Rhodes receives probation

Christina Littlefield and Erica D. Johnson

Friday, Nov. 14, 2003 | 11:16 a.m.

Former North Las Vegas Councilman John Rhodes was given probation this morning on insurance fraud charges.

Rhodes also was ordered by District Judge Michael Cherry to pay a $5,000 fine and perform 300 hours of community service. The judge added Rhodes will have to disclose his felony record on future job applications.

Rhodes, who lost his City Council seat in the June 2001 election, was convicted of insurance fraud after an August jury trial. Jurors said they could not agree on whether Rhodes was guilty of a second count, intent to obtain money under false pretenses.

The second charge carried a potential one- to four-year prison sentence. Cherry declared a mistrial on that count. Rhodes could have received probation on the first count.

Rhodes has said he will appeal the conviction, but he faces similar charges in District Court in March in connection with alleged insurance fraud from 1997.

As he sentenced the former councilman, Cherry said, "I just want you to know that you have ruined your life."

Rhodes' attorney, Robert Lucherini, argued against jail time.

"My client has lost virtually everything as a result of this case," he said. "Sending him to prison will not result in punishing him any more or any less than he has already been punished because of this felony."

Senior Deputy Attorney General Marty Howard called Rhodes' fraud a crime of greed.

"The defendant breached the public trust," Howard said, "and the defendant's actions led to the further erosion of trust in public officials."

Howard had argued to increase the sentence because Rhodes admitted during the trial that he had told 26 lies under oath beforehand.

"The initial crime shows a lack of judgment," Howard said. "But the cover-up shows a lack of character."

During the trial prosecutors argued that Rhodes filed a false insurance claim worth $10,200 in order to collect money for property he never owned. The claim was never paid.

Authorities said Rhodes lied to insurance investigators and falsified receipts for items he claimed were stolen from his North Las Vegas home in a reported 1998 robbery.

The items he said were stolen included leather furniture, a personal organizer and a set of Callaway golf clubs he said was worth more than $1,800.

Rhodes, who testified during the trial, admitted to making misleading statements and submitting some forged documents to State Farm Insurance regarding the home robbery.