One felony fraud case against Rhodes dropped

Kim Smith

Monday, Jan. 29, 2001 | 10:40 a.m.

One of four felony insurance fraud-related charges against North Las Vegas City Councilman John Rhodes has been dismissed on a technicality.

District Judge Michael Cherry ruled Friday that the state attorney general's office missed by two days the deadline to file a false insurance claim against Rhodes -- one relating to an alleged burglary in 1997.

Cherry also set a June 11 trial date for Rhodes' other fraud case.

The attorney general's office believes that Rhodes lied about his house being broken into on two occasions in 1997 and 1998 and then collected or attempted to collect insurance money.

In the 1997 incident state prosecutors allege that Rhodes learned of a broken window in his home, then filed an insurance claim five months later claiming property had been stolen during a burglary.

State Farm mailed a $5,200 check to Rhodes on Aug. 1, 1997, but it was returned to State Farm and had to be mailed again to a different address on Aug. 12. Rhodes cashed the check on Aug. 20, 1997.

In September 1998 Rhodes filed another insurance claim stating that his house had been broken into again. He claimed that everything had been stolen except his bed, including a $1,800 set of golf clubs he had bought from Mike Farino, who he said was dead.

According to grand jury testimony, investigators later discovered that Farino is alive and never sold golf clubs to Rhodes. The attorney general's office also believes the burglary never took place.

The attorney general's office obtained an indictment against Rhodes on two charges last year in connection with that case, but it wasn't until they were preparing for trial that they learned about the earlier burglary and headed back into the grand jury room.

The attorney general's office took the 1997 case to the grand jury on Aug. 3 and presented evidence that Rhodes did not live at the house at the time of the alleged burglary and had no property on the premises.

In addition, the police officer who responded to the house at the request of Rhodes' tenant said he didn't even write a report at first, because he classified the event as vandalism. A hole discovered in a window wasn't big enough to crawl through, according to the police report.

As a result, Rhodes was again indicted on filing a false claim and obtaining money under false pretenses charges.

On Friday Rhodes' attorney, Robert Lucherini, asked Cherry to dismiss the charges from the earlier burglary.

Lucherini argued that because State Farm cut Rhodes' check on Aug. 1, 1997, the attorney general's office had only until Aug. 1 of last year to bring an indictment.

Cherry apparently agreed and dropped the false insurance claim charge. However, because Rhodes didn't cash the check until Aug. 20, 1997, he found that the attorney general acted within the statute of limitations as far as the obtaining money under false pretenses charge.

As a result, one charge remains from the 1997 insurance claim and the two remain for the 1998 case. Cherry also decided Friday to keep the cases separate, meaning Rhodes will go to trial twice.

The trial stemming from the 1998 insurance claim will be heard June 11, six days after North Las Vegas' general municipal election. Rhodes has said he intends to seek re-election, although he has not yet filed.

If Rhodes is re-elected, then convicted of a felony, he would be required to step down from his council seat.

Deputy Attorney General Greg Hojnowski said he will decide next week whether he will appeal Cherry's decision to dismiss the charge.