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EX-JUDGE EYES RETURN TO BENCH Six Years after Leaving Office in Disgrace, Bongiovanni is Back It's no surprise that former District Judge Gerard Bongiovanni remembers 1996 as the worst year of his life. A grand jury indicted him on federal corruption charges. His best friend turned government witness and agreed to testify against him at a highly publicized trial. His wife died of a terminal illness, leaving him to raise their two teenage children alone. And finally, amid allegations he took bribes in exchange for favorable rulings, he was voted out of office after a single term on the bench. "It was a nightmare," said Bongiovanni, who eventually was acquitted of all charges. "But I don't dwell on it. I've actually managed to forget a lot of it. There comes a time when you have to move on and concentrate on the future." Bongiovanni, 56, is hoping voters also aren't interested in dwelling on the past. Six years after his disgraceful tumble out of public office, Bongiovanni is gunning to get back on the bench. The controversial former judge is running against four other attorneys for the new District Court Department 21 judgeship. "I was acquitted, but that's not enough," he said last week at his Las Vegas law office. "I don't feel like my name was vindicated. I felt this was the only way I could get my reputation back." Competing with Bongiovanni in next month's primary election are Chief Deputy District Attorney Valerie Adair and civil attorneys Eva Guo, Ronald Israel and Leonard Root. Only the top two vote-getters advance to the Nov. 5 general election. Many local attorneys consider Adair and Israel the front-runners in the race, but neither of those candidates is willing to write off Bongiovanni. Adair and Israel say they believe the former judge has two possible advantages in the nonpartisan contest, but not because of any political or judicial issues. They say many voters will confuse Bongiovanni with District Judge Joseph Bonaventure, an immensely popular jurist who has handled several high-profile murder trials, including the Ted Binion case. "I think that's likely," Adair said. "There are so many newcomers to the state who know Bonaventure from the big trials, but weren't here when Bongiovanni was on trial." Bongiovanni says he hopes Adair's theory is correct. "That wouldn't be so bad," he said. "I'll take the votes any way I can." Bongiovanni's opponents also believe he may fare well simply because voters recognize his name from the intense media coverage of his federal trial. "But they won't remember why they know his name, just that they know it, and that could lead to votes," Israel said. In April 1996, Bongiovanni and his best friend, Paul Dottore, were charged with racketeering and wire fraud. Prosecutors claimed Bongiovanni accepted bribes in exchange for judicial favors. Dottore subsequently struck a deal with the government. As part of the plea bargain, he admitted he solicited bribes for Bongiovanni beginning as early as 1991, the first year of his judgeship. According to testimony in Bongiovanni's federal trial, authorities found $500 in the judge's back pocket during a search of his home on Oct. 17, 1995, and the bills matched money that a government information had given Dottore as a bribe payment for Bongiovanni. Bongiovanni's explanation was that Dottore was paying back money given to him during a failed lottery-company investment. Just months after his indictment, Bongiovanni lost a 1996 re-election bid after a single term. His wife, who had been bedridden with multiple sclerosis for years, died around the same time. He spent more than a year preparing for his trial. In 1998, jurors acquitted him of all 13 charges he faced. "It was overwhelming," he said. "I couldn't believe the hell I went through, and then it was suddenly all over." Bongiovanni said his case was a learning experience, one that he believes will make him a better jurist. Though he had been a member of the Nevada State Bar for more than two decades, Bongiovanni said he was largely unfamiliar with the federal court system's rules and procedures as he was assisting his attorney in his defense. "Things were happening in there (the courtroom) that made me think I missed the boat in law school," he said. "I learned a lot." He says the trial also changed the way he looks at criminal defendants. Bongiovanni said during his six years as a judge, he often believed it indicated guilt when defendants in his courtroom exhibited nervous behavior. But he often found himself extremely jittery during his trial. "And I wasn't guilty," he said. "It's a strange feeling being a defendant. Now I know, when people get nervous, it doesn't necessarily mean they've done anything wrong." After the trial, Bongiovanni returned to practicing as a private attorney. He currently works out of a small building on Paradise Road north of Sahara Avenue. It's a modest office situated near a massage parlor, an answering service company and a business called "The Viagra/Weight Loss Medical Center." "It was like starting from scratch after the trial, but I'm not hurting for customers," he said. Though some in Southern Nevada's legal community say the allegations against him disgraced the entire bench, Bongiovanni said he has never been shunned by the judges he served beside. "It's quite the opposite," he said. "I think they're all happy it was me instead of them. Everybody was doing the same thing." He declined to elaborate on the statement. Still, his opponents in the race say he will have trouble garnering respect from lawyers if he wins the November general election. "I can tell you I don't think he's getting support from attorneys," Israel said. "He was not convicted but that doesn't mean he's OK in everybody's book."
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