Former Las Vegas mayor, ‘Real Water’ president wrote letters supporting Michele Fiore

As Michele Fiore approached her federal sentencing, a diverse group of people wrote letters praising her character, honesty and good works.

Supporters included a former Las Vegas mayor, a man who spent decades in prison for a 1974 murder before being exonerated and the president of Real Water, the bottled water company linked to a liver failure outbreak and multiple deaths, court records show.

Fiore, a former Las Vegas councilwoman, was found guilty of conspiracy and wire fraud charges by a federal jury in October.

Federal prosecutors said she raised tens of thousands of dollars for a statue honoring Metropolitan Police Department officer Alyn Beck, who was shot and killed with his partner in 2014. Fiore then spent the donations on personal expenses: rent, plastic surgery and her daughter’s wedding, prosecutors said.

The statue was built, but it was paid for by developer Olympia Companies, according to trial testimony.

Fiore was pardoned by President Donald Trump on April 23, as she approached a May 14 sentencing date. She is fighting her suspension from her position as a Pahrump justice of the peace in the Nevada Supreme Court.

The letters of support were filed earlier this month as part of Fiore’s Supreme Court case. Many were addressed to U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey, who would have sentenced her.

“I think she’s done a lot of really great things and there’s a lot of people who know that about her,” said her attorney, Paola Armeni, explaining why many people wrote in support of Fiore.

Real Water president’s note

Former Assemblyman Brent Jones said in a Feb. 16 letter that he hired Fiore to be a consultant and was in the legislature with her. Jones has also served as president of Real Water.

It’s unclear if Fiore acted as a consultant for Real Water.

Armeni said she never asked whether Fiore worked for the company. “I didn’t think it was relevant,” she said. She said it was unfair to focus on the Jones letter.

Fiore would not answer questions about whether she worked for Real Water.

“When a journalist reduce (sic) hundreds of pages of evidence and mass letters of support to a single cherry picked talking point, that’s not reporting, it’s malpractice,” she wrote in a text message. “(I)f your aim is headlines over truth then there’s really nothing left to discuss.”

Will Kemp, a lawyer who has represented many Real Water plaintiffs, said he has seen no indication Fiore was employed by the company.

Jones praised Fiore’s character.

“In all the time I have known her, I have witnessed her on many, many occasions stand up against corruption, consistently take the high road and not violate her integrity, always look out for the best interests of others and the State of Nevada, sometimes at her personal expense, and always exercise complete and total honesty, even when under attack,” he wrote.

Jones added: “I believe her to be an excellent citizen, the type we need more of as our nation and State of Nevada moves forward during these challenging times.”

He and attorneys who have defended Real Water did not respond to requests for comment.

Kemp said Jones was a “hands-off” leader. Jones’ letter bore an address in Texas, where he filed for bankruptcy in 2022.

“I really haven’t seen him putting himself too much into the public eye since he filed the bankruptcy down there,” said Kemp.

‘Some accounting discrepancies occurred’

Some letters alluded to the scheme at the center of Fiore’s criminal case.

Former Mayor Jan Jones Blackhurst wrote in a Feb. 25 letter to Dorsey that she “admired (Fiore’s) strength, wisdom and tenacity towards doing the right thing for her constituents and her community.”

“Although it is apparent that some accounting discrepancies occurred, I do not believe Michele ever would have let that happen with mal intent,” Blackhurst added. “I see no justice being served by sentencing her to more than probation or community service. Michele is a woman of honor who has served her constituents well.”

Blackhurst said in a phone interview that she worked with Fiore on different boards and believed Fiore is “essentially a good person.”

Multiple letter writers also applauded Fiore for her honesty and good deeds.

“I am not aware of her ever misleading or taking unfair advantage of any person,” said attorney Erven Nelson, who served in the Nevada Assembly with Fiore, in a March 7 letter to Dorsey. “If Michele did anything she was accused of in this case, it was out of character for her.”

Former Nevada Assemblyman John Moore told Dorsey in a letter that Fiore helped him arrange an air ambulance so his wife could fly to Phoenix for brain surgery.

“My wife is alive today because of the kind actions and guidance of Michele,” he said.

‘Learned her lesson’

Fiore has remained defiant in public statements, saying that she “endured relentless persecution by a federal machine determined to break” her and describing herself as a “vindicated soul.”

Attorney Warren Markowitz predicted in his pre-pardon letter that Fiore’s “conviction itself is the Scarlet Letter that will forever mark her” and said she “will likely never get back into politics.”

“She has learned her lesson, and will forever have to reflect on it,” Markowitz added. “Of this I am certain.”

In a phone interview, Markowitz said he believes Fiore’s case could have been brought as “an act of political vengeance.” He represented Todd Engel, one of the defendants in the Bundy standoff case, at his sentencing.

Fiore’s attorneys have claimed she was vindictively prosecuted for her involvement in the Bundy case.

Jeff Waufle, who worked for Fiore at the city, said he “heard the remorse and sorrow in (Fiore’s) voice for committing these acts.”

“Even though I have witnessed several acts of virtuous intent from Michele, this has been a sobering, hard lesson for her,” Waufle wrote in a note to Dorsey. “In private conversations I have seen a change in her attitude and acceptance of this error. I believe she has accepted the facts and this lapse in judgement will not be repeated.”

Waufle said he was in Italy and unavailable for an interview. Despite his letter, he wrote in a text that he “knew firsthand that the charges were false.”

Armeni said the comment about Fiore accepting error did not mean she acted criminally. The accounting could have been better, but “I think she had zero criminal intent to do anything,” the attorney said.

One of Fiore’s advocates also had personal experience with the legal system.

Frank LaPena spent decades in prison in connection with the 1974 killing of a Caesars Palace executive’s wife. He was released after multiple trials and a commutation.

He received a pardon from the state pardons board in 2019. A judge granted a certificate of innocence for him and the state agreed to pay him almost $2 million.

LaPena told Dorsey that Fiore “is not a threat to the community and is worthy of grace.”

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.