Nevada politician guilty of using $70,000 meant for statue of slain officer for personal costs

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada Republican politician who ran unsuccessfully two years ago for state treasurer was found guilty Thursday of using funds raised for a statue honoring a slain police officer for personal costs, including plastic surgery.

A jury convicted Michele Fiore, a former Las Vegas city councilwoman and state lawmaker, of six counts of federal wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, KLAS-TV in Las Vegas reported. The weeklong trial in U.S. District Court in Nevada began last week.

Each count carries a possible penalty of 20 years in prison. Fiore, who has been suspended without pay from her current elected position as a justice of the peace in rural Pahrump, Nevada, will be sentenced Jan. 6. She will remain free while she awaits sentencing.

Her attorney, Michael Sanft, said Fiore will appeal the conviction.

Federal prosecutors said at trial that Fiore had raised more than $70,000 for the statue of a Las Vegas police officer shot and killed in 2014 in the line of duty, but instead spent the money on plastic surgery, rent and her daughter’s wedding.

“Michele Fiore used a tragedy to line her pockets,” federal prosecutor Dahoud Askar said.

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