Over 30 times, the same story with slight variations were given to that law firm," Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Schiess said at the start of trial Monday.

The modus operandi? Cars would be driven up to Sunrise Mountain, intentionally banged up and then driven to a Las Vegas street corner where four Las Vegans would climb inside and fake minor injuries, Schiess said. Sometimes, the people would skip the staged accident and just file a police report, the prosecutor added.

"Starting to bore you a bit, aren't I?" Schiess asked the jury. "He was paying for those stories to be told over and over again."

But Reed's attorney, Richard Wright, said his client could not have noticed such a trend.

Wright argued that it is misleading for the government to highlight the coincidences in 30 clients' cases when Reed was handling a caseload of 1,000.

Reed is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, numerous counts of wire fraud and lying under oath while testifying before a grand jury.

"We're convinced that he did not commit these offenses," Wright said.

The trial began in earnest today with the first government witness scheduled to testify this morning.

In the next 2 1/2 weeks, many of these false victims and schemers are expected to point a finger at Reed. The six-year FBI investigation into the insurance fraud ring uncovered evidence against at least 50 people, many from Las Vegas' Filipino community.

Most admitted to participating in the staged wrecks and, depending on their involvement, received light sentences of house arrest, probation, or the dismissal of the charge after exhibiting good behavior for an extended period of time.

Only two -- Reed and co-defendant Freddie Gross -- are fighting the charges.

Gross' court-appointed attorney, Randy Pike, said his client was offered a deal but refused because he has nothing to hide. The U.S. Postal Service employee and Air Force veteran is accused of hitting four Filipinos in an April 1990 accident.

Reed's lawyer suggests the government "purchased" the testimony of some witnesses, among them medical clinic owner "Jun" De Los Angeles and FBI snitch Paul Pirrone.

De Los Angeles received probation despite referring many "victims" to Reed and other lawyers. Wright also said De Los Angeles walked away from charges that he arranged a cocaine drug deal and put out a murder contract on an FBI agent.

As for Pirrone, "I think he got $5,000 or $6,000 to wear a wire around Las Vegas," Wright said, referring to electronic surveillance equipment.

Anticipating such an attack on its witnesses, the government readily acknowledges the criminal activity, but said it can corroborate all of what the men say through taped conversations.