Nye County sheriff sued by ex-deputies

Kim Smith

Thursday, Aug. 10, 2000 | 11:21 a.m.

Nye County Sheriff Wade Lieseke is being sued by two of his former deputies who claim he slandered them after they testified in the preliminary hearing of Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy.

According to the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in District Court, Lieseke repeatedly told Pahrump and Las Vegas media members that Dean Pennock and Steve Huggins lied on the stand.

They also claim they lost their jobs as a result of retaliation on the part of Lieseke and have been unable to find comparable paying jobs since.

Tabish and Murphy were convicted in May of first-degree murder in the September 1998 death of gambling figure Ted Binion. They were also convicted of charges relating to the theft of 48,000 tons of Binion's silver fortune from a vault in Pahrump.

Pennock and Huggins participated in the arrest of Tabish at the Pahrump vault site. Both testified during Tabish and Murphy's preliminary hearing that Lieseke told them at the scene he didn't believe they had enough evidence to arrest Tabish and two other men.

However, according to the lawsuit and media reports, Lieseke told reporters that the deputies were liars and had supported his opponent during the 1998 election.

Pennock states in his lawsuit he did support Lieseke's opponent, and he was charged with electioneering in November 1998. He was fired in June 1999 and has been unable to find a job in law enforcement since.

Huggins, too, said he supported Lieseke's opponent.

Three weeks after Tabish's arrest, the lawsuit states Huggins underwent knee surgery.

Huggins claims he was told he would have to return to work before his knee was healed, and he wouldn't be allowed to return to his former position. He was also allegedly told he couldn't ride in a patrol car or take his lunch hour with other detectives and patrol officers.

Huggins retired from the sheriff's office in March 1999 and moved to Utah. However, "he was denied several positions with the state of Utah based upon Lieseke's comments to prospective employers."

The former deputies are seeking unspecified damages on the grounds of defamation, libel, slander, intentional infliction of emotional distress and tortious discharge.