True survivor claws way back to position in law enforcement

Ricardo Bonvicin, a survivor if ever one existed, quietly returned to work recently as a lieutenant at the North Las Vegas Detention Center.

It was a long road back.

Bonvicin, a 15-year veteran of law enforcement and at one time the chief of the North Las Vegas Municipal Court marshal's office, won reinstatement through arbitration after the 2009 dismissal of federal money laundering charges against him.

His return to duty came after a winding criminal investigation that relied heavily on the tales of federal informant Steven Barket, stories that ended up embarrassing officials FBI and prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office.

In April 2009, a frustrated U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones had heard enough of Barket's hard-to-believe testimony and dismissed six charges of money laundering and one count of lying to an FBI agent against Bonvicin.

Although Jones stopped short of calling Bonvicin a victim, he said Barket's lack of credibility and elements of government entrapment demanded a dismissal.

Since then, Bonvicin has fought through attorney Adam Levine to return to work. The criminal case produced FBI agent "302 memos" that became public during the arbitration process. Levine said they reveal an investigation that relied far too heavily on Barket's evolving and questionable storyline.

Barket and Bonvicin were friends once. When Bonvicin pursued becoming a member of the cast of the popular television reality show "Survivor," Barket played videographer and helped create the audition tape. Barket's production showed Bonvicin in his NLVPD SWAT uniform emerging through the chaotic haze of a billowing smoke bomb.

Bonvicin didn't get the part, but Barket befriended the cop and his father-in-law, eventually borrowing thousands of dollars from them. Bonvicin's trouble began after Barket failed to repay the debts.

In various FBI memos, Barket accuses Bonvicin of being willing to steal from the police armory, of attempting to extort money, and making threats to the lives of Barket and his children. None of it proved to be true, but it all fueled an investigation that eventually morphed into those dismissed money laundering charges.

In a June 25, 2005, FBI 302, Barket accused Bonvicin of attempting to extort "between $40,000 to $50,000," to testify in a mortgage fraud lawsuit Barket was involved in, "and that he wanted a deal in place before the trial started. If (Barket) did not pay Bonvicin the money, then Bonvicin advised he would 'bury' Individual with fraudulent testimony."

Then it got worse: "Bonvicin also told Individual, 'I know that your kids come out (to Las Vegas). It would bee too bad if something happens to them while they are four-wheeling out in the middle of the desert. It's not like you'd be easy to find.' Individual believes that these statements from Bonvicin were a threat."

In February 2006, the FBI interviewed Barket's estranged wife, Nicole Sherritt, and learned more about their informant. Sherritt was so concerned with Barket's behavior that she called Bonvicin to warn him of a setup. From the 302 memo: "Bonvicin did call Sherritt back and Sherritt immediately apologized to Bonvicin about the fact that Barket was saying that Bonvicin had threatened Sherritt and her children when they were in Las Vegas. Sherritt confirmed to Bonvicin that this never happened and this was all part of Barket's false accusations."

The agent's memo casts an extremely negative light on Barket's credibility. At that point, you have to ask why the case continued to proceed to trial. Although there was evidence Bonvicin was willing to participate, at Barket's insistence, in an attempt to disguise the source of cash transactions, there's also evidence Barket did so to help get his father-in-law's loan repaid. Bonvicin even sent money to the financially strapped Sherritt.

The case went to trial in April 2009 anyway and wound up coming apart on the government, busting out a professional snitch, and pummeling the defendant. Bonvicin already had lost his job as chief of the municipal court's marshals. He would have to claw to get his old police job back.

On Jan. 5, 2011, Bonvicin won his arbitration and regained the rank of lieutenant with the NLV Police Department. In the end, he went from a wannabe "Survivor" contestant to the real deal.

"In retrospect, I think the producers of 'Survivor' missed out," attorney Levine says. "After all he has been through, Rick Bonvicin has proven he is the Ultimate Survivor."

After many years and thousands of dollars, I've learned the FBI has cut ties to Barket, who spends time these days assailing perceived enemies through Internet postings and vitriolic websites. He'll have to start surviving without receiving cash for unreliable information.

And every day Lt. Ricardo Bonvicin reports for duty at the North Las Vegas jail, he's sure to be reminded just how close he came to being one of the inmates.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.