Grand jury hears evidence in forged documents case

A Clark County grand jury began hearing evidence Wednesday into allegations another defense lawyer forged court documents in misdemeanor cases involving prostitutes.

Las Vegas police raided the home and law office of the lawyer, Vicki Greco, in July seeking evidence that she filed phony certificates of completion for Las Vegas Justice Court-ordered counseling and community service on behalf of 39 clients between 2008 and 2010.

The investigation is tied to the long-running criminal case against suspended defense lawyer Brian Bloomfield, who was charged with doing the same for his clients, mostly prostitutes, over the same period.

Bloomfield pleaded guilty to felony and gross misdemeanor charges in the counseling scheme in December 2013 and is waiting to be sentenced. He admitted filing or helping file forged records in 91 cases that falsely claimed a client had completed counseling or community service. He also admitted having client files destroyed to cover his actions.

Greco, a member of the Nevada bar since September 2003, declined comment Wednesday.

But her lawyer, Garry Modafferi, said he was not surprised by the grand jury proceedings.

"You've got a lot of people caught up in this mess and it's going to play out over time," Modafferi said. "They're making it seem like she's the last figure in this scheme, and everybody's pointing a finger at her to cut their criminal responsibility."

The proceedings got underway about 8:30 a.m. after the prosecutor and the lead detective in the investigation, Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo and Aaron Stanton, showed up outside the grand jury room. A half-dozen witnesses were congregating.

Minutes later, DiGiacomo began calling the witnesses one-by-one into the grand jury room to testify.

In July detectives sought correspondence between Greco and Bloomfield related to the 39 clients, according to copies of the search warrants obtained by the Review-Journal.

Police also searched for correspondence and records of financial transactions between Greco and former juvenile probation officer Robert Chiodini, who was charged with Bloomfield in 2011.

Chiodini, who pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors, is also waiting to be sentenced. He spent about a half-hour testifying before the grand jury Wednesday.

Chiodini was accused of helping Bloomfield obtain phony certificates of completion showing community service for a youth boxing organization that Chiodini owned.

Detectives searched Greco's client files for certificates of completion from Chiodini's Genesis Center.

According to the search warrants, detectives also sought tax returns for Greco and her law firm for 2007 through 2010. Police left Greco's law office with her computer server and found client files at a rented storage unit.

In December 2011, Bloomfield, Chiodini and former counseling service owner Steven Brox were charged in a county indictment with carrying out the courthouse scheme as far back as 2008.

Bloomfield's now-estranged wife, Amber McDearmon, and former bail bondsman Thomas Jaskol were subsequently indicted, with added charges that they conspired with Bloomfield to destroy evidence.

The other defendants eventually all pleaded guilty.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find him on Twitter: @JGermanRJ