Court briefs for December 6, 2000

Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2000 | 10:34 a.m.

Man sentenced in friend's death

A 32-year-old Las Vegas man was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison Tuesday on a manslaughter charge.

District Judge Joseph Bonaventure sentenced Eric Alido under a plea agreement in which Alido conceded prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Arnold Pastor.

According to police, Pastor, 29, was found in August suffering from a gunshot wound in the head.

Police allege Pastor had been drinking with Alido and a third man when Alido shot him and forced the other man to drive him to Southern California, where he had relatives.

The relatives convinced Alido to turn himself in and he entered the plea agreement in November. Had he not entered the plea agreement, he faced a possible second-degree murder conviction and a life sentence.

Bonaventure also ordered Alido to pay nearly $11,000 in restitution.

Former employer sues over firing

A former Boulder City employee has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the city and two officials claiming his civil rights were violated.

Dean Allen filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Allen is the city's former information systems manager and claims he was fired from that job when he expressed concerns to the City Council about Y2K preparations.

According to the lawsuit, Allen became concerned late last year when the city's finance director, Bob Keeney, interfered with Y2K preparations, placing them in jeopardy. When Allen expressed his concerns to the council, Keeney and City Manager John Sullard "set out to destroy his reputation and fire him," according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks $1 million in compensatory damages from the city and $50,000 in punitive damages from Keeney and Sullard. The lawsuit also seeks to have Allen reinstated to his job.

Boulder City officials could not be reached for comment.