Nepotism dismissal may be appealed

Kim Smith

Thursday, Oct. 25, 2001 | 9:59 a.m.

A senior deputy attorney general said he plans to appeal a District Court judge's decision to dismiss a nepotism charge against Orlando Sandoval, a former community college administrator.

Sandoval, a former associate vice president of planning for the Community College of Southern Nevada, was indicted in June on the single gross misdemeanor charge of unlawful employment of a relative.

According to the attorney general's office, Sandoval was the main reason his father-in-law, Duane Stevens, received two promotions and a series of salary increases while working for the college over an eight-year period.

District Judge Donald Mosley on Wednesday dismissed the charge because he believes Senior Deputy Attorney General Brian Kunzi erred when he gave grand jurors a copy of the college's policy manual, which defines nepotism.

Mosley said he believes the grand jurors could have jumped to the conclusion that, because Sandoval clearly violated the college's policy, he consequently must have broken the law.

Kunzi said he gave the grand jurors the manual because they continually asked him whether Sandoval knew that he could be breaking the law.

Though Mosley dismissed the charge, he left the door open for Kunzi to take the case before another grand jury with the understanding that the manual cannot be allowed as evidence.

Mosley said he agreed with Kunzi that, while Sandoval didn't hire his father-in-law, Stevens was promoted and received raises based on Sandoval's recommendations.

The judge also said he believes promoting and hiring are equivalent when considering the issue of nepotism.

At the same time, however, Mosley intimated that he personally wouldn't try to re-indict Sandoval. The judge said he believes Sandoval probably has learned a lot over the past few months, and the crime is only a gross misdemeanor.

Kunzi, though, said he intends to pursue the case.

Kunzi said that he needs to research the issues, though he is leaning toward appealing Mosley's decision to the Nevada Supreme Court instead of taking the case before another grand jury.

"Yes, it's only a gross misdemeanor, but it's an important case that was brought to us by the university itself," Kunzi said. "It was important enough for them to ask us to investigate."

Sandoval declined to comment after Wednesday's hearing. His attorney, Frank Cremen, said he was pleased with the judge's decision.

Had Sandoval testified before the grand jury, the results would have been "significantly different," Cremen said.

The maximum penalty for unlawful employment of a relative is one year in prison.