Friday, March 28, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- A Senate committee voted to subpoena records in a high-profile Las Vegas guardianship case of a teenage girl, after one senator said there was illegal "tampering" by a Clark County official.
The committee on Thursday also directed its staff to determine which agency -- the Clark County district attorney's office or the state attorney general's office -- should investigate possible criminal acts.
The case, first disclosed in the SUN Sept. 1, involves 17-year-old Tiffany Ambrose and her parents, Sandy and Kyle Ambrose. Last August, permanent guardianship of Tiffany was awarded to Sal and Kathy Cincotta, parents of her boyfriend, despite repeated attempts by her parents to block it.
Sen. Bill O'Donnell, R-Las Vegas, who championed the Ambrose case, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Kirby Burgess, director of Clark County Youth and Family Services, was a friend of the Cincotta family and "interfered" by advocating the teenager, who was then 16, be turned over to the Cincottas.
He said the confidential records to be subpoenaed would prove Burgess' role.
Burgess denied any tampering and said he never tried to influence anybody. He said he's not a friend of the Cincotta family; his daughter and theirs played sports together and were friends. He did not socialize with the Cincottas, he said.
Burgess said he never knew about the committee hearing but he would appear voluntarily so it would get the whole picture.
It is rare for a Senate committee to issue a subpoena. But O'Donnell said the records of the Family Court and a written assessment of the girl contain evidence that Burgess "interfered with the Family Court system, which contributed to the delinquency of the minor Tiffany Ambrose and Gino Cincotta," the former boyfriend.
Burgess' name appears in the Family Mediation and Assessment Center report, O'Donnell said. Burgess said he was contacted by county investigators assigned to the case. "I made it clear I didn't know the family well. But I did trust them to have my daughter over to their home."
Burgess said he never took sides and it was up to the FMAC investigators to conduct a full-scale inquiry into the case.
O'Donnell said he will have Tiffany at the next hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee to tell her side of the story, which was printed in Sunday's SUN.
After the committee's subpoena decision, Kyle and Sandy Ambrose hugged each other and kissed. Kyle said they were very happy with the panel's action.
Sen. Jon Porter, R-Boulder City, said there appears to be an abuse of the system and he wants to know who should investigate: "This deserves a full investigation." Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said it ultimately may be turned over to the state Judicial Discipline Committee.
The Judiciary Committee is considering Senate Bill 231, authored by O'Donnell, that would repeal from the law a section allowing a child 14 years and older to petition the court to appoint a guardian other than his/her parents.
Committee members were surprised to hear that Family Court judges in Las Vegas allow temporary guardianships without first notifying the parents.
Sen. Ernie Adler, D-Carson City, an attorney, said judges in his districts will not take any action until the parents are notified. O'Donnell said Tiffany's parents were not officially notified until 12 days after Family Court Judge Robert Gaston signed a temporary order allowing Tiffany to live with the Cincottas.
"I really don't like these ex-parte proceedings," where both sides are not present, Adler said. "I don't think it should go on. Many judges will not sign that type of an order."
Only after temporary custody is awarded are the parents notified.
While the Cincottas were obtaining temporary custody in March 1996, the Ambroses were searching for their daughter, who had run away. Several days later, Tiffany and three police cars arrived at the Ambrose home to pick up her belongings. It was then the Ambroses learned of the switch in custody. And several days later they got an official notice in the mail.
O'Donnell said Burgess knew where Tiffany was at this time but never told the Ambroses. But Burgess said he learned at a soccer game that Tiffany was at the Cincotta home. He said he advised them to notify the parents or they might be charged with harboring a runaway.
Tiffany, in her petition to the court to have the Cincottas named guardian, alleged she had been abused -- a charge denied by the parents. In a SUN story Sunday, Tiffany admitted she had made up the charge because the Cincottas told her that was the only way she could live with them.
Tiffany and her parents say there were normal problems in their relationships, but she had never been beaten as she initially said.
In July 1996, Family Court Judge Terrance Marren granted the Cincottas permanent guardianship, ordering the Ambroses to turn over their daughter's birth certificate and Social Security number.
Marren says Burgess did not exert any influence on his ruling.
In August 1996, the Cincottas moved to California with Tiffany -- in violation of the custody order. The Ambroses did not know where she was.
Tiffany said Sal told her they wanted to find a high school where Gino could be the starting quarterback. A bench warrant was issued later for the Cincottas' arrest, but O'Donnell said Marren quashed the warrant.
Three days after the original story appeared in the SUN about the Ambroses' ordeal, Tiffany was returned to Las Vegas. At an emergency court hearing, Marren reversed his decision and ordered her to live with her maternal grandmother.
She is now reunited with her parents, who say their relationship is good.
Tiffany will be 18 in September and is now a high school junior.
The Ambroses contend the court system failed to properly investigate the Cincottas' background. And their daughter should never had been allowed to live in the same household as her boyfriend, they say.
Another allegation is that a psychiatrist's assessment of Tiffany that was submitted to the court was questionable. The Ambroses say Corydon George Clark saw Tiffany only briefly, and they questioned his credentials since he is on probation in Nevada and California for six years after he was accused of accused of conducting therapy sessions with young patients in a hot tub.
Clark denies the charges. He told the SUN that no criminal charges were ever filed and that he agreed only to settle with the complainants because of the legal costs and the unpredictability of juries.
Burgess said when the bill is heard again, "I will voluntarily be there. I should have the opportunity to respond. I don't want this to be a witchhunt." He said he had an appointment with O'Donnell on Wednesday, the day before the hearing, but O'Donnell canceled the meeting.
Burgess said he supports the bill before the committee.
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