Ex-judge may face criminal charges

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 | 10:39 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The state Commission on Judicial Discipline believes there is a potential for criminal charges to be filed against former Henderson pro tem judge Peter LaPorta on charges of improperly taking money from a client and failing to pay more than $8,000 in parking tickets.

The commission previously had imposed a $10,000 fine and barred LaPorta from holding a judicial office. The $10,000 fine is to be paid within six months to the Clark County Law Library.

The commission, in its formal decision released Tuesday, directed that a copy of the transcript of the disciplinary hearing be turned over to the Clark County district attorney's office and the state Bar of Nevada for consideration of possible criminal charges or regulatory action.

The commission said LaPorta "hatched a scheme" where he accepted $24,000 from Clark County resident Lydia Harrison, allegedly to pay a bribe to officials in Mexico to get the return of Harrison's grandmother, who was jailed there.

LaPorta took the money while he was attending to official court duties and while "robed in a majestic purple robe he had procured for himself," the commission said. The commission said there was no evidence LaPorta ever paid the bribe in Mexico and called this "fraudulent behavior."

The commission said it was "equally clear that LaPorta's failure to make even a good faith effort to resolve the parking ticket dispute in Las Vegas in a timely fashion also demonstrated his disrespect for the law."

LaPorta allegedly racked up more than $8,000 in unpaid parking tickets.

The commission said the "sheer number of tickets and fines assessed for them was truly remarkable," and it added that the behavior of LaPorta "was particularly egregious in that he demonstrated that he is a scofflaw."

LaPorta had ample opportunity to pay the tickets before he became a judge but he paid "only a small portion, forcing the city of Las Vegas to sue him to obtain a judgment he has wholly ignored," said the commission.

In addition, he continued to serve as a judge while his law license was inactive.

LaPorta, who did not answer the complaint from the judicial discipline commission, could not be reached this morning.