IN BRIEF

FORMER N.Y. COP, LV RESIDENT

Eppolito pleads guilty to tax fraud charges

Former New York City police detective Louis Eppolito pleaded guilty on Tuesday to tax fraud, admitting in a plea agreement that he bilked the government out of $102,800. He is to be sentenced May 9.

Although his Las Vegas case has been resolved, Eppolito still faces charges in New York. A federal indictment from 2005 charges him with racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy and narcotics distribution.

Federal authorities have accused him of helping the Mafia commit eight murders. The indictment alleges that Eppolito lived a double life as a cop and an associate with the Luchese organized crime family.

Eppolito was a resident of Las Vegas when he was arrested in 2005.

BIG RIG VERSUS CAR

Woman who died in head-on collision ID'd

A woman who died Monday on state Route 604 after her car collided head-on with a big rig has been identified as Dora Mundaca, 26, of Las Vegas, the coroner's office reported Tuesday.

She was driving north on Route 604 in a 2008 Pontiac Vibe when her vehicle crossed the center line into the southbound lane in front of the big rig, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.

Mundaca was not wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene, the patrol said. The accident occurred just north of Sloan, about 20 miles southwest of Las Vegas.