Nevada politician convicted of using money donated for statues of slain cops to pay bills

A former Nevada lawmaker and Las Vegas councilmember was convicted Thursday of using $70,000 for personal use after it was donated to help build statues for fallen cops.

Michele Fiore, 54, a Republican and justice of the peace in Pahrump, an hour from Las Vegas, was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud, with each count carrying a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Fiore used the money to pay for political fundraising, rent, travel, her daughter's wedding, and plastic surgery, the Justice Department said in a release.

Fiore, who was a member of the Nevada Assembly representing the 4th District from 2012 to 2016, served on the Las Vegas City Council from 2017 through 2022 following a failed run for the U.S. House of Representatives.

In her time on the council, Fiore proposed building the statue for Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Officer Alyn Beck, who was killed on June 8, 2014, along with his partner, Igor Soldo, when they were ambushed and shot by political extremists Jerad and Amanda Miller, according to The Associated Press.

The statue of Beck was included as part of the Alyn Beck Memorial Park and was paid for by Olympia Cos., developers of the Skye Canyon planned community in Las Vegas where the park is located.

As a city council member, Fiore knew that Olympia Cos. were paying for the statue, but told the sculptor she had appropriated city funds to pay for it, according to court documents.

From July 2019 until at least January 2020, Fiore solicited donations from others, saying in one letter she planned to raise $80,000 for the Beck statue and later raise another $80,000 for a statue of Soldo, according to the documents.

Among the defrauded donors was Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a fellow Republican. In 2019, before he was governor, he authorized his campaign fund from a run for Clark County sheriff to donate $5,000 in unused funds to Fiore.

Fiore’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 6,  though her attorney, Michael Sanft, said she plans to appeal the conviction.