In a week that finds two former county commissioners on trial in a corruption case and the current county recorder suspected of cashing in on her office, it isn't easy to break into the lineup of political infamy.

Throw in a fistful of alleged ethical lapses, and the game gets tougher. Add the strangely sudden retreat of state Attorney General George Chanos from a race he'd essentially won, and you have an even more difficult job getting noticed.

The usual political dust-ups just won't do. Blurting out ill-advised one-liners and cribbing speeches get a pass this week. You have to do something extraordinary to distinguish yourself.

Like getting caught dissembling under oath in a civil trial, for instance, and having a jury rule that you abused the legal process and conspired to illegally oust a man from his home. That would do it.

So congratulations, Assemblyman Scott Sibley.

You have managed to stand out in a crowded field.

On Monday afternoon, a jury in District Judge Douglas Herndon's courtroom unanimously determined that Republican Assemblyman Sibley, in his capacity as a process server and ally of fellow defendant Alan Rapoport, trampled all over the rights of Perry Klein.

Klein and Rapoport had been partners in a house-building deal and had experienced a major falling out after the completion of their residence at 2 Rue Allard Way in Lake Las Vegas.

The home was valued last year at more than $4 million, but on Monday, a jury returned a judgment of more than $4.9 million against Rapoport for breach of an implied contract, abuse of process, illegal ouster, filing false reports and a litany of other issues. The jury determined that Sibley was liable for abuse of process and conspiring to oust Klein from a house in which he held a 50 percent interest.

Sibley isn't the only public official sullied in the case. Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Tony Abbatangelo was exposed for playing the willing patsy for Rapoport when he signed a temporary protective order so fast it defied credulity but had the effect of temporarily kicking Klein out of the house. With help from Sibley and Jason Huffer, who has managed the campaigns of the assemblyman and the judge, Rapoport successfully judge shopped.

At trial, however, the jury saw evidence that Klein was the victim of a good old-fashioned Vegas juice job.

Along the way, a witness testified that Judge Abbatangelo was present at a February 2004 party at 2 Rue Allard Way shortly after Klein was ousted. In an interview with me last year, Abbatangelo denied he was at the party of a person who had controversial business in his court.

In fact, the fraudulent temporary protective order was signed and served so quickly that Sibley would have had to have been driving a dragster to escort the paperwork from downtown Justice Court to Lake Las Vegas. Documents submitted into evidence showed what anyone with good sense knew from the start: That the paperwork bypassed the court clerk's process -- which takes approximately 48 hours -- and was handled personally by someone with big juice.

I hope carrying your friends' water was worth it, your honor.

What makes matters more pathetic is the fact Sibley appeared to have a promising future in the Legislature as a moderate Republican. The talented Mr. Sibley appeared to understand the rules of the political poker he was playing. A call to his cell phone was answered by an employee, who said he would get a message to his boss. So far, no response.

A $20,000 judgment isn't the end of the world, but having a jury unanimously rule you abused the legal process makes your ethics and morals look pretty shabby. And it never helps your political portfolio to be partly responsible for turning a Justice Court veteran into an organ grinder's monkey.

The jury is scheduled to reconvene today to consider punitive damages in the case.

The damage Sibley has done to his fledgling political career is less certain, but the fact a jury has found your credibility sorely lacking can't be helpful. It does, however, confirm the public's general suspicion that politicians are a bunch of liars who will say anything for their friends.

Congratulations, Mr. Sibley.

It isn't every politician who can break into the headlines at times like these.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0295.