Vegas Politician Michele Fiore Convicted on All Counts of Conspiracy and Wire Fraud
An image from Michele Fiore’s 2016 “Second Amendment” calendar shows her holding a revolver in one hand and an American flag in another. Fiore has been convicted of conspiracy and wire fraud. Promotional photo credit: Michele Fiore.
A former Las Vegas Republican City Councilwoman and Justice of the Peace, Michele Fiore, 54, from Pahrump, Nevada, found that out the hard way on Oct. 3 when a federal court found her guilty of one count of conspiracy and six counts of wire fraud, according to a DOJ press release. Fiore stood accused of soliciting donors by falsely claiming to raise money for a statue to memorialize police officers who fell in the line of duty.
Officers Killed in the Line of Duty
On June 8, 2014, Las Vegas officers Igor Soldo and Alyn Beck were ambushed and killed while on duty. On June 17, 2015, the Alan Beck Memorial Park was unanimously approved by the Las Vegas City Council and finally broke ground on Dec. 18, 2018, according to the indictment. Fiore was elected to serve as a councilwoman in Las Vegas on June 21, 2017.
During the 2018 groundbreaking ceremony, Fiore proposed installing a statue of Alyn Beck at the entrance of the memorial park, according to the indictment in the case.
In January 2020, the memorial park was completed, and on Jan. 31, 2020, the Alyn Beck Statue was unveiled, according to the indictment. Between July 2019 and January 2020, Fiore continued to solicit donations for Alyn Beck’s already-built statue and told donors she planned to raise another $80,000 for Igor Soldo’s statue.
Fiore told donors that “100% of all contributions” would be used to build those statues, as detailed in coverage by The Daily Muck. Fiore, however, didn’t reveal that a private real estate company had already agreed to pay for Alyn Beck’s statue.
Fiore took several checks from contributors with dollar amounts up to $10,000 written to a charity Fiore founded to help build the statues, according to the indictment. Instead of using the funds as promised, Fiore directed staff to purchase money orders to pay the rent where she lived. She also wrote a check to cash from her charity and used it as a payment for something related to her daughter’s wedding. Fiore even used some of the money to pay for expenses for her political campaign.
Convicted on all Seven Charges
The Las Vegas jury convicted Fiore on all seven charges in her indictment on Oct. 3, as detailed in the jury verdict. The jury took less than two hours to deliberate which Fiore’s attorney said in a statement to the press covered by 8 News Now was because they had “already made up their minds even before closing arguments.”
Fiore reacted to the verdict with a statement to the press saying, “We are still in it.” Fiore also claimed that she wanted to say some things to the judge but was not allowed to do so.
Prominent Figures on the Stand
The Republican Governor of Nevada, Joe Lombardo, and other business leaders took the stand during the trial, as reported by 8 News Now. Her daughter, a named co-conspirator in the indictment, also testified on her mother’s behalf, but her testimony was stricken. Prosecutors declined to comment to the press about the case.
Fiore is still free until her sentencing hearing on Jan. 6, 2025, but prosecutors have requested electronic monitoring. Fiore faces a maximum penalty of 20 years per count in her seven-count conviction, according to the DOJ press release.
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