NEW VEGAS SILENCED 22 UPDATE
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NEW VEGAS SILENCED 22 SERIES

After covering the city for nearly 15 years, Ellestad ceased publication earlier this year, citing threats she blamed on the police union.

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One of few reporters covering Mesquite full time during last yearвЂ™s election, Ellestad had a front-row seat to the immediate effects of the mailers, much of which played out publicly in Mesquite City Council meetings and on social media. 1 over the phone, according to phone and email records she saved. She spoke with the detectives for a couple of hours at her Mesquite home two days later and again on Sept. вЂњThe story you did, they say thatвЂ™s where they got the idea to look into this,вЂќ Ellestad told a Review-Journal reporter on Thursday, emphasizing that they had contacted her first. 17, Ellestad said, two detectives reached out to her, asking if she would be willing to help them вЂњfigure out the spider web of informationвЂќ surrounding the election and the mailers. Retired journalist Barbara Ellestad, publisher of the now-shuttered Mesquite Citizen Journal, is among those who have been interviewed about the political mailers. Those resources included on-the-job knowledge police had obtained through their work for the city.

Emails previously obtained by the Review-Journal showed that a draft of one of the letters was sent to Mesquite police Chief Maquade Chesley, who then forwarded the draft to Councilman George Gault for his review.ДЄ third-party investigation later found that city resources were used in the creation and editing of the mailers. In the mailers, sent on Mesquite Police Officers Association letterhead, union officials outlined the case involving Tobler, which they believed Sweetin had wrongly prosecuted years earlier. On Thursday night, Litman told the Review-Journal in an email, вЂњI know nothing about this.вЂќ The witnesses said the detectivesвЂ™ questions focused on whether city and police officials вЂњbroke anti-corruption lawsвЂќ during the election, in which MesquiteвЂ™s longtime mayor faced a challenge from then-City Attorney Bob Sweetin. Metro is in a position to help set a standard in respecting victims and their stories.вЂќ We deserve someone in a position of power to stand up for us. In reaction to news of MetroвЂ™s investigation, Tobler told the Review-Journal on Thursday, вЂњI just want to reiterate that other victims are watching all of this unfold and, time after time, are being shut down, silenced and told to just move on. The unit investigates public corruption throughout Clark County, including the cases of a disgraced former Henderson constable who was convicted of fraud in 2019 and a $1.3 million bribery scheme that involved a former chief hydrologist for the Virgin Valley Water District in Mesquite. Within weeks of the storyвЂ™s publication, at least two witnesses were contacted by Metro detectives who work under the umbrella of the agencyвЂ™s criminal intelligence section. ToblerвЂ™s experience, as well as the actions of those involved in the distribution of the mailers, was detailed in a Review-Journal story in August. Though the letters did not name the accuser, Kylee Tobler, the information disclosed about the case ultimately led to her identification throughout the community. The political mailers, which urged the re-election of Mayor Allen Litman, included details of an alleged sexual assault that involved a then-16-year-old girl.

I decided at that point to contact the RJ to get the story out because it is vitally important to the community that the investigation continues.вЂќ

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Part of the update involved the fact that forces outside his control were stalling the investigation. One witness, who was granted anonymity to prevent retaliation against him, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal: вЂњOne of the detectives approached me a couple of weeks ago to give me an update. In an email on Thursday, the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed that an investigation was not active but did not release further details.

NEW VEGAS SILENCED 22 SERIES

(Las Vegas Review-Journal, File)Дetectives who investigate public corruption for the stateвЂ™s largest police department have questioned witnesses about a series of controversial political mailers distributed by Mesquite officials during last yearвЂ™s mayoral election.Д«ut the investigation has been вЂњstalled,вЂќ according to the witnesses. An aerial view of Mesquite, seen in January 2018.

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