Cop union: Pulling Herrera endorsement not political

Erin Neff

Thursday, July 18, 2002 | 9:29 a.m.

Law enforcement officials say they were just trying to protect the integrity of their endorsement when the Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs voted to pull their support Wednesday from Democratic congressional candidate Dario Herrera.

Herrera said the umbrella union was simply playing into his opponent's hands.

"It was pure politics," Herrera said after the 3-2 vote by five of the eight-member organizations. "I think voters are smart enough to see what's happening and that the NCOPS endorsement was taken over by the political machinations of Jon Porter's campaign."

Porter, a former Republican state senator, said his opponent's endorsement loss highlights a series of "troubling behavior."

"This information is important for voters to know because it speaks to the nature of the decisions Dario has made in his life," Porter said.

Andy Anderson, president of the umbrella union, was one of three who voted to revoke the endorsement given Herrera late last year. NCOPS is not endorsing Porter.

"Over the past couple of months, a lot of things have come into question," Anderson said. "We didn't pull the endorsement for one specific reason, but the main issue that we have here is the integrity of the NCOPS endorsement."

Anderson said that with 50 candidates -- both Democrat and Republican -- already receiving the union's support, Herrera's "front page problems" could jeopardize what an NCOPS endorsement means for others.

"We're not putting ourselves up as judge and jury," Anderson said. "But we worked 20 years for credibility, and all of a sudden it was questioned.

"We've endorsed other candidates who need the credibility of the endorsement," Anderson said.

Herrera met last Thursday with representatives of the union to discuss several items that have arisen since he received the endorsement. The newest revelation involved an $85,000 loan Herrera and his wife, Emily, took out in 1999 from John Keilly.

Keilly was convicted in 1970 on bribery charges stemming from a Teamsters Union pension fund fraud case in New York with ties to organized crime. Keilly was also fined $50,000 in August of 2000 by the Nevada Financial Institutions Division for lending funds without a proper license.

Herrera said he and his wife took the loan from Keilly because their bank did not offer loans for land acquisition. Emily Herrera was Keilly's executive assistant at the time the loan was made in September 1999.

"He had no responsibility to tell me he was a convicted felon, and we got the loan before the fine," Herrera said. "I met him after I met Emily and we only had a professional relationship. Even if there had been a friendship, I wouldn't have thought to ask, 'John, do you have a criminal background?' "

Porter's campaign believes Herrera should have known about Keilly's past because, the campaign alleges, Herrera and Keilly were more than just professional associates.

In addition to Emily's employment for Keilly's JMK Investments, Dario Herrera's consulting work brought him in contact with Keilly's wife, Jo.

Herrera went to work for Shonkwiler-Marcoux in April of 2000, and had "Who's In Charge" as a client. Jo Keilly is a corporate officer of that company.

In September of 2000, Keilly was a subordinated signer on a $261,000 Bank West loan the Herreras obtained to build their home.

Keilly could not be reached.

Dave Kallas, president of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, whose representative also voted to revoke Herrera's endorsement, said the union just was not "comfortable" having its name associated with Herrera's troubles.

In addition to the loan, Herrera also received criticism earlier this year when he received a $42,000 contract from the Las Vegas Housing Authority, without the housing commissioners' knowledge, and without taking part in the public bidding process.

That contract is among the items being investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's inspector general.

Anderson said the loan, the Housing Authority contract, questions about Herrera's personal finances and a controversial vote he made on a billboard industry item as chairman of the Clark County Commission were all factors in the union's decision.

"I didn't put myself on the front page of the newspaper," Anderson said.

Kallas said that since police officers must "protect and serve," they are granted a certain credibility in the community.

"People hold police officers to a higher standard," Kallas said. "The endorsement has to live up to that standard."