Michele Fiore to be suspended after indictment
Michele Fiore, the Nye County judge who has been indicted on federal wire fraud and conspiracy charges, will be suspended from the bench by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline, according to an order released Wednesday.
Fiore, 53, of Pahrump, was indicted by a Las Vegas grand jury on July 16. Prosecutors allege that as a Las Vegas city councilwoman, she raised more than $70,000 for a fallen officers memorial, but spent the money on herself and her daughter’s wedding. Fiore has pleaded not guilty.
The suspension will begin at 12:01 a.m. Friday and Fiore will be paid while she’s suspended.
State law calls for the Commission on Judicial Discipline to suspend a judge who is indicted for a felony charge, but Fiore continued to hold hearings after she was indicted. Commission staff previously said that they were aware of Fiore’s indictment, but declined further comment.
Karl Armstrong, a member of the commission, said the suspension timeline depends on how fast the paperwork goes and whether the judge in question wants a hearing, which they are entitled to have. If a judge chooses not to contest the intended suspension, the judge is taken off the bench immediately, he said.
The commission said Michael Sanft, Fiore’s attorney, waived her right to a hearing. Sanft could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.
In a Wednesday statement, Fiore, a supporter of the Bundy family in its conflict with the federal government, discussed the Bundys’ conflict with federal authorities and the fact that federal charges were dismissed against them because of prosecutorial misconduct.
“As I go through this distressing and challenging time, fight again, and bring light to the shadows, I ask only for your prayers and support,” the statement says in part. “You have entrusted me with your votes because I will always stand for our Constitution and our rights as proud citizens under one flag, even at significant personal cost.”
Statement from Justice of the Peace Michele Fiore by Las Vegas Review-Journal on Scribd
Metropolitan Police Department officers Alyn Beck and Igor Soldo were fatally shot in 2014. The Las Vegas City Council decided to name a new park for Beck, which would be in Ward 6, the district Fiore represented when she was elected. In 2018, when the city broke ground on the park, Fiore proposed creating a statue of Beck, the indictment said.
Fiore used the project to raise money through a charity and a political action committee between July 2019 and January 2020, according to federal prosecutors. She told donors the money they gave would pay for the statue or another memorial project, but prosecutors said that the donations were used for “political fundraising bills and rent and were transferred to family members, including to pay for her daughter’s wedding.”
Fiore has declined to say if she took the money for the memorial, but defended her political career in a statement last week. “I have always approached my duties with the utmost integrity and dedication,” she said.
She told reporters after her initial appearance in federal court Friday that it was “absolutely” a possibility that the commission could suspend her.
“Whatever they recommend, we will obey,” she said.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.
Review-Journal staff writer Katelyn Newberg contributed to this report.