Ex-Las Vegas Constable appears in court on domestic battery charge

Former Las Vegas Constable John Bonaventura appeared before a judge Monday on domestic battery and coercion charges.

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Pro Tem William Jansen ordered Bonaventura not to have any contact with his wife.

The charges stem from an April 17 incident in which police said the former constable grabbed his wife by the arms, pulled her hair and forced her to write him a check for $9,500.

According to a police report about the incident, the woman told officers that Bonaventura was angry at her because he felt she was trying to take their home and all his money after she found out he was having an affair.

Bonaventura’s son witnessed part of the 2:20 a.m. confrontation, telling police he saw his father grab his mother and heard him say, “Sign this check or I’ll punch you in the face,” the police report states.

Bonaventura’s mother-in-law also witnessed part of the incident and gave a written statement to police.

Both charges against Bonaventura are misdemeanors. Both can carry punishments of up to six months in jail and a fine of $1,000.

In March 2013, after numerous issues and complaints against Bonaventura and his office, the Clark County Commission unanimously voted to abolish the office.

Less than a year later, Bonaventura and the constable’s office settled a lawsuit for $415,000 with two former employees who accused Bonaventura of ordering them to lie in front of the County Commission and were then demoted when they refused.

In June, taped conversations involving Bonaventura surfaced, once again putting the departing constable at the forefront of headlines

In one of the recordings, Bonaventura was heard saying he wanted to bleed the office dry of all its assets before it was abolished. Plus he had a message for Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak.

“Right now, with everything going on, I want to spend all the money,” Bonaventura is heard saying. “You know, we’ve got $3.9 million in there. I wish I could just spend it all and then if they did eliminate the office say, ‘F—- you Sisolak, you got nothing. What happened to the money … you’re trying to get the money and guess what, what do you got? You get nothing.’ I wish I could do that somehow but you can’t spend that much money.”

Two other former employees in July accused the former constable of forcing them to give thousands of dollars worth of kick-back payments to Bonaventura.

The office was officially abolished when Bonaventura’s term expired in January. Duties of the constable’s office — such as handling evictions and serving court papers — were absorbed by Metro.

Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker