North Las Vegas police union files ethics complaint against Ward 4 councilman

North Las Vegas' police union this week fired the latest salvo in its war against Councilman Richard Cherchio.

The city's Police Officers Association on Monday sent a complaint about Cherchio to the state that alleged the councilman, who is campaigning to maintain his Ward 4 seat, committed an ethics violation by distributing a campaign flier that contained the image of a uniformed North Las Vegas police officer.

The flier "creates the impression that the men and women of the North Las Vegas Police Department support Mr. Cherchio in his campaign," the complaint said. The union has endorsed Wade Wagner, one of Cherchio's two opponents in the race.

The complaint cited a March 2009 opinion from North Las Vegas' city attorney that said pictures of police or fire personnel should be used in campaign advertising only if they are not in uniform.

Cherchio fired back on Tuesday, saying that he did nothing wrong and that the union is continuing its smear campaign against him.

"There are no ethics violations here," he said. "This is purposeful misinformation designed to discredit me. It doesn't matter, at the end of the day, whether it's true or not. It puts doubts in people's minds, and that's the union's purpose."

The flier includes a picture of Cherchio receiving an award from North Las Vegas Police Capt. Frank DeMartino for his participation in a police citizens advisory council. Cherchio said the photograph was taken at an event before he was appointed to the council in 2009 to replace Shari Buck, who was elected mayor. DeMartino gave permission to use the photo, Cherchio said.

The flier said Cherchio is "trusted by our community's finest to protect and deliver."

The union has been campaigning against Cherchio, who voted in favor of laying off corrections officers and who butted heads with union leaders during contract concession talks. The police union has joined with the city's firefighter union to go door to door against Cherchio, making political hay out of an earlier ethics complaint filed against the councilman.

The earlier complaint, which was filed by a citizen, involved Cherchio's failure to disclose several properties he owns, as required by law. That matter has been resolved by the state's Ethics Commission, which found the violation was not willful. No penalty was assessed against Cherchio.

Mike Yarter, president of the police union, admitted in January that the campaign was more about payback than about the complaint.

"We committed a few months back that if any of these City Council people were to lay off our employees or threaten to lay them off, we need to make sure the citizens are aware public safety isn't priority number one with these people," Yarter said at the time.

When asked why the unions weren't targeting the three other council members who also voted in favor of laying off corrections officers, Yarter said Cherchio "is the one coming up for election."

On Tuesday, Cherchio said he is only at fault "for trying to balance the budget for the sake" of North Las Vegas residents.

"I'm guilty of that," he said.

The Ethics Commission does not confirm that a complaint has been filed until it has been investigated and a panel has determined whether there is sufficient cause to hold a hearing. The process can take 60 or 70 days. The general election is scheduled for June 7.

When asked whether a campaign flier depicting a councilman receiving an award from a uniformed police officer would constitute a state ethics violation, Caren Jenkins, the commission's executive director, said, "Nothing's coming to mind."

It doesn't sound like such a photograph was staged to mislead the public or was posed for purposes of the campaign, she said.

"It's memorializing something that actually happened," she said. "If the officer wasn't in uniform (specifically) to support the campaign, no yellow lights are going off in my head."

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.