County may settle suit with former PIO

Friday, July 16, 2004 | 8:15 a.m.

The Clark County Commission on Tuesday could settle a lawsuit filed by a former Clark County Fire Department public information officer against his bosses.

The settlement would be for $27,000, far short of what Steve La-Sky asked for when he sued Chief Earl Greene in February 2002 for $1.3 million.

La-Sky at the time said he had been removed from the public information post, which works with the media, because he reported that county fire officials had destroyed documents related to an explosion of a rocket-model factory on the Las Vegas Valley's east side four months earlier.

One person died in the Aerotech Inc. explosion, which caused an estimated $12 million in damage. County officials disagreed with La-Sky over which documents were destroyed.

A request for a summary judgment in the case had been turned down, county spokesman Erik Pappa said.

"We firmly believe we would have prevailed at trial, but on the advice of counsel, we agreed to accept the proposed settlement agreement for $27,000 to avoid further costs and legal expenses of litigation," Pappa said.

Fire department spokesman Bob Leinbach said Greene is out of town and the department would not have any official comment. Neither La-Sky nor his attorney could be reached for comment.