Bongiovani out, Hardcastle or Leen to take the judgeship

Bill Gang

Tuesday, Sept. 3, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Saddled with a federal indictment on corruption charges, District Judge Gerard Bongiovanni apparently has been booted by voters from the District Court Department 4 seat he held for six years.

His replacement will be either Deputy Public Defender Kathy Hardcastle, who was pulling in more than 35 percent of the vote Tuesday evening, or former Deputy District Attorney Tom Leen.

Leen, who has been sitting as a temporary justice of the peace for the past few months, outspent Hardcastle 4-to-1, funding a television and radio blitz that touted his law enforcement endorsements.

But Hardcastle, the wife of Family Court Judge Gerald Hardcastle, ran a strong grass-roots campaign and was the only woman in the five-person race for the job that pays $100,000 a year.

Bongiovanni appears to be finishing third, followed by Las Vegas Municipal Judge Greg Barlow and former District Attorney Ted Marshall.

Bongiovanni's federal troubles and his resulting suspension from the bench, plus his low ratings in a lawyer survey, attracted early opposition. He is charged with trading favors for cash and will face trial early next year.

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