Lawyer accuses police over cellphone seizures in courthouse scam

A defense lawyer filed court papers Thursday seeking to unseal a police affidavit that supported the court-authorized seizure of cellphones from three defendants minutes after they had pleaded not guilty in a high-profile criminal case.

The phones were taken Wednesday morning outside the courtroom of District Judge Jessie Walsh from defense lawyer Brian Bloomfield, 36, juvenile probation officer Robert Chiodini, 41, and former counseling service owner Steven Brox, 46.

All three men, who are free on bail, are named in a 52-count indictment alleging they carried out a scam that provided prostitutes and other defendants with phony certificates of completion for court-ordered counseling and community service.

Brox's lawyer, Robert Draskovich, accused police in the court papers of "engaging in random fishing expeditions for evidence and then hiding behind a court-ordered seal."

Draskovich said Brox has a due process right to know what probable cause was offered by Las Vegas police to obtain his cellphone.

"Defendant Brox requests that the state make the good cause known to the defense, as fairness and due process demand as much," Draskovich said.

Draskovich also said he is concerned that police may have been able to obtain unwarranted attorney-client communications between him and Brox.

Prosecutors blocked an effort by Draskovich two years ago to obtain another sealed police affidavit in the case.

The affidavit seeking the cellphones was written by Detective Aaron Stanton of the Criminal Intelligence Section of the Metropolitan Police Department. The warrants were signed by District Judge Timothy Williams.

Brox and his co-defendants face a variety of felony and gross misdemeanor charges, including forgery, conspiracy to commit a crime and offering a false instrument for filing or record. The crimes linked to the phony certificates scam are alleged to have occurred between February 2008 and May 2010.

Bloomfield, who represented the prostitutes and the other defendants, is the central figure in the scheme, according to the indictment and courthouse sources. He is charged in all 52 counts.

Brox's former company, United States Justice Associates, was well-known at the Regional Justice Center, especially at Las Vegas Justice Court, where its counseling services primarily were offered at the time of sentencing in mainly misdemeanor cases.

Chiodini has worked as a juvenile probation officer for Clark County since May 2001.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.