Jones deserved punchout, got kid gloves
Judges command a certain amount of respect wherever they go. Even pompous, corrupt, thieving ex-judges who are in court to be sentenced for a felony.
Steven Jones, the former Family Court judge who used his office to help a band of cons swindle millions of dollars from unsuspecting folks, deserved more than a long prison sentence at his sentencing last month. He should have been scolded in the harshest terms possible by U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey for staining the judiciary and violating a sacred public trust.
Wouldn’t you know it, he received neither. Jones got 26 months in the pen — and unbelievably kind words from the court.
“Mr. Jones, I wish you the best of luck, sir,” Judge Dorsey said at the end of the hearing.
Beyond the luck he has already enjoyed? Jones enjoyed a nearly two-year paid vacation from the bench, at taxpayer expense, while the federal government prosecuted his case. The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline allowed Jones to continue cashing those checks by declining to remove him from office over his romantic relationship with a prosecutor who appeared before him. And the U.S. attorney dropped 19 charges against Jones in exchange for his guilty plea to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
“Best of luck, sir”? His victims sure could use a bit of Jones’ karma — to say nothing of restitution. Jones doesn’t have to report to prison until Memorial Day. Enjoy this fine spring weather, your honor!
Between 2002 and 2012, Jones, his former brother-in-law Thomas Cecrle and their conspirators lured people into bogus land and water rights deals. Their total take: almost $3 million. Jones used his office to create legitimacy and provide reassurance to targets, and to get Cecrle released from jail on bad check charges connected to the scam. Jones went as far as meeting with one victim in his chambers and collecting cash from another in the Family Court parking lot.
Disgusting. Disturbing. Dishonorable.
Compare Jones’ treatment to the justice dispensed in the valley’s infamous G-sting prosecution of almost a decade ago. That case sent four former Clark County commissioners to federal prison for taking piles of cash from strip club owner Michael Galardi. Dario Herrera was sentenced to 50 months in prison, serving 29, and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey was sentenced to 30 months, serving 24, for convictions on 17 counts of corruption. Erin Kenny, who pleaded guilty, served 30 months. Lance Malone, who became Galardi’s bag man, got a six-year sentence and served about four years.
The commissioners sold their offices by taking bribes. What Jones did was far worse. He stole from people.
But he gets to plead guilty to one count and receives a sentence of 26 months? He’ll end up serving, what, a year? Tax cheats typically get longer sentences.
Good luck, indeed.
When elected officials use their positions to commit crimes, the courts should make an example of them. Unfortunately, Jones is just the latest example of how white-collar crime pays — big time.
Talking schools
Walk-in attendees are welcome at Tuesday’s NewsFeed breakfast. I’m moderating a panel discussion on K-12 education in Nevada with Clark County School District Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky; Nevada State Board of Education Vice President Allison Serafin; and Kati Haycock, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Education Trust.The NewsFeed series is co-sponsored by the Review-Journal and the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce. Tuesday’s breakfast will be held at The Four Seasons on the Strip from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Same-day tickets cost $50 per person. We’ll discuss education reforms at the Nevada Legislature and what’s needed to make state schools better.
Glenn Cook (gcook@reviewjournal.com) is the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s senior editorial writer. Follow him on Twitter: @Glenn_CookNV. Watch him Friday at 7:30 p.m. on “Nevada Week in Review” on Vegas PBS, Channel 10.
