Ex-brother-in-law of judge jailed in fraud scheme

The former brother-in-law of longtime Family Court Judge Steven Jones pleaded not guilty Friday in what authorities say was a $3 million investment fraud scheme involving the judge.

Thomas A. Cecrle Jr., 55, who prosecutors contend was the central figure in the decade-long scheme, was ordered detained while he faces felony charges in a 20-count federal indictment unsealed this week.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Bill Hoffman found that Cecrle - dressed in jeans and a bright red, white and blue shirt that resembled an American flag - was a flight risk and a danger to the community.

Hoffman said a pretrial services investigation found that Cecrle has no significant ties to the community and has used methamphetamine on a social basis.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre sought Cecrle's detention, arguing he has an extensive criminal history, including two drug convictions, and has had no regular source of income in the past 10 years other than proceeds from the alleged fraud.

Myhre argued that Cecrle also has had no permanent residence over the past five years, frequently living at cheap, extended-stay hotels.

Cecrle also once lived in a home owned by Jones, the prosecutor said.

Assistant Federal Public Defender William Carrico, who was appointed to defend Cecrle, sought electronically monitored home detention for Cecrle, accusing prosecutors of wrongly seeking to put him behind bars because of the high-profile nature of the case.

Carrico said the story has been "plastered across newspapers" and aired prominently on television.

Jones, 54, who pleaded not guilty on Thursday, was charged with using the power of his office to carry out the investment scheme, which authorities alleged began in 2002. He was released on his own recognizance.

In all, six defendants face an array of criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. They are to stand trial on Jan. 8.

Jones, first elected to Family Court in 1992, has taken a leave of absence and faces a state-mandated suspension from the bench with pay while under indictment.

Starting Monday, senior judges will pick up Jones' juvenile caseload for the next two weeks until Family Court sets a long-term solution, according to Bill Gang, a spokesman for the Nevada Supreme Court, which oversees senior judges. The first week of cases will be handled by Senior District Judge Jim Brennan.

INVESTMENT SCHEME

The indictment alleges that between September 2002 and October 2012, the defendants persuaded people to loan them money under the guise of quick repayment with high rates of interest. The defendants needed the loans to secure valuable property and water rights, including land on the Strip, the indictment said.

When investors became disgruntled and questioned the legitimacy of their investments, the indictment alleges, the defendants lulled them into a false sense of security by referring them to Jones, who used his stature as a judge to vouch for Cecrle and the investment scheme, knowing it was a fraud.

The judge is alleged to have met with investors "in chambers, over the telephone and elsewhere."

According to the indictment, Jones took calls from Cecrle in chambers, drafted and reviewed documents associated with sham investments, and received cash from the scheme at the courthouse where he heard cases.

HISTORY OF PROBLEMS

Cecrle has a long history of legal problems involving drugs, domestic violence and questionable financial dealings. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to attempted possession of drugs and served six months in jail after violating probation.

The federal case appears to stem from a series of get-rich investment schemes Cecrle pitched to potential investors beginning a decade ago.

Court records and previous Las Vegas Review-Journal reports show that the touted investments included buying prime real estate on the Strip and World War I bonds funding humanitarian efforts backed by the White House.

The late Gene Isaacs in 2003 lost $800,000 investing in a Cecrle land deal on the Strip.

Isaacs, who was in his 80s at the time, blamed Jones for using the power of his office to support the deal.

Jones drew up a legal note for Cecrle promising to pay Isaacs $2 million on the investment. Isaacs and Cecrle signed the document in the judge's chambers, and it was notarized by Jones' judicial assistant.

Even with the document, Cecrle never paid back the debt.

Isaacs alleged Jones had a financial interest in the land deal and was the one who persuaded him to invest in it.

Through his lawyer, Jones denied at the time that he had any financial interest in the deal.

Isaacs died about a year and a half ago, his son local physician Bradford Isaacs said Friday.

The doctor said his father thought he was dealing with honest, upstanding community members when he invested money with them.

"It bothered him the rest of his life," Isaacs said. "As near as I can tell those guys are just bad guys. They stole."

Isaacs said he did not know the minute details of the case, but added, "the wheels of justice works slow."

Contact reporter Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.