Sheriff Bill Young, at lectern, denounces businessman Jerry Airola as unqualified to be sheriff during a news conference Tuesday at the Las Vegas police union office. Young was joined by like-minded leaders of local police unions, left to right: Sgt. Dave Levins of the Police Managers and Supervisors Association; Dave Kallas, executive director of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association; Darrell Wade, president of the Henderson Peace Officers Association; David Tolliver of the Henderson Police Managers and Supervisors Association and Terri Yada, president of the Police Protective Association Civilian Employees. Photo by John Locher. Jerry Airola, founder of Silver State Helicopters and a candidate for Clark County sheriff, says an "Old Boy's Network" within the Metropolitan Police Department is attacking him. Photo by Samantha Clemens

Sheriff Bill Young and the leader of the valley's largest police union don't always see eye to eye.

But when it comes to sheriff candidate Jerry Airola, they couldn't agree more.

Young and David Kallas, who represents Las Vegas' rank-and-file police officers, lambasted the millionaire candidate in a Tuesday news conference, attacking his credibility and his qualifications to lead the nation's seventh-largest police agency.

"He wouldn't qualify to be a Metro cop, let alone the sheriff," Young said.

Airola hasn't held a full-time police job since he worked for the Los Banos Police Department in the early 1990s, and he was fired from that job. He later became a reserve deputy sheriff in Merced County, Calif., but the Merced County sheriff yanked Airola's badge about a year ago because Airola didn't live in California, and as such wasn't qualified to hold that badge.

"It's an insult to every man and woman who wears a badge in Clark County that he calls himself a cop. He's lying, and I'm not going to stand for it," Young said.

Early in his campaign, Airola said he was a cop, but he appears to have toned down that claim. In a recent mailer sent out by his campaign, he's described as a "businessman with a law enforcement background."

Kallas, executive director of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, said Airola couldn't be trusted.

"From Day One he has lied about his qualifications, and if he's going to lie during the campaign, what's he going to do in office?" Kallas said.

In a press release issued after the news conference, Airola blamed the attack on an "Old Boy's Network" within the department.

"I am not surprised that the Old Boy's Network at Las Vegas Metro, led by (Undersheriff) Doug Gillespie, has chosen to attack me at this late hour. They are obviously more concerned with controlling promotions than controlling crime," the release said.

Young handpicked Gillespie to take his place. Gillespie has also been endorsed by the valley's major police unions, including the Police Protective Association.

But Young and Kallas emphasized that Tuesday's news conference was not to endorse any of the 16 candidates for sheriff but to highlight their concerns about Airola. Any number of candidates, especially those who have worked with the Metropolitan Police Department, are more qualified than Airola, they said.

After his brief law enforcement career, Airola entered the business world. He ran a water purification system company in Las Vegas for several years before founding Silver State Helicopters, which provides helicopter services and flight school training in 12 states.

Both of Airola's business have been dogged by lawsuits for a variety of actions, including unpaid bills and unhappy customers who claimed he didn't live up to his promises. A federal lawsuit involving 21 former flight school students seeking tuition reimbursements is pending in San Diego.

Airola also faces a pending suit in Utah bankruptcy court from a group of investors who were ripped off by a former business associate of Airola. The investors say Airola got $3.5 million that was illegally diverted by the business associate.

Airola, who points to the rapid growth of his company as evidence of its success, disputes all of the allegations.

Young said voters need to carefully consider Airola's track record as a businessman.

"He claims he's going to run our business like his business," Young said. "All I can say is, please don't let that happen."