FILE — In a Monday, June 3, 2013 file photo, Nevada Assemblywoman Michelle Fiore, R-Las Vegas, works in committee during the final day of the 77th Legislative session at the Legislative Building in Carson City, Nev. Fiore spoke Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016, to some of the four occupiers of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison, File).
Surprise testimony in a federal wire fraud trial was stricken from the record this week after the judge overseeing the case was apparently blindsided by the existence of an undisclosed immunity agreement.
In the case, Michele Fiore, 53, a former Las Vegas city councilwoman and state representative, onetime GOP gubernatorial candidate, and suspended-with-pay Pahrump Justice Court judge, stands accused of four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to a 12-page federal indictment filed in late July.
On Tuesday, Fiore’s daughter, Sheena Siegel, testified for the defense in ways that prosecutors said might have opened her up to criminal liability — prompting U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Dorsey to briefly pause proceedings so the witness could obtain her own attorneys.
The episode led to Russian nesting doll-style layers of secrets and errors. On Wednesday, Siegel’s testimony was axed entirely.
The case revolves around allegations that Fiore, while still an elected official in Sin City, touted a memorial fund for a slain police officer and subsequently pocketed at least some of the proceeds.
Prosecutors, in a superseding indictment filed in late August, refer to the defendant’s daughter as an unindicted “co-conspirator” who “received a portion of the fraudulent proceeds and served as a conduit to conceal the means and methods of Fiore’s fraud by receiving payment from entities controlled by Fiore and spending those proceeds to benefit the conspirators.”
During her testimony, Siegel reportedly said that she signed a check over from a PAC to her own, personal account, according to a courtroom report by Las Vegas-based CBS affiliate KLAS.
That’s when the government interjected with their warning — followed by Dorsey’s suggestion for the witness to obtain counsel.
Back on the stand, Siegel repeatedly pleaded the Fifth Amendment — effectively stymieing the state’s ability to cross-examine her.
The judge subsequently learned that prosecutors had given Siegel a limited form of immunity to testify — which was allegedly breached by the testimony about transferring funds, KLAS reported.
Later, Fiore’s own defense attorney, Michael Sanft, said he was aware of the immunity agreement — meaning the judge in charge of the case was the only major participant kept in the dark about the deal.
Returning to the stand on Wednesday, Siegel again consistently invoked her constitutional right to remain silent. When the defense returned on redirect, the witness again kept her lips sealed.
Anticipating this state of affairs, the government late Tuesday filed a motion to strike Siegel’s testimony, arguing they had no way to combat one of the defense’s key narratives of the case.
“Here, Siegel’s testimony is not reliable without meaningful cross-examination and not striking her testimony would leave the jury with only half-truths to consider in deliberations,” the government’s motion reads. “Because Siegel indicated that she would invoke to any question asked on cross-examination, the government could not meaningfully cross-examine Siegel on crucial factual issues.”
The prosecution also complained they had no way to try and impeach Siegel’s testimony and contradict her under the circumstances.
On Wednesday, after Fiore’s daughter maintained her silence, Dorsey ruled in favor of the state, according to KLAS. The judge said it would be unfair to prosecutors if she allowed Siegel’s “philanthropic narrative” about her mother’s charity to influence the jury.
On June 18, 2014, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Alyn Beck was killed in the line of duty alongside his partner, Officer Igor Soldo. Then a city councilwoman, Fiore solicited donations to honor Beck with a statue — allegedly promising those who donated that “100 percent of all contributions are used for this charitable event.”
While the statue does, in fact, stand in a flower bed near the entrance of Officer Alyn Beck Memorial Park in Las Vegas, the government says the monument was raised without Fiore’s financial help.
In sum, prosecutors allege Fiore spent over $70,000 meant to pay for the statue “for her own personal benefit.” Some of those alleged illicit benefits included rent on her residence and her daughter’s wedding.
Siegel, however, disputed those claims in her now-forfeit testimony. Instead, she and Sanft went through a series of images that purported to show that Fiore had, in fact, been charitable with the money — allegedly spending some of the memorial funds on things like toys for indigent children and constituency services.
Closing arguments are expected to begin Thursday.
Fiore has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
During her failed bid for governor in 2021, Fiore’s campaign favorably referenced a Politico story describing her as a “lady Trump.”
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