Corrections officials’ battle against agency finally going to trial

It was the eve of trial, and Samuel Covelli sounded exhausted, as if he barely believed he had made it.

He thought of his friend John Richardson, "a really good guy," who died without having the opportunity to vindicate himself. He talked about Loren Chapulin, who still works for the state and "can't be blamed" for deciding to settle.

Covelli thought of the "Nevada Nine" who fell by the wayside in the protracted litigation that pits former pro-union corrections officers at High Desert State Prison against the Nevada Department of Corrections and its wardens, who are accused of punishing efforts to unionize.

The trial of Covelli, Mark Clarke and Kevin Ranft vs. the state of Nevada begins today in U.S. District Judge Philip Pro's courtroom. It's a long time coming.

Having followed the courts in Southern Nevada nearly 25 years, I am always left wondering whether much justice is even possible after such protracted litigation.

Speaking of attrition, most of those officials accused denying the employees their free speech, due process and free association rights, along with creating a hostile work environment, have retired from their state jobs.

One is longtime Department of Corrections Director Jackie Crawford. Others no longer with the state include High Desert Warden James Schomig and Associate Warden Charles McBurney. They are accused of creating a hostile work environment and retaliation against the members of the State of Nevada Employees Association, an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Covelli said Monday he took pride in his law enforcement career, but "once Mr. Schomig and his cronies showed up, the whole thing turned into a real mess."

Those who tried to speak out and organize found themselves targeted by their superiors, the plaintiffs allege. Some were ostracized. As president of SNEA in 2002, Covelli said he was accused of improprieties involving the prison's property room.

"They took jewelry out of the vault, put it on my desk and took pictures of it," Covelli said, adding that he was offered a promotion in exchange for his cooperation with the director on a budget matter, but he declined.

He was placed on administrative leave for two years and retired in September 2004.

Still the fight went on.

Attorneys for the state and the current and former officials have adamantly defended their position that the supervisors were within their rights when they disciplined the employees.

Corrections Department critics have called some of the union's tactics bullying and unethical.

Civil rights litigator Andy Boles represents the defendants.

"We're trying to get the right thing done," Boles said. "The Department of Corrections went after union activists in the strongest of all the institutions, High Desert State Prison. Overnight they removed the 'Nevada Nine' from the prison and placed them on administrative leave. In fact, it was for the purpose of castrating the union. After that, most of the union members went away. It did have a profound effect on the people who were standing up for their rights. Not only for the staff but also for the inmates, whose safety was also put at risk."

During an interview, Covelli sounded like he was tired of fighting. He turns 61 next week and has seen the case consume much of his life. It continues to dredge up a lot of unpleasant memories.

Then he said, "I went into the law enforcement business originally because I believe in our system of justice. I truly believe justice delayed is justice denied. For seven years they've tried every trick in the book to delay it.

"Hopefully, we'll finally get some justice in this matter."

After so many years, let's hope more than the residue of justice remains.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.