Former Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore was found guilty Thursday of using money raised for a statue of a fallen police officer for personal expenses, The Hill reported. The Nevada Republican was convicted of one count of conspiracy and six counts of federal wire fraud, with each carrying a penalty of up to 20 years in jail.
Fiore, who once ran for Nevada governor, will be sentenced on Jan. 6 and will likely never serve in political office again. The 54-year-old was found guilty after taking funds raised for a statue that would honor Metropolitan Police Department Officer Alyn Beck, who the Las Vegas Review-Journal noted was killed in the line of duty in 2014.
A political action committee and charity set up for the purpose raked in tens of thousands of dollars for what donors thought would be a memorial. Instead, Fiore used the money for plastic surgery, rent, and to help pay for her daughter's wedding.
Federal prosecutor Dahoud Askar told the jury she "used a tragedy to line her pockets." The jury agreed with that assessment, finding her guilty on all counts after only two hours of deliberation.
In January 2020, the Alyn Beck Memorial Park was opened to the public. It included a statue in Beck's honor that was funded nearly entirely by Olympia Companies, the developer of the planned community where the park was located, as Fiore was well aware.
Nevertheless, Fiore continued to raise funds for the statue between January 2019 and February 2020. By the time her scheme had concluded, she had siphoned off most of the money, leaving just a few hundred dollars in the accounts.
Several individuals, including Gov. Joe Lombardo, were unwittingly caught up in Fiore's scheme. The Nevada Republican contributed $5,000 left over from his campaign to fund the project.
Michael Sanft, Fiore's attorney, attempted to equate Lombardo's donation of his campaign funds, which is allowed by Nevada law, with Fiore's scheme. Federal Prosecutor Alexander Gottfried rightfully pointed out that there's a "pretty big difference" between the two.
Bank records revealed exactly what Fiore did wrong. Prosecutors showed that donation checks deposited into the political action committee's account were then transferred straight to daughter Sheena Siegel, with dates and amounts that lined up perfectly.
Lost in the ugliness of Fiore's conviction is the fallen hero she used as a prop. Fox News reported that on June 8, 2014, a married couple walked into a restaurant where Beck and Officer Igor Soldo were having lunch and shot them in an unprompted attack.
The couple, Jerad and Amanda Miller, also killed one civilian in the process. The shooting spree ended after Amanda shot several rounds into her husband before killing herself.
The senseless violence was blamed on extremism as the couple had radical views. Unfortunately, these views led to the crime that took the life of Beck, who was 41 years old, and left his wife a widow and three children fatherless.
Soldo, just 31 at the time of his death, left behind a wife and a baby. His sister-in-law, Colleen Soldo, said he was a "great guy" and a good father to his child.
Fiore's crimes are unconscionable, and she deserves to spend every day in prison that the judge ultimately sees fit. Stealing is a terrible crime as it is, but doing so while benefitting from a tragedy in this way is disgraceful.
