Lombardo, labor union among those allegedly defrauded by Fiore
Donors to the statue project that led to ex-Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore’s federal wire fraud indictment included Gov. Joe Lombardo and a local union, state records and a new court filing indicate.
Fiore, 53, of Pahrump, was indicted by a federal grand jury in July. She faces charges of wire fraud and conspiracy. Prosecutors allege that while she was a councilwoman, she raised tens of thousands of dollars for a statue of a fallen Metropolitan Police Department officer, Alyn Beck, but spent it on herself and her daughter’s wedding.
An amended indictment filed this week adds two more donors to the list of people or entities who gave money to the project.
The indictment does not identify them by name but refers to them as “a trust headquartered in the state of Nevada” and “a union operating in the state of Nevada.”
Fiore declined to comment for this story Thursday, saying she’d like to do so, but her attorney had advised against it. Her lawyer, Michael Sanft, did not respond to a request for comment.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. She has previously defended her political career and attacked prosecutors as “corrupt.” She most recently served as a Pahrump justice of the peace but was suspended by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline because of her indictment.
‘100 percent of all contributions’
The union was the Laborers International Union 872 of Las Vegas, which represents construction workers and public service employees, and the trust was LECET of Southern Nevada, a trust with ties to the union, financial reports for a political action committee connected to Fiore indicate.
The indictment said Fiore asked them for donations for the statue on or about Feb. 3, 2020, and promised “100 percent of all contributions are used for this charitable event.”
The park had opened just days before with the statue in place.
The union donated $5,000 to Fiore’s political action committee the same day, believing the money would fund the Beck statue, according to the indictment. Three days later, prosecutors said, the trust gave $5,000 to the committee in the form of a check with a memo that read, “Alyn Beck Statue.”
A Nevada secretary of state contributions and expenses report for the Future for Nevadans political action committee signed by Fiore and filed in April 2020 does not show $5,000 donations on those dates. But it reports $5,000 contributions from Laborers International and LECET for Feb. 7, 2020.
The union and trust did not respond to requests for comment.
‘A public official’
“A public official residing in the state of Nevada” was also among Fiore’s donors, prosecutors said. That politician is not named in the indictment, which said they wrote a $5,000 check to Fiore’s political action committee on or about July 16, 2019.
Lombardo for Sheriff gave that amount to Future for Nevadans on that date, according to secretary of state records.
Lombardo, the former Clark County sheriff, was present in 2020 at the opening of the park, which is dedicated to Beck and features the statue.
His office responded Thursday by emailing a statement he had previously made.
“I’m aware of the serious charges against Michele Fiore related to her time as a city councilwoman,” he said in the statement. “It’s my hope that complete justice and accountability are established through this investigation and its resulting legal process.”
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.