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District Judge Donald Mosley speaks to defense attorney John Momot during a hearing Friday on a motion for dismissal of theft charges against College of Southern Nevada construction chief William “Bob” Gilbert, who is alleged to have used college materials and equipment in construction at his Mount Charleston estate.
Saturday, May 30, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Gilbert, from left, attends Friday's hearing with Mark Alden and John Cummings, a CSN English professor. No ruling was made on the defense bid to have charges against Gilbert tossed; the hearing is set to continue Monday.
CSN official William Gilbert is accused in the theft of college property in the building of this home on Mount Charleston.
Sun Archives
- CSN official faces felony charges (9-26-2008)
- At CSN, two in seemingly similar jobs draw 6 figures (8-25-2008)
- Building chief returns to CSN post under a cloud (7-22-2008)
- CCSN’s, official’s methods conflict (6-22-2007)
- Raid sweeps through CCSN offices (6-14-2007)
- Contracts show conflict of interest (4-4-2007)
- Details emerge as CSN asks for money (7-3-2007)
- Flags raised, chief probed (3-26-2007)
- Gilbert blames disgruntled employees (3-26-2007)
- Sun’s probe hindered by college’s slow response (3-26-2007)
Beyond the Sun
District Judge Donald Mosley on Friday slammed the College of Southern Nevada’s police investigation of its construction chief, William “Bob” Gilbert, as “slipshod” and said it looked as if the college’s primary aim had been to contain fallout from a Las Vegas Sun story.
CSN Police Chief Sandy Seda sent his deputy chief, Daniel Bennett, and a sergeant to inspect the associate vice president’s Mount Charleston estate five days after a March 26, 2007, newspaper story alleged that Gilbert was using college construction equipment and materials to build his dream home on the 4.26-acre property.
“These people went up there to do a little damage control,” Mosley said during a hearing on whether the judge should dismiss criminal theft charges against Gilbert and three other CSN employees. “It was a rather self-serving investigation ... They did an awfully slipshod job.”
In an “incident report,” most of which was taken up by photos of equipment at the mountain ranch, Bennett concluded there was “no indication of any property belonging to (CSN).” He said the machinery “appeared to be worn and run down,” with no college markings.
Chief Deputy Attorney General Conrad Hafen told Mosley the CSN officers could have easily done more to determine whether the equipment and materials really belonged to the college.
Following a court-authorized search of Gilbert’s estate two months after Bennett’s visit, investigators with the attorney general’s office found CSN markings on equipment and materials and matched the markings with the inventory listed at the college, Hafen said.
The items alleged to have been stolen included a paint sprayer, a chain hoist and a manlift, which had been repainted to conceal the college’s colors, Hafen said. Lumber, cinder blocks, door handles and door locks belonging to CSN also were found on Gilbert’s property.
CSN spokeswoman K.C. Brekken declined to comment on Mosley’s concerns about the police investigation, saying the college doesn’t talk about ongoing court cases.
Bennett, who served as interim chief for several weeks while Seda was on paid administrative leave until the end of January, resigned from the police department on April 26.
Brekken also declined to discuss Bennett’s resignation and the disciplinary action involving Seda.
But a knowledgeable CSN source said the two men had a falling out and were accusing each other of misconduct. CSN President Michael Richards has said the decision to place Seda on leave temporarily was not directly related to the attorney general’s criminal investigation.
Gilbert was charged with 13 counts of theft and four counts of misconduct by a public officer in a 34-count indictment in September. Three employees who worked under him in CSN’s Facilities Management Department — Thad Skinner, Matthew Goins and George Casal — all were charged with assisting in the alleged thefts, which occurred from January 2002 to June 2007. Skinner is a construction manager for the college, Goins is a facility manager, and Casal is a building construction inspector. All are on paid administrative leave.
The property Gilbert ultimately developed includes an 8,200-square-foot main house, a 2,500-square-foot guesthouse, stables and a lighted basketball court. At the time of Gilbert’s indictment, the Clark County assessor listed the taxable value of the estate at $1.32 million.
At Friday’s hearing, Mosley did not appear impressed with Gilbert’s claim that the indictment was faulty because Hafen was derelict in his duty to inform the grand jury about Bennett’s conclusions in his police report.
Gilbert’s attorney, John Momot, argued that Hafen had an obligation to present exculpatory information on Gilbert’s behalf to the grand jury. But Hafen said he didn’t consider the flimsy police findings exculpatory.
Mosley also appeared unimpressed with Momot’s argument that Hafen should have called two former CSN presidents to testify before the grand jury. Both presidents, Ron Remington and Richard Carpenter, had written letters to the attorney general’s office before the indictment, saying they knew Gilbert had kept CSN equipment at his mountain retreat to do maintenance and repair work for the college, which was short on shop space.
But Hafen argued that both presidents told him in post-indictment interviews they did not give Gilbert permission to take the specific items the indictment alleges he stole.
And that led Mosley to conclude that Remington and Carpenter would not have been exculpatory witnesses for Gilbert before the grand jury, basically absolving Hafen of the obligation to call them to testify. Hafen did, however, present their letters to the grand jury, which chose to indict Gilbert and his co-defendants anyway.
Momot also argued that investigators with the attorney general’s office tainted the entire criminal investigation by taking more than 200 photographs at Gilbert’s estate, out of Gilbert’s presence and without a court-approved warrant, shortly after the March 2007 Sun story. Investigators later returned to the property in June 2007 with search warrants to seize evidence.
Hafen contends the photos were taken of items that were in plain view and that the photography was not unlawful.
The hearing is to continue Monday.
Amen, Thumper! Let truth be spoken this day.
Thumper Walk in your bro Weekly's footsteps and follow his rise and soon to be fall from appointed grace. When you get through there take a good look at the Gates family, Yvonne and her husband Lee Gates who was once the Chief Clark County Judge and Yvonne a long time Clark County Commissioner. They stole all of the money and deprived the tax payers of Clark County representation while on the public payroll. And while that was going on their adult son took a shot a his criminal fortunes.There is nothing said about an investigation let alone an indictement today for Yvonne or Lee Gates.They still live in their muti-million dollar home in gated Summerlin.
Just how long did Boggs McDonald screw the taxpayers before an outside investigation by labor unions and not the police or the courts go on. Without the outside investigation this appointed representative of the people would still be shaking down everyone in sight for her personal gain and she did not do one day in jail for criminal felony extortion or denying the tax payers the public service they were deprived of.
As a matter of fact blacks have a high success rate of getting away with white collar crime in Clark County.
If anyone is a racist it is you or you would not make threats like you did here today. People don't need hoods for thugs like you they just need to satnd up. It is obviuous that you are ignorant if not stupid or you would know the facts. It is amazing of all of the races there is only one race that refuses to accept resonsibility for their actions,lives or their ability to succed on their own. Now I have identified myself-check mate. I like to be threatened by by punks.
Pot - kettle.
Homer,
It sounds like you have a problem with blacks who are educated and successful. Let us take the Gates for instance. The Gates never took a dime from anyone. For more then 25 years they have served the public and worked everyday for what they achieved. If they had taken kickback, bribes etc you could rest a sure they would be under the jail today. Both represented the community well and both were elected for years. Are you saying that because they own a home in Summerlin they got it illegally, if so show and tell me how that worked, or are you saying that blacks can only have anything in life and if they do they got it illegally or are crooks? Are you saying that because they live in a majority white community they do not deserve to live in this community and got where they are because they stole it? Just what are your saying? That as a black man you cannot make any progress on his or her own. How racist and silly do you sound. As for the adult son he is just that, an adult and parents are not responsible for the mistakes of their adult children make. Does this mean that Senator Coffin is responsible for his adult son who is in jail or Senator Ensign is he responsible for this relative who tried to run down the police, was Mr. Chassion responsible for his adult son who is now on probation. Homer it sounds like to have a person problem with black educated people who are in an elected position. Give me a break; blacks do not have a high success rate of getting away with any crimes, have you look at the number of blacks in jail. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe these people have never done any wrongdoing, or does the color of their skin make them an automatic target for negative opinions and racist remarks? Bottom line I do not think the Gates have ever taken anything from anyone and were just hard working people, and have work all their lives to improve themselves. I am sadden by your comment in reference to Mr. Weekly, The Gates, and Ms. McDonald, all blacks are not crooks and are hard working people just as whites are. Racism has no place in our community today; I just hope you can deal with your problem of racism and work together to make our community a better place.
This felon is going to continue to live in premises built with taxpayer dollars, just not on Charleston Peak. The rest of the organization he steals from however, will remain infested with cockroaches for a long time.
This crook of a judge, must have had work done on his house too.
The big difference in legal status in Clark County is not black vs. white. It's the political in-crowd vs. everyone else. Bob Gilbert has many defenders among the political in-crowd. Why do you think he was paid a six-figure salary at taxpayer expense while on a leave of absence that I believe extended for more than a year? Do you think an ordinary faculty member, or a secretary, at CSN would be given the same deal while under investigation for stealing from the school?
Any person, black or white, with connections to the power structure in Clark County, will be given every benefit of every doubt. (S)he will get government contracts, makework jobs, and be handled with kid gloves by the law enforcement people. Anyone without those connections - black, white, Hispanic or Asian, male or female - watch your back.
pinkjustice, There is still questions about the Gates home and how Yvonne got inspectors to put her inspections infront of others who had been in line before her. And as a follow up there is doubts about whether she was doing the job the tax payers paid her to do or was she more devoted to her real estate business. There are questions about her real estate business as well.
Thumper The hoodlum is showing in you. You don't scare anyone, you are ignorant,big mouthed, want to be gangster. Speaking of repoducing I hope you don't. There are enough thugs like you hiding under rocks waiting to victimize society. The truth is black professional's do not go to jail, like you and your sniveling post state. Commissioners Kinkaid,Kenney, and Dario are in prison while Boggs does charity work as her punishment. The article was not about some sniveling cry baby black thug (you) crying about the injustice your race suffers. Does sniveling ever stop with some of you and your kind? Quit worring about what some white person may get and worry about yourself and improving your race rather than sniveling all of your life.
By the way Thumpless it was Ds_Gentle_Master you threatened because this person exercised their right to post his opinion just as you did with you pathetic sniveling post. Only a thug threatens someone who does not agree with them. But the hood in you showed it self, you are a loser. You and your kind are the reason there is racism.
To learn the fate of the Gilbert, Carpenter and et.al., you have only to look up the Birmingham News in Alabama to learn about Roy Johnson, the indicted and guilty two-year college system Chancellor (Carpenter worked under ol'Roy) who will be sentenced on June 6, 2009. The similarities are striking as college presidents, legislators, a fire chief (10 years prison) and now chancellor will enter the illustrious world of prison. Consistent with conditions in Alabama, we are confident that CSN personnel have earned a RICO claim, including racketeering, wire fraud, bribery, kickbacks, extortion, and obstruction of justice (e.g., bogus CSN police investigation of Gilbert's property). This case is being observed by various levels of law enforcement and by people in both Texas and Las Vegas. Judge Mosley, Chief Deputy Hafen, we are counting on you!