Attorney at heart of HOA probe faces several legal battles

Quon is the controversial and highly successful construction defect attorney at the center of a multi-agency investigation into alleged corruption and case fixing inside local homeowners associations. She was notified Monday night the Clark County district attorney has targeted her for indictment in a separate arson investigation.

Quon attorney Tom Pitaro on Friday confirmed his client received a Marcum notice, which informs the target of the DA’s intention to go before a grand jury in pursuit of a criminal indictment. The case against Quon stems from a suspicious fire Oct. 28 at her home. Her former boyfriend, ex-Metro officer William Ronald Webb Jr., faces three charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, in connection with the case.

In what at best can be described as a twisted plot, Webb is accused of purchasing large quantities of the club drug GHB in an attempt to assist in Quon’s suicide.

The problem with that theory, Pitaro argues, is that it fails to answer a simple question: Why?

Quon remains prepared to fight any charges that come her way, her attorney says. She’s a single mother of grown daughters and a caregiver to a brother who suffers from cancer. Her brother had scheduled a visit from California at the time of the fire.

Further compounding matters is the fact Webb didn’t stand to gain financially from Quon’s death. Her trust names her daughters as beneficiaries. Pitaro says any insurance claim would be used to pay off the home’s mortgage.

If Pitaro sounds like he is trying his case ahead of an indictment, I suspect he is. His challenge is this: Quon has more than one legal fire burning these days. There’s also the FBI-led HOA investigation that continues to grind on.

Quon’s career as a construction defect litigator was flying high until Sept. 27, 2008, when her name surfaced in an FBI criminal search warrant affidavit. Courtroom victories that had generated more than $100 million for hundreds of homeowners and large legal fees were suddenly clouded.

This past week, the secretive HOA investigation splashed in the pages of the Review-Journal after it was reported prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office were themselves being investigated for potentially leaking information to Quon. At least one assistant U.S. attorney under suspicion is known to have a social relationship with Quon.

The suspected leak is being investigated by the Justice Department’s Washington-based public corruption unit. The attorneys are being scrutinized for potential obstruction of justice charges.

Pitaro regularly jousts with federal prosecutors, but this time around the defense bar bulldog sounds like their best advocate.

"There’s nothing there," he says. "This is going to be the typical less-than-meets-the-eye stuff. It will just fade off into the sunset. There’s nothing there."

Nor, he argues, is there any substance to the issuance by authorities of two Legal 2000 forms against Quon, which enabled police to place her in custody under the argument she was suicidal and a danger to herself. The first came on the night of the fire, the second two weeks later. A physician’s examination noted the second legal form appeared to be an attempt at "manipulation" by police.

"That’s their doctor’s words, not ours," Pitaro snarls.

Were police officers acting responsibly, or was it harassment in an attempt to pressure a prime suspect in a complex fraud case?

"It was an outrageous tactic that did not indicate any concern for Nancy," Pitaro says. "It appears that it was nothing more than a tactical move, which I think has blown up in their face."

While Pitaro warms up in anticipation of a long legal bout, Nancy Quon now knows she’s in the fight of her life.

John L. Smith’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.