Veteran Las Vegas DMV worker is reinstated

Friday, May 20, 2005 | 11:04 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A state hearing officer has reinstated a veteran Las Vegas employee of the state Department of Motor Vehicles who was fired for manipulating the vehicle records of her son.

Hearing Officer David Ford, in a decision released Thursday, said Garelyn Marquez should be issued a written reprimand but should be restored to her position as services supervisor with all lost pay and benefits from the time she was dismissed late last year.

Her son, Bruce Reuter, sold his pickup truck to Ron Canosa and signed the title over to him. In August last year, Marquez improperly stopped the title change and then had a duplicate title issued to her son.

Canosa had apparently canceled the $10,000 check in payment for the truck. The money had been placed in the account of Marquez and the funds were then withdrawn from her account.

Ford said it was a violation of regulations for Marquez to handle the transactions involving her family. He said Marquez was told to get permission to process the title back to her son but she never got that authorization.

Ford said Marquez had no prior violations in her record and he reduced the penalty. "It may be true that employee (Marquez) has lost the trust of her supervisors but the conduct does not elevate to termination."

He said this was a case where progressive discipline should be used.