Nevada Republican is suspended without pay from her judge's seat after her fraud conviction

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Republican who once ran for Nevada state treasurer has been suspended without pay from her rural judge's seat after a federal jury found she diverted for personal use funds raised for a statue of a slain Las Vegas police officer.

Michele Fiore's job status changed Monday following a Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline hearing last week and a decision filed Monday with the state Supreme Court. The commission had suspended Fiore with pay from the judgeship in Pahrump following her indictment in July on federal wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges.

Her court-appointed attorney, Paola Armeni, didn’t immediately respond Tuesday to an email seeking comment.

A jury found Fiore guilty Oct. 3 following a weeklong trial in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. Jurors were told she diverted for personal use some $70,000 that had been donated for a statue of one of two police officers killed on duty in June 2014. Evidence showed that Fiore used some of the money for cosmetic surgery, rent and her daughter's wedding.

Fiore, 54, is a former state Assembly and Las Vegas City Council member who was appointed as a judge by Nye County lawmakers in 2022 after she lost her campaign for state treasurer. She was elected in June to complete the unexpired term of a judge who died. Pahrump is an hour’s drive west of Las Vegas.

She remains free while awaiting sentencing set for Jan. 6 and could face decades in federal prison. Her former attorney said after the verdict that Fiore intends to appeal her conviction.

Fiore may be best known for supporting gun ownership and backing states’ rights advocate Cliven Bundy during and after armed standoffs against federal officers in Bunkerville, Nevada, in 2014, and at a national wildlife refuge in Oregon in 2016.