Boulder City officials relying on prosecutors to get to the bottom of shelter scandal

BOULDER CITY — Boulder City officials are relying on prosecutors to not only pursue a criminal case against the city's former head of animal control in connection with the deaths of dozens of animals, but also to find out whether the head of police covered it up.

The city has been embroiled in scandal since it came to light in December that then-Police Chief Bill Conger had dropped a criminal case against former animal control supervisor Mary Jo Frazier in April 2015.

The decision to let Frazier retire outraged the public. Under pressure, the city changed course and sent the case to the Clark County district attorney's office, which is reviewing the case.

Conger said on Dec. 1 he didn't pursue a case against Frazier because she resigned right after the investigation concluded.

"People get in trouble and resign all the time," he said. He also said he didn't feel the case against Frazier would stick, noting he'd talked with City Attorney David Olsen about the case. Olsen has said that conversation didn't happen.

Conger made his own quick exit last week after members of the police force went to the human resources department to report that he was lying about when his staff first raised the alarm about Frazier.

Conger has contended that he launched an investigation into Frazier as soon as he found out about allegations against Frazier.

But according to a source with knowledge of the district attorney's investigation, Ann Inabnitt, who was promoted to animal control supervisor after Frazier left, gave a statement to prosecutors that she went to Conger a year before any action was taken.

Conger's departure was so unexpected, City Manager David Fraser found out about it from a reporter.

On Monday, Conger hung up on a reporter who called to ask about his resignation.

Mayor Rod Woodbury refused to talk about whether he was worried that Conger had lied to the public and the city because he didn't have personal knowledge of the allegations. He doesn't have plans to seek out his own information.

"I am personally not going to get personal knowledge. The (district attorney's) investigation is ongoing," Woodbury said.

Residents have been critical that it took protesters storming the police department for action to be taken. Melinda Bartell said at the Dec. 3 protest that she felt the mayor was letting protesters do the "due diligence" he should be doing as an elected official. Bartell said then that she would like the city to dig into how this happened, perhaps by using a third-party investigator.

Woodbury said everything would come out with the district attorney's investigation. But the district attorney's investigation is limited to the question of whether Frazier should be prosecuted for committing felony crimes against animals.

When a reporter noted this and asked whether the city should do its own investigation, Woodbury said there was nothing to investigate.

City Manager David Fraser also refused to comment on whether he was concerned about allegations that Conger lied about when he found out about Frazier, saying it was part of the district attorney's case. He gave the same reasoning when asked about whether he was concerned that the city may have given a false statement to the media.

The Review-Journal asked newly hired city spokesman JC Davis on Jan. 5 when Conger first received a complaint about Frazier from Inabnitt, who blew the whistle on Frazier.

Davis sent the Review-Journal a statement on Jan. 6 saying Inabnitt first reported Frazier in April 2015 and that no complaints had been raised about Frazier before that.

Davis said he created the statement after consulting with Conger and it didn't occur to him to consult with Inabnitt or the detective who handled the dropped case. Davis said city management told him to talk to Conger for the statement and that when the statement was sent it was believed to be accurate.

Davis said he was very concerned that he may have sent out inaccurate information.

The Review-Journal requested to speak to the detective who handed the case as well as Inabnitt. Fraser denied the request. Fraser said he had consulted with Olsen and was advised it would not be wise to make them available considering the pending criminal case.

Stacia Newman, president of Nevada Political Action for Animals, said she was disturbed that the public wasn't getting information about how events related to the shelter scandal had unfolded.

"The public is really concerned that if they are concealing this, and covering it up, and won't be straightforward with the public, what else have they concealed? I'm getting quite a few of those calls." Newman said. "It just seems like a well-orchestrated cover up. I mean what else can you say?"

Conger has been with the city since March 2013. He's a contractual employee. The arrangement to keep him in charge but not on staff was brokered so he could keep collecting his retirement. Conger retired as Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's deputy chief in 2005, according to the Boulder City Review.

Sgt. John Glenn has been appointed acting police chief, and a search for Conger's replacement should begin sometime next week, according to Davis.

The Review-Journal has been unable to reach Frazier, who sold her home shortly after she quit and is believed to have left the state. Frazier disabled her Facebook page after the Review-Journal's story ran in December. Photos on her page dated in November showed her with a dachshund named Sierra.

— Contact Bethany Barnes at bbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Find her on Twitter: @betsbarnes