Attorney wants judge to suppress evidence in case against former college construction boss

William Gilbert's defense team is leaving no stone unturned in its attacks on the former state investigator who built the theft case against the former College of Southern Nevada construction boss.

In court papers filed this week, Gilbert's lawyer, John Momot, accuses the ex-investigator, Anthony Ruggiero, of gathering evidence against his client in a sloppy and reckless way. Momot insists that Gilbert committed no crimes.

The veteran defense attorney also accuses Ruggiero of misleading District Judge Jackie Glass into signing the warrants that allowed Ruggiero and other investigators with the Nevada attorney general's office to search Gilbert's Mount Charleston home.

Momot wants District Judge Donald Mosley, who is presiding over the theft case, to suppress all of the evidence Ruggiero and company obtained in two separate searches in June and October 2007.

Gilbert and three others are charged with stealing college equipment and materials to help build his Mount Charleston home.

Conrad Hafen, the chief deputy attorney general prosecuting the case, said he's confident the latest assault on Ruggiero's investigative work won't hold up in court. He said the defense has a high burden of proof in motions like this, and Mosely previously shot down similar arguments Momot raised.

The criminal case has been dragging its way through the court system for nearly two years.