UNLV cops charged with stealing time

Jennifer Knight

Thursday, June 6, 2002 | 9:42 a.m.

The attorney general's office has filed charges against two UNLV police officers for stealing time, a gross misdemeanor that could result in both suspects serving time, officials said.

After an investigation, William Lee Mason Sr., 54, and Brian Keith Dias, 45, were officially charged Tuesday with fraudulent presentation of a claim to a public officer. No arrests were made in the case.

"This allegation that they were stealing time is basically ridiculous," Kirk Kennedy, an attorney for Mason and Dias, said Wednesday.

While working the night shift at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the two campus police officers allegedly took turns covering for each other while the other left work early, Brian Kunzi, a senior deputy attorney general, said.

"The concern was that these two officers were on the night shift and it left one officer on duty when there were supposed to be two," Kunzi said.

Dias is accused of falsifying 70 hours of work on his time sheets, which amounts to about $1,826. Mason allegedly took credit for 12.5 more hours than he worked, amounting to $284, Kunzi said.

Kunzi said concern arose after a campus rape was reported on August 30, 2001, and only one officer was able to respond.

"It really is a safety issue," Kunzi said. "I think when you are a police officer, there has to be a different standard."

Both officers are on administrative leave, according to UNLV officials.

Kennedy said he filed a lawsuit against the university last month in anticipation of the criminal charges. The lawsuit alleges that the attorney general's charges are trumped up.

"I think that one of the reasons the university system wanted to go forward with the criminal charges against them was to get rid of them," Kennedy said. "They viewed them as troublemakers, and what better way to get rid of them?"

Both Mason and Dias have sued the university before. In February 2000, Mason filed a defamation suit against UNLV President Carol Harter, but lost in U.S. District Court.

In September 2000, Dias joined two other UNLV police officers in a lawsuit against the university. The lawsuit alleges their rights were violated when officials from the university and university system made statements to "vilify, discredit and degrade" them. That suit is still tied up in court.