Michele Fiore campaign ad (YouTube).
Attorneys representing the Nevada woman known as “Lady Trump” began the defense’s case-in-chief this week in a high-profile federal wire fraud trial over allegations of theft and public corruption.
Defense efforts became seriously derailed on Tuesday.
Michele Fiore, 53, a former Las Vegas city councilwoman, onetime GOP gubernatorial candidate, and since-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.
Federal prosecutors allege that Fiore, when 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.
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 statute — allegedly promising those who donated that “100 percent of all contributions are used for this charitable event.”
While the statute 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.
“Fiore did not use any of the tens of thousands of dollars in charitable donations for the statue of the fallen officer and instead converted the money to her personal use,” prosecutors summed up in a press release. “The donations were used to pay her political fundraising bills and rent and were transferred to family members, including to pay for her daughter’s wedding.”
Fiore’s daughter, Sheena Siegel, has not been charged in the case — but she has figured prominently in the trial this week.
During the government’s presentation, an FBI forensic accountant testified about a $5,000 contribution the memorial fund received from a campaign for then-assistant sheriff and current Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo.
On July 15, 2019, “Lombardo for Sheriff” sent that check to Fiore’s PAC, “Future for Nevadans” with a memo line reading: “Alyn Beck Statue,” according to a courtroom report by Las Vegas-based ABC affiliate KTNV reporter Jaewon Jung.
On July 16, 2019, a $5,000 check was deposited into an account Siegel could access, the FBI accountant testified, according to a courtroom report by Las Vegas-based CBS affiliate KLAS. Fiore’s daughter went on to use that account to pay her mother’s rent.
The forensic accountant went on to testify that numerous similar transactions occurred along such lines: Fiore would receive donations for the statue, then funds would be transferred to pay rent on her home, for her daughter’s wedding, and other personal expenses,
In sum, prosecutors allege Fiore spent over $70,000 meant to pay for the statue instead “for her own personal benefit.”
One of those allegedly bamboozled contributors, Lombardo, testified on Monday.
Defense attorney Michael Sanft asked the governor whether his own donors knew he would spend some of their contributions on another cause — in reference to the statue fund.
“I don’t understand why I’m being asked these questions when I’m a victim and a witness,” Lombardo replied, according to KLAS.
The theory of the defense’s case — at least so far — appears to be that Silver State charity and campaign finance laws are equal parts byzantine and loosely enforced.
Taking the stand for the defense on Monday, Fiore’s daughter testified that despite no background in either charity or campaign work, she helped her mother deal with such issues, according to KLAS. Siegel reportedly went on to say that she researched those laws and found them lax.
That perhaps loose understanding of the law might have proved legally disadvantageous to Fiore’s daughter when she returned to the stand on Tuesday.
During one bit of testimony, Siegel reportedly said that she signed a check over from a PAC to her own, personal account. The woman’s testimony was then cut short from that point.
Prosecutors suggested this admission was itself a federal crime. The judge interjected to say that Siegel should consider obtaining legal representation because she may have incriminated herself.
Moments later, Siegel had, in fact, retained legal counsel. Then, the witness and her lawyers went somewhere private to talk.
I just heard attorneys brought on for Siegel introduce themselves to her.
They’re going into a private area to discuss her testimony.@KTNV
— Jaewon Jung (@jaewonnews) October 1, 2024
When Siegel returned to the stand, her lips were sealed.
I saw Fiore look at her daughter and point to her new attorneys.
Federal prosecutor Alexander Gottfried is now continuing cross examination, and Siegal is pleading the fifth on all answers.@KTNV
— Jaewon Jung (@jaewonnews) October 1, 2024
During her failed bid for governor in 2021, Fiore’s opening campaign advertisement favorably referenced a Politico story from 2016 that described her as a “lady Trump.”
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