I thought that sort of thing was allowed only in Mayberry.
Posted on 07/12/2010 1:30:44 AM PDT by lainie
PAHRUMP, Nev.—Like a scene from a Western movie, the two top lawmen here are settling their scores in public.
In May, a Nye County sheriff's deputy arrested the district attorney. The sheriff, Tony De Meo, alleges that the D.A., Robert Beckett, was misusing public funds.
According to Mr. De Meo, public money had gone to supporting the local cheerleading squad, led by the D.A.'s wife, and to make a family friend's car payments. No charges have been filed, in part because Mr. Beckett, the D.A., refuses to charge himself.
Meanwhile, Mr. Beckett appointed a special prosecutor to investigate possible abuses of power by the sheriff's office and other public officials. Mr. Beckett claims that arresting him was part of an effort to sabotage his re-election. Mr. Beckett ended up running last among five candidates in the Republican primary.
The special prosecutor filed felony charges against the sheriff's deputy, David Boruchowitz, who had arrested the D.A.
Mr. Boruchowitz was also the sheriff's informal press liaison. And after he was summoned to lock himself in the corrugated metal county jail, he sent out a press release with his own mug shot announcing he had been arrested. A judge later rejected the charges, contending Mr. Beckett didn't have the power to appoint a special prosecutor. So Mr. Beckett refiled the charges himself.
Nye County occupies a vast stretch of desert, twice the size of New Hampshire, that runs from the California border up through the middle of Nevada. Most of the county is so desolate that for years the military conducted atomic testing here. Its sparse local economy includes a gold mine and a dairy farm, as well as seven brothels (legal in parts of Nevada), whose fees finance the county's ambulance services.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I tend to think of it as the Pahrump Triangle where
all those folks who disappear near Bermuda re-emerge,
having been strangely changed.
In most places, aren’t charges against a DA handled by the State’s Attorney General?
The town name came from the sound your tires make whan you drive over those metal tubed cattle crossings, Pahrump.
In a case like this wouldn’t the duty to charge the D.A. with a crime fall to the next hierarchy up, i.e. to the state capital? Next thing you know it will be a call for a duel at high noon.
tootle-tootle-toot
IIRC, Art Bell used to do his nightly radio program from his home in Pahrump before he relocated to Philippines.
I thought that sort of thing was allowed only in Mayberry.
--present day Pahrump from my viewpoint is not too different from any town of 35,000--lots of California retirees, northern state and Canadian sunbirds and more recently, it became a bedroom town for Las Vegas.
--the "urban" development over the last twenty years has invaded many a place where someone built a home were they could keep a horse and the dog could bark, away from all the neighbors--and now the new neighbors don't like the horses or the dog barking---similar to the folks who buy near the airport, then sue the airline because of the planes---
Pahrump is the adopted home town of Art Bell of Coast to Coast AM Fame. When Bell was the regular host, he used to broadcast his Coast to Coast show from his home in Pahrump live from 10:00 pm to 2:00 am nightly local time. Many a night he talked about his adopted home town of Pahrump. Coast to Coast AM still broadcast Bell's old shows from the 1990's to early 2000's saturday nights.
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/art-bell-shows
Art Bell currently lives in the Philippines with his new wife and baby and occasionally guest hosts Coast to Coast AM from the Philippines. Bell would likely still be living in Pahrump with his new wife if not for a screw up with her immigration paperwork. I believe he also still owns a radio station in Pahrump as well as his house/land there.
Yes, and the investigation would be done by the Nevada Division of Investigation. I’ve seen it happen against elected officials in other rural Nevada counties.
Been there as a student at Front Sight many times with last visit having to stay at Sheri’s Ranch cuz all the hotels were booked up due to funeral of deputy killed by some psycho. I really enjoyed my visits and the people i met there - I did not avail myself of the services at Sheri’s, however, I have to smile at what I saw there.
Drove by then stopped for coffee somewhere downtown and was exchanging pleasantries about it with the clerk, who called Art on his personal phone number for conversation--cousin was in seventh heaven for weeks---
--incidentally, the local Wal-mart under usual circumstances sells 9mm,.45 auto and .223 ammo by the palletload to Front Sight customers--
--the deputy's death was certainly tragic--responding to "domestic violence" situation . The perp apparently shot at the first uniform he saw, not hitting the protective vest---
I think the correct spelling is "Serling".
Duke
Thanks for the tip on Wal-Mart, next time out will check on the ammo. As for Shari’s, the rooms pipe a closed circuit on the bar scene right to your room, so it was kind of a hoot watching the deals being made. As for me, after a day of shooting, i was too beat for anything else. Just give me a beer, a shower and good night.
“In a case like this wouldn’t the duty to charge the D.A. with a crime fall to the next hierarchy up, i.e. to the state capital? Next thing you know it will be a call for a duel at high noon.”
That’s my understanding Red. However, I think the problem in this case is that someone from the State AG’s office is running for office against one of the two (I’m replying from memory now), and so there are questions about the impartiality of that situation. It’s really, really a big mess.
Agree on all points, but want to repeat this one.
“the “urban” development over the last twenty years has invaded many a place where someone built a home were they could keep a horse and the dog could bark, away from all the neighbors—and now the new neighbors don’t like the horses or the dog barking-—similar to the folks who buy near the airport, then sue the airline because of the planes-— “
Oh how I hate those attitudes.
“Duke.”
Exactly. In fact, it was my first thought, but I didn’t want to be cliche’.
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