City defines fraud situations, penalties

Sito Negron

Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2003 | 11:09 a.m.

Las Vegas officials are lining up a new process for handling alleged fraud cases and, it may be used to pursue criminal charges against Assemblymen Wendell Williams and Morse Arberry as well as Sharon Segerblom, Las Vegas' former director of Neighborhood Services, City Manager Doug Selby said Tuesday.

At the same time the Las Vegas city auditor's report on employees who serve in the Legislature was released, a second document also was made public. The document, a draft of a new city process for handling fraud cases, defines situations that could be considered fraud, and outlines possible city responses.

The draft spells out several examples of fraud, including "false claims for payment or reimbursement," and "violation of city or department procedures or policies with the intent of personal gain."

It includes among the responses possible termination, and states that Las Vegas "reserves the right to press charges or to report the activity to the appropriate authorities."

Selby said the policy is under review by an audit committee, which he said included him, the city attorney, the city auditor and some department heads.

He said the policy could be applied to the situation in which the auditor determined that Williams and Arberry misused sick leave during the 2001 session, and were given favorable treatment by their former supervisor Segerblom.

Selby said criminal charges are possible.

"We will have to convene the committee and consider all the facts and do additional investigation before we can determine whether there is criminal violations," Selby said.

He said the committee is not a public body, and so the meeting would not be public.

The procedure, he said, would be for the city's Detention and Enforcement Department to investigate.