Rural Nevada judge suspended with pay after indictment on federal fraud charges

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A rural Nevada judge who ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 2022 has been suspended from hearing court cases after she was indicted on federal charges that she used funds raised for a statue of a slain Las Vegas police officer to pay political campaign costs and personal expenses.

Michele Fiore, a Republican former Nevada Assembly and Las Vegas City Council member, issued a statement Thursday asking for “prayers and support” during what she termed a “distressing and challenging time.”

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline suspended Fiore on Wednesday after she pleaded not guilty last week in U.S. District Court to five counts of wire fraud and conspiracy.

She had continued to hear cases in Pahrump Justice Court after a U.S. magistrate judge allowed her to remain free ahead of trial scheduled Sept. 26. The commission is required by law to suspend a judge with pay if they face a felony charge. Fiore was paid $90,233 in 2023, Nye County spokesperson Arnold Knightly said.

In her statement, Fiore cast herself as a target of the FBI and federal prosecutors because she supported Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his family during and after armed standoffs against federal law enforcement officers in Bunkerville, Nevada, in 2014, and at a national wildlife refuge in Oregon in 2016.

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