Settlement near in Del Vecchio case

Monday, Oct. 20, 2008 | 4:58 p.m.

CARSON CITY – In anticipation of a settlement, a slimmed down amended complaint has been filed against Clark County District Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio, accused of having sexual relationships with his stepdaughter while she worked for him, making racist statements and other allegations.

The state Judicial Discipline Commission is scheduled to meet Tuesday in Reno to consider a settlement to end the case. David Sarnowski, executive director of the commission declined to discuss the proposed settlement or its details until accepted by the commission.

Del Vecchio, a judge in the family court system since 2000, was defeated in the primary election in his bid for re-election.

The judge was married to Imogene Serrano but the marriage lasted only a year. Serrano’s daughter Rebeccah Murray started working in Del Vecchio’s office in 2002 when she was 22 years old.

It was alleged initially that he forced his 14-year-old stepdaughter to perform sexual acts on him. That is not in the new complaint.

Del Vecchio and Rebeccah Murray started a sexual relationship, meeting at hotel during working hours for which she was paid her regular salary. And the complaint says he took “explicit nude photos” of her.

The relationship continued into 2003. He allowed her to work a flex schedule so she could attend Boyd School of Law, despite being told by Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle that this was not permissible.

Rebeccah filed a complaint in May 2006 against Del Vecchio with the Clark County Office of Diversity which advised him not to contact her.

Instead the judge asked attorney Donn Prokopius to carry a proposal that offered her job back if she dropped the complaint.

The complaint was reduced from 38 to 11 counts and filed by commission prosecutor Mary E. Boetsch. It also says Del Vecchio made sexual suggested remarks to other employees in the court system and to others.

Del Vecchio’s court bailiff was Richard Tamez who was of Mexican heritage and the judge referred to Mexicans as “wetbacks” and questioned, “Where is my lazy Mexican bailiff?”