Jeff German

Story Archive

Depositions kept from public gaze in hepatitis cases: Friday, July 31, 2009; At a time when the Nevada Supreme Court is calling for more transparency in the courts, Las Vegas attorney Floyd Hale apparently doesn’t get it.
New attorneys assist in Harrah’s probe of high roller’s intoxication claims: Saturday, July 25, 2009; Harrah’s Entertainment has retained a national law firm to assist in an internal investigation into allegations that two of its casinos supplied a high roller with a steady flow of alcohol and drugs as he racked up tens of millions of dollars in gambling losses.
Vegas attorney thrust into Jackson family spotlight: Friday, July 24, 2009; Las Vegas attorney David Chesnoff has had quite a few high-profile clients over the years, but his latest one puts him smack in the middle of the story that has captured the world’s attention for the last month.
Return of Bogden to U.S. attorney post not going Reid’s way: Ensign’s support for reappointment may be factor in stalled nomination; Thursday, July 23, 2009; Four months after Sen. Harry Reid recommended bringing back a former Bush appointee as U.S. attorney for Nevada, the Obama administration is still vetting Daniel Bogden.
Government hater back in jail after skipping court date: Marshals to send ‘sovereign’ man charged in money-laundering case to Las Vegas; Tuesday, July 21, 2009; Shawn Rice, one of the leaders of the sovereign citizens movement, is back in federal custody.
Clinics tied to hepatitis outbreak seek bankruptcy: Monday, July 20, 2009; Companies at the center of Nevada's hepatitis scare filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation Friday, potentially affecting the recovery of financial damages by patients at clinics operated by Dr. Dipak Desai.
High-roller fights law regarding collection of gambling debts: Experts: Man has a case that bad-check law does not apply; Friday, July 17, 2009; In the quarter-century since the Legislature passed a law allowing authorities to prosecute unpaid gambling markers as bad checks, no one charged with failing to pay back a casino has been able to persuade a court to overturn the oft-criticized law.
Casinos say former NBA star owes $822,500 in gambling debts: Walker charged with three felony counts of bad checks; Tuesday, July 14, 2009; The district attorney’s office has filed a criminal complaint against former NBA all-star Antoine Walker alleging he failed to pay back $822,500 in gambling debts at three Las Vegas casinos.
Proposal to appoint judges seen as hot issue: But Reid, governor’s races may limit air time available to advocates, opponents; Tuesday, July 7, 2009; Next year’s ballot initiative to appoint rather than elect judges appears to be on its way to becoming a hot-button issue on the campaign trail.
CSN construction theft case will progress with 30 charges, not 34: Wednesday, July 1, 2009; District Judge Donald Mosley said Tuesday he is tossing out four counts that had been filed against construction chief William “Bob” Gilbert because, after researching case law, he concluded that a college associate vice president is not a public officer in Nevada.
Judge green-lights suit against Gibbons: Wednesday, July 1, 2009; Chief U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt is refusing to toss out Chrissy Mazzeo’s civil rights lawsuit. The former cocktail waitress alleges that several people conspired with Jim Gibbons on a cover-up after his encounter with Mazzeo outside a Las Vegas restaurant less than a month before his gubernatorial election.
Not a year into his job, courts chief leaving for New York: Friday, June 26, 2009; Ed Friedland had big plans to modernize the county court system and bring the Regional Justice Center into the 21st century.
Fox News had Hampton’s letter earlier than it said: Wednesday, June 24, 2009; Fox News received Doug Hampton’s letter about Sen. John Ensign’s adulterous affair three days earlier than the network reported, according to information obtained exclusively by the Las Vegas Sun. Fox said it didn’t receive the letter until June 15, when it arrived as an attachment to an e-mail. But FedEx tracking of a “priority envelope,” which a reliable source said contained the hard copy, shows it was delivered on the morning of June 12. That would mean the national news organization had additional time to investigate and report Ensign’s affair before the senator’s own admission of the relationship with Hampton’s wife.
Lawmaker: DA’s office used intimidation: State senator says it tried to head off his testimony; Friday, June 19, 2009; State Sen. Dennis Nolan has filed a sworn affidavit accusing the district attorney’s office of intimidating him into tempering his testimony for a family friend accused of sexual assault.
Spouse in Ensign affair sought help in letter to Fox News: Husband’s account of how wife’s affair with Ensign ‘ruined our lives and careers’ comes to light; Friday, June 19, 2009; In a letter dated five days before Sen. John Ensign’s confession of an affair, Doug Hampton pleaded to a national Fox News anchorwoman for help in exposing the senator.
Unanswered: Why he told: Ensign and his staff silent as more details — and more questions — emerge on his affair with a former staffer.; Thursday, June 18, 2009; Neither the FBI nor Metro Police are investigating any claim that Sen. John Ensign’s former mistress or her husband tried to blackmail the senator, spokesmen for the agencies confirmed Wednesday.
T. Arthur Ritchie Jr., Chief judge, District Court: Wednesday, June 17, 2009; T. Arthur Ritchie Jr. is the first Family Court judge to serve a two-year stint as chief judge in District Court in Clark County. He oversees 37 judges, 24 in District Court and 13 in Family Court.
Herrera will serve out sentence in Las Vegas: Former commissioner who took bribes likely to spend six months in halfway house; Wednesday, June 17, 2009; Former Clark County Commissioner Dario Herrera is expected to return Thursday to serve out the remaining six months of his sentence at the Las Vegas Valley's only federal halfway house, the Las Vegas Community Corrections Center.
Video of stabbing helps defendant get plea deal: Tuesday, June 16, 2009; To the casual observer, the district attorney’s office appeared to have an airtight murder case against longtime political activist and consultant Michael Chambliss.
To some, Bogden + Reid doesn’t add up: The senator says he’s recommending reappointment because the former U.S. attorney was fired unjustly; Saturday, June 13, 2009; U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s recommendation that Daniel Bogden return as Nevada’s U.S. attorney has demoralized some prosecutors in the office and astonished other members of the legal community. The prospect of Bogden’s return “is disheartening,” a prosecutor said.
Former political consultant pleads guilty in stabbing death: Wednesday, June 10, 2009; Michael Chambliss, a retired city employee and longtime political consultant, pleaded guilty this morning in the Nov. 9, 2005, stabbing death of a convenience store clerk.
Hepatitis C trials unlikely to be moved: Plaintiffs lawyers: Case too big for Carson City; Wednesday, June 10, 2009; When defense lawyers sought to move the upcoming trials over the 2008 hepatitis scare to Carson City two months ago, a plaintiffs attorney likened the legal strategy to a “Hail Mary in the first half of the ballgame.”
Accused hate the system, so they use tricks to tie it up: Wednesday, June 10, 2009; Members of the anti-government sovereign citizens movement have a reputation for flooding the courts with frivolous paperwork, and that’s exactly what two of the movement’s leading ideologues are doing in their federal money laundering case.
Lawmakers pave way for vote on appointing judges: Backers of plan that includes retention elections gear up for referendum next year; Saturday, June 6, 2009; Scarcely noticed in the final days of the Legislature was the approval of a plan to appoint rather than elect state judges. If voters say yes to the plan next year, advocates say, Nevada would greatly reduce the chance that someone as unqualified as Elizabeth Halverson would ever don a black robe.
Gilbert case may turn on investigator’s testimony: Attorneys for CSN official claim his remarks mislead grand jury; Tuesday, June 2, 2009; District Judge Donald Mosley on Monday refused to buy into the brunt of the defense’s attack on the theft case against College of Southern Nevada construction chief William “Bob” Gilbert and three other college employees.
Judge blasts CSN police probe of alleged theft: Investigation by construction chief called ‘slipshod’; Saturday, May 30, 2009; 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.
Corruption allegations against prison guards shadow Aryan gang trial: Monday, May 25, 2009; Authorities have said all along that one of the most disturbing aspects of the Aryan Warriors case is the way the violent prison gang corrupted Nevada corrections officers.
Fusion center’s attention on prevention: Example: Suspicion raised by photo-taking at casino; Friday, May 22, 2009; Taking photos on the Strip is about as common as the betting at its blackjack tables. Thousands of tourists go unnoticed every day capturing their favorite Las Vegas attractions on film.
White supremacists will be tried before jury: One member’s decision to reject plea bargain kills deal for all six defendants; Tuesday, May 19, 2009; The Aryan Warriors racketeering trial came close to being called off Monday, as federal prosecutors and lawyers for the six defendants tried work out plea bargains at the last minute.
Gambler who lost millions claims he was plied with alcohol, drugs: Monday, May 18, 2009; High roller Terrance K. Watanabe is mounting an unusual defense to charges he failed to pay $14.7 million in Strip gambling debts. He is accusing Caesars Palace and the Rio of providing him with a steady flow of alcohol and — in the case of Caesars Palace — prescription painkillers as his losses increased. The Las Vegas Sun has obtained a copy of the seven-page letter, which maintains that Watanabe was in such an incoherent state that he was “incapable of forming the criminal intent” to avoid paying his gambling debts.
Aryan Warriors trial to begin amid threats of violence: Witness identities secret as prison gang members face racketeering charges; Sunday, May 17, 2009; Leading members and associates of the Aryan Warriors, a violent white supremacist prison gang, are set to stand trial on federal racketeering charges Monday under heavy security.
Widespread failure to pay business fees prompts plan: Proposed Web site intended to help companies, agencies; Monday, May 11, 2009; The revelation that Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chairman Morse Arberry let his companies slip into default with the state for not paying annual corporation fees has highlighted Nevada’s struggle to recoup millions of dollars in uncollected fees.
Judge to decide on confidentiality order status: Saturday, May 9, 2009; Plaintiffs’ attorneys in the massive endoscopy litigation filed court papers this week asking a judge to lift a year-old confidentiality order that has kept key depositions under wraps.
Killed crane oiler’s family sues MGM Mirage, others: Wednesday, May 6, 2009; Dustin Tarter’s death on May 31, which at the time was the sixth in 18 months at the mammoth Strip project, sparked a one-day walkout by his fellow workers over unsafe working conditions.
NLV court ramps up as county tries to cut back: DA, others can’t keep pace, officials of cash-strapped Clark County say; Tuesday, May 5, 2009; The severity of the budget crunch has Clark County clashing with North Las Vegas Justice Court over the court’s costly decision to ramp up its work on criminal cases. “We’re being made the whipping boy for the fiscal woes of the county,” Terri March, the North Las Vegas Justice Court administrator, said.
Assemblyman seeks unlikely title: Victim: Arberry, no real estate novice, sues his lender; Tuesday, May 5, 2009; In his lawsuit against Countrywide Home Loans, Las Vegas Assemblyman Morse Arberry portrays himself as naive to the cutthroat ways of the mortgage business.
Grand jury indicts high roller in $14.7M casino debt case: Watanabe charges expected to be filed in court this afternoon; Wednesday, April 29, 2009; A county grand jury has indicted Nebraska philanthropist Terrance K. Watanabe on felony charges of theft and passing bad checks stemming from $14.7 million in gambling debts.
Assemblyman feels pinch of real estate market slump: Wednesday, April 29, 2009; Las Vegas Assemblyman Morse Arberry is going to court to try to stop foreclosures on two of his rental properties and pushing for state laws that would address situations like his.
Mazzeo levels harsher claims against Gibbons: His attorneys say new conspiracy allegations are without proof; Saturday, April 25, 2009; Chrissy Mazzeo has filed court papers seeking to amend her civil rights lawsuit again, this time to directly name Gov. Jim Gibbons as a participant in a cover-up conspiracy she alleges occurred after her October 2006 encounter with the governor outside a Las Vegas restaurant. Mazzeo also says she was “blacklisted” as a cocktail waitress by the casino industry after a crush of publicity over her claims that Gibbons had assaulted her outside McCormick & Schmick’s three weeks before he was elected governor.
Developer accused of fraud taking a few hits: While under investigation, he loses lawyer, is threatened; Friday, April 24, 2009; Life is not getting any easier for bankrupt Pahrump developer Hans Seibt who, according to court records, has received threats of bodily harm.
Lawsuit: Health District mold that killed inspector also sickened others: Wednesday, April 22, 2009; The family of a Southern Nevada Health District inspector who died in 2007 after being exposed to toxic mold at the district’s main office has opened a new front in its legal battle with health officials.
System sees threat in judge’s bid for pension: Tuesday, April 21, 2009; District Judge Doug Smith is suing the Nevada Public Employees Retirement System because he wants to collect retirement pay while drawing his $160,000 salary.
Judge rules against Culinary Union over ballot questions: Friday, April 17, 2009; District Judge David Barker today refused to order the city of Las Vegas to put two redevelopment ballot measures backed by the Culinary Union on the municipal ballot. Culinary Research Director Chris Bohner said the union would appeal the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court.
Goodman makes his (public) entrance: This time, the mayor comes to high court through front door; Thursday, April 16, 2009; Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman now has to use the public entrance at the Regional Justice Center, but he still enjoys some preferential treatment.
Lawyer asks state’s high court to throw out ... judge: Wednesday, April 15, 2009; A Las Vegas attorney has asked the Nevada Supreme Court to consider removing Family Court Judge Robert Teuton from the bench.
Anesthesiologist who feds said was fall guy sues surgeons: Tuesday, April 14, 2009; A Las Vegas anesthesiologist filed a slander and conspiracy lawsuit in District Court late Tuesday against key figures in a federal investigation into corruption within the legal and medical professions.
Battle over Las Vegas City Hall lands in District Court: Friday, April 10, 2009; Culinary Union leaders today filed a lawsuit in District Court seeking to force the city of Las Vegas to put two redevelopment initiatives on the June 2 ballot. The Nevada Supreme Court earlier this week refused to take action against the city, saying issues in the case must be addressed in District Court.
Mayor’s security end-around nags: Official condemns special treatment of Goodman, two other council members; Friday, April 10, 2009; The man who bears the brunt of responsibility for security at the Regional Justice Center says city marshals violated protocol this week when they bypassed public metal detectors and escorted Mayor Oscar Goodman and two city councilmen through a back route to a 17th-floor Nevada Supreme Court hearing.
Lawyers try to get hepatitis trials moved to Carson City: Defense attorneys say Desai can’t get a fair shake because of media coverage; Thursday, April 9, 2009; A year ago Dr. Dipak Desai wasted little time hiring a well-connected public relations firm to help him drum up favorable publicity in a growing hepatitis scare linked to his endoscopy clinics.
A push for open outbreak litigation: Lawyers in hepatitis C cases to argue for lifting confidentiality order; Wednesday, April 8, 2009; Southern Nevadans and their lawmakers are eager to learn as much as possible about failing to prevent last year’s hepatitis C outbreak. But massive litigation over the outbreak has been mired in secrecy, keeping the public in the dark about exactly how and why thousands of patients were exposed to the potentially deadly virus.