OFF THE WIRE
agingrebel.com
In hindsight, Boulder City, Nevada Police Chief Thomas Finn probably should
have just bought the Mongols a couple rounds of drinks when they held their
national run in his city last June. Instead Finn decided to bully the club out
of town as flagrantly as possible so its members would never come back.
Before the club arrived, Finn wrote Municipal Court Judge Victor Miller and
City Attorney Dave Olsen that, “There will be several dozen law enforcement
agencies working in BC this weekend for the Mongols event. We are taking a zero
tolerance approach with them and all the agencies will be citing them into our
municipal court of ordinance violations, traffic violations and other
misdemeanors. Is there a specific date you want us to use for a court
appearance?
“Also, as part of our zero tolerance approach, all the law enforcement
agencies have asked if our court and prosecutor would consider ‘no deals’ when
the misdemeanors are adjudicated. Doing so would make it clear to the ‘Mongol
Miscreants’ that Boulder City does not tolerate bad behavior.”
A few days later Finn told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “They came
and they went and good riddance. I hope they never come back.”
Now Finn has come and will soon be gone and will never come back. Finn will
be fired next month. He may be out of a job as soon as April 16.
Stephen Stubbs
Finn has lost confrontation after confrontation with a lawyer named Stephen
“Bowtie” Stubbs. About the time the Mongols came to town Stubbs filed a federal
civil rights lawsuit on behalf of the Southern Nevada Confederation of Clubs
that alleged numerous incidents of illegal police harassment of bikers in Clark
County. The suit says the bikers “were willfully, maliciously, and intentionally
prevented from associating and/or assembling without justification or compelling
state interest as a result of their status as a motorcycle club or motorcycle
club member.” Damages in the suit could amount to millions. Stubbs also
represented the Mongols during their visit to Boulder City. Stubbs thought the
welcome Finn extended to the black and white club epitomized what his lawsuit
was about.
Apparently, Finn thought he could just stonewall and bully Stubbs into
submission. Instead Stubbs accused Finn of several crimes including destroying
evidence. Finn sued Stubbs and several other critics and quickly lost. In the
meantime, as a gun control debate engrossed the national media, an audit
discovered that Finn’s department had lost an AR-15.
Finn
On January 16, the day after Finn lost his defamation lawsuit against Stubbs,
he went on medical leave because the stress of being disobeyed raised his blood
pressure to dangerous levels. He now owes Stubbs $17,000 and Stubbs is already
garnishing his pay. Finn also sued a Boulder City officer named Dan Jennings and
he now owes Jennings $6,000. Another officer named Doug Beekman has filed an age
discrimination complaint against the soon to be former Boulder City Chief. Finn
can afford to pay his debts. His annual salary amounts to $146,848. His benefits
package is worth $38,308 so his total annual compensation is more than $185,000.
Finn has held the job since 2006.
Finn is still complaining that he has been treated unfairly. He filed a
complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in which he
claims he has been treated unfairly because he is Catholic. Yesterday he filed
four ethics complaints with the Nevada Attorney General accusing Boulder City’s
Mayor, the City Manager and a City Councilman of illegal behavior.
He told the CBS affiliate in Las Vegas, KLAS, “I’ve got 35
years without a verbal reprimand, no discipline in my file. I’ve never been
charged with doing anything illegal, not even a policy violation. For them to
now destroy my reputation in this way, and take pleasure in doing so, I’m just
standing up. I am not going to let that happen.”
New Guy
Finn will probably file another suit against Boulder City when he is
officially fired. The city can’t legally get rid of him until April 16 after
Finn’s medical leave ends. But last week the city did hire his replacement.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Chief Bill Conger is now the
Boulder City acting police chief. He may or may not be a nicer cop than Finn but
he must be smarter. City Manager David Fraser announced Conger’s appointment,
saying “He will exercise the full duties and authorities of chief of
police.”
You can see Finn’s interview with KLAS, preceded by an annoying
advertisement, below.
