Commissioner shrugs off charges

A Nye County commissioner accused of trying to bribe another elected official said he expects to be "completely exonerated."

Peter Liakopoulos compared the charges announced last week by the state attorney general's office to "everything else" he has had to overcome since his election to the commission in 2006.

The four-year resident of Pahrump already has survived ethics complaints and, earlier this year, a recall effort against him that failed.

Now, Liakopoulos faces felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with an alleged bribery scheme.

According to the four-count criminal complaint filed against him in Pahrump Justice Court, Liakopoulos told a member of the Pahrump Town Board he would support a half-cent sales tax increase if the board would name his wife to the unpaid position of curator for a local veterans memorial that is being developed.

"I firmly believe in the system, and I fully expect to be completely exonerated," Liakopoulos said Tuesday.

He declined to elaborate because the case is ongoing, but he said he plans to plead not guilty when he is arraigned June 23.

He faces two felony counts of bribery by a public officer, one misdemeanor count of offering reward for an appointment and one misdemeanor count of graft by a public officer.

Investigators allege Liakopoulos tried to bribe Pahrump Town Board Chairwoman Laurayne Murray, who is facing unrelated ethics charges.

On June 30, Murray will go before the Nevada Commission on Ethics to answer complaints that she took part in a closed-door bargaining session with the firefighters union though her husband is the union's local president.

Reached for comment Tuesday, Murray said the meeting in question was an informational presentation, not a bargaining session.

She added that the allegations against her were brought by someone who was not there and has no firsthand knowledge of what really occurred.

As for the allegations against Liakopoulos, Murray said investigators asked her not to discuss the case in detail because she might be called as a witness. She said she provided a statement to the Nye County sheriff's office and submitted to a lie detector test.