Republican Michele Fiore, who is running for the next Silver State Treasurer in November, said incumbent Zach Conine secretly ran a “questionable” private business from “the same office where Nevada’s public funds are controlled.” accused of running
In a statement released Friday morning, Fiore said, “By providing his political opponents, myself and the people of Nevada, with an explanation for this questionable and unfair action that took place outside the bounds of law, Conine will continue to do so. I look forward to seeing you correct this omission.
What is the business in question? Nevada Capital Investment Corporation — A governmental agency under the Accounting Firm, Conine, as Treasurer, is required by state law to chair the board of directors of a seven-member public body.
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If Fiore beats Conine in the November midterm elections, the law will require her to sit on the same committee.
NCIC is an equity fund that uses a portion of non-taxpayer dollars from the state’s permanent school fund to invest in Nevada’s education and businesses. The Nevada legislature was established ten years ago after he passed Senate Bill 75, which was signed into law by the then-government in June 2011. Brian Sandoval.
Fiore’s campaign did not react immediately when the Reno Gazette-Journal on Friday presented further information about NCIC’s role in the accounting firm.
Conine answers
In a statement to the Reno Gazette-Journal, Conine’s campaign called Fiore’s accusations “ridiculous.”
“Michele Fiore is the most comprehensively ill-qualified leading party candidate for constitutional office in Nevada history,” the statement continued, adding, “She can’t even comprehend the job she wants Nevadans to do.” Instead, it emphasizes that sad truth.”
Fiore’s allegations made public by her campaign were prompted by an election integrity violation report against Conine filed with the Nevada Secretary of State’s office earlier this week.
A privately-filed report accuses Conine of failing to disclose NCIC as one of his businesses on his annual candidate financial disclosure form in 2020. Complaint. )
The complaint comes after former Las Vegas City Councilman Ricky Barlow stepped down in July 2020 and pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds. campaigns filed similar complaints against Fiore less than two weeks later.
Their business venture was never publicly announced, and Fiore’s campaign said she “never made a profit from it.”
But the complaints are just the latest financial troubles to surface in Fiore’s decade-long Nevada political career, most recently following IRS troubles and an FBI investigation into her campaign finances. It is
Fiore’s Financial Situation Spurs FBI Investigation
In late 2014, Fiore found herself under scrutiny after news reports surfaced that the IRS had filed a lien over $1 million against her and her home health care business. Some of these liens date back to her 2003.
However, records show that since 2012, when Fiore was elected to the Nevada legislature, he has never listed the IRS as a creditor on his financial disclosure forms.
State law requires candidates or elected officials to list debts of $5,000 or more on financial disclosure forms, excluding mortgages and personal auto loans.
more:Fiore’s career has been marked by IRS issues and FBI investigations. She still wants to be a treasurer in Nevada.
Fiore, now a Las Vegas City Councilman, came under attack again after the FBI opened an investigation into her campaign finance. Las Vegas Review Journal.
As part of that investigation, the FBI raided Fiore’s home in northwest Las Vegas in January 2021. In the months that followed, the FBI served Fiore with subpoenas for documents on her campaign and the Political Action Committee, Future of the Nevadans, and openly interrogated her witnesses. At Las Vegas City Hall last July.
Nevada voters will choose their next treasurer in the November 8 general election.
Rio Lacanlale is the Las Vegas correspondent for the Reno Gazette Journal and the USA Today Network. Contact her at [email protected] or on her Twitter. @riolacanlaleRegister with RGJ today to support local journalism.