Warrant issued for former schools athletic director

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Monday, Aug. 9, 2004 | 9:28 a.m.

An arrest warrant on felony theft charges was issued Friday for former Clark County School District athletic director Larry McKay, alleging he diverted more than $94,000 in district funds for his personal use.

McKay, who retired from the district in June 2003 after 30 years, faces four counts of felony theft. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

The charges stem from McKay's administration of the district-sponsored Holiday Prep Classic, a high school basketball tournament he founded and in which he maintained a financial stake.

Between 1998 and 2001, McKay illegally used $94,150 in athletics department funds to pay School Police officers to provide security for the tournament, according to the arrest warrant processed Friday.

An affidavit filed by School Police Detective Loren Johnson in support of the warrant states that McKay had "willfully and unlawfully taken monies entrusted to him as part of his employment with the Clark County School District" and "commingled school district funds with funds contained in his personal business accounts and conducted other questionable financial practices."

As reported by the Sun Thursday, School Police Chief Elliot Phelps said he expected an announcement regarding McKay to be made soon. Johnson, the district's only detective assigned solely to financial crimes, has spent the better part of a year unraveling the paper trail behind the Holiday Prep tournament.

The investigation is ongoing, Phelps said. District Attorney David Roger's office and the Nevada Division of Criminal Investigations are assisting School Police.

McKay did not return calls for comment. In earlier interviews with the Sun, McKay acknowledged less-than-stellar bookkeeping but said he had done nothing wrong.

The district began investigating McKay after Superintendent Carlos Garcia called for an audit of utilities costs, particularly those incurred during winter and summer breaks, when most schools were closed. The audit determined the district was spending large sums to keep gymnasiums open for the Holiday Prep Classic and the Big Time -- a summer basketball tournament not affiliated with the district but directed by McKay.

Garcia said he was also contacted by a school principal who complained about McKay's handling of the tournament and suggested officials take a closer look at the books.

"On the one hand we're disappointed that something like this could ever happen, but on the other hand, it's meant we have better controls in place and the system is now working," Garcia said Friday.

McKay ran the Holiday Prep Classic from its inception in 1977 until his retirement. A scaled-back version of the winter tournament -- to eight teams from the prior year's 96 -- was held in December.

The district's internal audit concluded that between 2000 and 2003 McKay had: