Nye County district attorney to resign in plea deal

PAHRUMP -- Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett has agreed to leave office two months early and undergo alcohol counseling as part of a plea agreement unveiled in Justice Court on Friday.

The four-term incumbent pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of obstructing a public officer, but the charge will be dismissed if he resigns as promised on Nov. 1 and completes counseling.

After Friday's hearing, Beckett said he has already enrolled in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Asked about his resignation, he said he gave notice about a month ago that he planned to retire early, but he would not specify to whom that notice was given. He declined further comment.

Beckett still faces a misdemeanor drunken driving charge after he was found passed out behind the wheel of a county vehicle on a remote Pahrump street on Sept. 7.

The obstruction charge dates back to May 5, when he was booked for embezzlement and other crimes in connection with a bank account his office established more than a decade ago to collect restitution payments from people accused of writing bad checks.

Beckett responded to those allegations with 27 charges of his own, many of them felonies, which he brought against the county sheriff's office detective who arrested him.

Those charges were dismissed last week.

The plea agreement for Beckett was worked out by his attorney, Thomas Pitaro, and Peter S. Christiansen, the special prosecutor assigned to the case.

Christiansen declined comment after the hearing.

Sheriff Tony DeMeo had plenty to say about Beckett and the deal he got.

He said those who believe that people of a certain status receive preferential treatment from courts now have this case to point to as "the poster child."

"It's sad after what he made the people live through to end up with misdemeanor obstruction of justice," the sheriff said. "It's wrong. In my opinion, it's wrong."

DeMeo said he will be glad to see Beckett step down, but he thinks it should have happened "a while ago."

In the end, DeMeo said, Beckett didn't even apologize for his actions. The only statement the longtime prosecutor made in court was that he understood the terms of his plea.

The courtroom was filled with spectators, including Nye County District Judge Robert Lane, DeMeo and a host of his officers. Also in the audience was district attorney candidate Ron Kent, who spent years as Beckett's chief deputy prosecutor but was fired shortly after announcing his candidacy.

North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Stephen Dahl presided over the hearing because Pahrump Justice of the Peace Tina Brisebill disqualified herself from the case.

Beckett finished last out of five candidates in the June 8 primary election and was due to leave office when his replacement is sworn in at the beginning of next year. By leaving Nov. 1, he will forgo about $20,000 in salary and benefits.

It's unclear how his post will be filled during the last two months of the year.

Beckett made headlines in 2008 when he crashed two vehicles, one of them a county-owned SUV, six hours apart on the same desert highway in California.

He was arrested for drunken driving after the second accident, but he eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and agreed to undergo counseling on the dangers of alcohol and driving.

According to court records, he is still on probation in California.

Under the terms of that probation, he is prohibited from violating any law or driving a motor vehicle with any measurable blood-alcohol level.

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.