NLV councilman faces indictment

Adrienne Packer

Friday, May 5, 2000 | 11:37 a.m.

An indictment charging North Las Vegas City Councilman John Rhodes with two felony counts related to insurance fraud was scheduled to be unsealed in District Court today, sources said.

Keith Lynam, who is orchestrating Rhodes' Clark County Commission campaign, said he and Rhodes know little about the indictment handed down by a grand jury Thursday other than it is related to insurance fraud.

There was some concern this morning that the unsealing of the indictment, scheduled to occur at 11:30 a.m., might be delayed because of questions surrounding the presiding judge, Chief District Judge Lee Gates.

Gates is married to Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, the incumbent Rhodes would run against in the November election.

Rhodes learned in March that he was being investigated by the state attorney general's office. Agents requested the 35-year-old councilman's files from State Farm Insurance nearly three months ago.

Rhodes said the attorney general's office is claiming he embellished his insurance claim to collect more money. He said today he was told to expect the indictment.

"The grand jury process is a one-sided process," Rhodes said. "I have no attorney, no references and no witnesses. They usually decide toward the prosecution."

Rhodes said he's looking forward to a preliminary hearing, at which time he can present his case and the state will be forced to substantiate its claims.

"I feel as though I'm innocent," he said. "You're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. In this case, it's almost like you're guilty until proven innocent."

The investigation stemmed from a 1998 insurance claim Rhodes filed after his North Las Vegas home was burglarized.

Rhodes said last month that burglars broke into his East Diana Drive home while he was away on a business trip and stole his sofa, computer, electronics and his washer and dryer. He said the property lost was worth between $4,000 and $5,000.

He filed a claim with State Farm, but three months into the insurance company's investigation, Rhodes canceled it.

Rhodes conceded that the cancellation might have appeared suspicious, but he said State Farm's probe was too lengthy and investigators were harassing his friends.

The 1998 break-in was the third burglary claim Rhodes had filed with his insurance company. He said his washer and dryer also were stolen during a March 1997 burglary.

The two-term city councilman said he has bolstered his security, but has never considered moving out of his North Las Vegas home.