Ely official in bank theft probe resigns

The husband of an assistant U.S. Attorney in Reno has resigned from the Ely City Council after being implicated in the disappearance of money from a bank where he worked, officials in Ely said.

Ely Mayor Jon Hickman said the city received Stephen Marich's letter of resignation on Monday.

The short, handwritten letter does not include an explanation for why Marich decided to quit less than seven months into his third 4-year term on the council, Hickman said.

On Dec. 23, White Pine County Sheriff Dan Watts identified Marich as the only "person of interest" after an undisclosed amount of money went missing from the First National Bank of Ely.

Watts said the investigation is in the hands of the FBI.

Marich has not been charged with a crime or named as a suspect in the theft of any money from the bank.

Watts said Marich's wife, Sudabeh Fahami, has not been implicated in any way.

Fahami is deputy chief in charge of the U.S. attorney's branch office located in Reno and previously served as White Pine County District Attorney.

Watts said he did not know how much money is missing from the federally insured bank, but one of his detectives told him the amount might exceed $30,000.

A message left for Marich on Wednesday was not immediately returned.

Hickman said city officials also have tried unsuccessfully to contact Marich.

"Nobody at City Hall has talked to him that I know of," the mayor said.

City Clerk Jim Alworth previously said that Marich missed the council's Dec. 22 meeting but was there when the council met on Dec. 10. After checking the minutes, Alworth now says Nov. 12 was the last time Marich attended a council meeting in the city of about 4,300 residents 250 miles north of Las Vegas.

The City Council is scheduled to officially accept Marich's resignation when it meets Jan. 14.