Wednesday, March 20, 2013

NEVEDA - BC Police Chief Files Ethics Complaint Against City Officials

OFF THE WIRE
By George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter
LAS VEGAS -- The chief of police in Boulder City unloaded on city officials Tuesday, filing a series of scathing ethics complaints which accused city officials of violating their own charter.
Chief Thomas Finn has been on medical leave since January and is embroiled in a lawsuit with a lawyer who represents the Mongols Motorcycle Club.
Finn's attorney, Sean Flanagan, filed court documents which allege city officials conspired to get rid of Finn. In a separate filing with the federal EEOC, Finn says he was targeted in part because of his Catholic religion.
But the most explosive allegations came Tuesday in four separate ethics complaints filed with the Attorney General's Office, accusing Boulder City's Mayor Roger Tobler, Councilman Cam Walker, and City Manager David Fraser of a long list of illegal behavior.
Finn told the I-Team he will not allow his name to be smeared.
"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," Finn said.
Finn has served as police chief for seven years. Tensions between he and other city leaders came to a head last summer when hundreds of members of the Mongols motorcycle gang came to town for an event.
City council members were angered by some of the enforcement actions Finn took to prevent trouble.