Ex-officer challenging firing, union

A former North Las Vegas officer accused of money laundering and lying to the FBI is embroiled in a long-running legal battle with the North Las Vegas police union over whether the union should have represented him when he was fired.

Ricardo Bonvicin, a former chief marshal of the North Las Vegas Municipal Court, believes he's entitled to support from the North Las Vegas police union as well as back pay. So far, he has an ally in the state's employment board, which supported his claims.

Bonvicin's attorney, Adam Levine, says his client is not taking up this fight just for himself, but "for every other member of law enforcement."

The city of North Las Vegas fired Bonvicin in 2006 after the Police Department's Internal Affairs bureau looked into accusations of misconduct. Bonvicin challenged his dismissal, saying among other things that he should have been represented by the police union.

The state's employee relations board agreed with him and ordered the union to pay about $28,000 in legal fees, represent him in his dispute over his firing and consider awarding him back pay.

The union and the state are now in a battle in District Court. The union disagrees with the state's decision and wants District Judge Jennifer Togliatti to review it.

In June 2007, the U.S. attorney's office announced that a federal grand jury indicted Bonvicin on six counts of money laundering and one count of giving false statements to FBI agents. It stated that Bonvicin had laundered about $40,000 that he knew was obtained through cheating at video poker and then lied to FBI agents during their investigation.

The indictment alleges that a source working with the FBI contacted Bonvicin with a plan to make some extra cash. The source told Bonvicin that he had cash he received through cheating at video poker and needed someone to launder it.

The source gave Bonvicin $10,000 in cash and Bonvicin turned around and converted the money into a cashier's check for $8,500, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Bonvicin then gave the cashier's check to the source while keeping $1,500 for himself, federal prosecutors state. Prosecutors allege Bonvicin did this four times in 2005 and 2006.

FBI agents arrested Bonvicin on June 22, 2007. He appeared before a federal magistrate and pleaded not guilty to all the charges. He was released on his own recognizance.

While the case is pending in federal court, the union and Bonvicin continue to be at odds.

"The union's position is that we do not, nor have we ever, represented any appointed personnel in our city. They are not covered by our collective bargaining agreement," said Terrence McAllister, president of the North Las Vegas police union.

Bonvicin was appointed chief marshal.

Levine said the clash is really about the union's refusal to represent one of its own.

"This fight is larger than the individual circumstances surrounding Mr Bonvicin's case," Levine said. "Mr. Bonvicin made it very clear to the union that all he wanted them to do was protect his rights. The union deliberately refused to protect his rights."

But the attorney representing the union, Jeffrey Allen, said the union wasn't obligated to represent Bonvicin.

"It's very hard to get rid of a government employee. And certainly Bonvicin's case illustrates that," he said.

Bonvicin was a 15-year veteran with the Police Department. He started as a corrections officer and moved up the ranks, becoming a sergeant and then a lieutenant.

In January 2006, he was appointed chief marshal for the North Las Vegas Municipal Court. The union claims that position isn't covered by its employee contract.

Soon after he was appointed, the FBI told municipal court officials that Bonvicin was laundering money in a slot machine scam, according to court documents. On April 4, 2006, the court gave Bonvicin a choice to resign or be fired. He resigned. But 12 days later, Bonvicin withdrew his resignation and was placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.

Here's where Bonvicin claim that he deserves representation comes up: During the internal affairs investigation, Bonvicin asked then-police chief Mark Paresi to reinstate him in his old job as a lieutenant.

Under a section of the union contract commonly called the "Ed Brown clause," an officer can be reinstated to a former position if they are removed from their new job for something other than wrongdoing.

Ed Brown was one of two deputy chiefs of detention for North Las Vegas police in the late 1990s. When one of the positions was eliminated, he had nowhere to go despite his long years of service. Brown eventually was made a detective on a day shift.

McAllister, the union president, says Brown's situation was different because, unlike Bonvicin, Brown wasn't facing accusations of wrongdoing.

Paresi denied Bonvicin's request to be reassigned a lieutenant. He stated in a letter that Bonvicin's position as the chief marshal wasn't being eliminated; rather, Bonvicin was placed on leave because of the investigation into serious misconduct.

The internal affairs investigation eventually found that Bonvicin's misconduct violated city and Police Department policies, court documents state. On Aug. 3, 2006, City Manager Gregory Rose sent Bonvicin a letter telling him he was fired.

Bonvicin, however, filed several grievances with the union starting in June 2006. He claimed, among other things, that he should have been reassigned as a lieutenant and that the union should have represented him in his fight over his firing. Bonvicin and his lawyers then began to try and work out the issue.

Ultimately, Bonvicin's employment dispute was heard by the state's Employee Management Relations Review Board. The board sided with Bonvicin.

In its April decision, the board stated that the union should have represented Bonvicin in the dispute over his firing. Claiming Bonvicin was no longer covered by the union's contract was "illogical," the board stated.

"The purpose of (the Ed Brown clause) was to protect individuals formerly covered by the (contract) but who were promoted and now desired to return to the former positions," it stated in its ruling. "The (union) breached its duty to fairly represent Bonvicin in the rights guaranteed to him."

The union filed its request in May for Togliatti to review the board's ruling.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara @reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.