Del Vecchio booted from bench for stepdaughter sex scandal

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline today ordered Clark County District Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio immediately removed from his job after he pleaded no contest to an 11-count complaint that accused him of having sexual relations with his stepdaughter while she worked in his office.

District Judge Richard Wagner, a commission member, told Del Vecchio “You are no longer a judge.”

Del Vecchio, who was defeated in the primary in his bid for re-election, wanted to stay on the bench until the end of his term at the end of the year to be eligible for medical benefits.

Del Vecchio, who has served since 2000, was originally charged with a 38-count complaint that accused him of forcing his 14-year-old stepdaughter to perform sexual acts on him and pose for nude photos. That allegation preceded Del Vecchio being elected. The 11-count amended complaint was filed against Del Vecchio by the commission on Monday, removing that allegation and others.

In the amended complaint, he was also accused of making racist statements to his bailiff, a man of Hispanic heritage, and also making sexist remarks to and about women in the courthouse.

The amended complaint said the stepdaughter, Rebeccah Murray, worked in the judge’s office in 2002 and 2003, when she was 24 years old. By that time the judge and Murray’s mother had divorced. Del Vecchio and Rebeccah started a sexual relationship, meeting at hotels during working hours for which she was paid her regular salary.

The relationship continued into 2003. According to the original complaint, she said she had to drink alcohol because she didn’t want to continue the relationship.

The judge permitted her to work a flex schedule so she could attend the Boyd School of Law, despite being told by Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle that this was not permissible. He threatened to take Murray off the flex schedule if she did not have sex with him.

Murray filed a complaint in May 2006 against Del Vecchio with the Clark County Office of Diversity.

The judge asked attorney Donn Prokopius to carry a proposal that offered her job back if she dropped the complaint.

The complaint said the judge made sexually suggestive remarks to his bailiff, Richard Tamez, about Judge Stefaney Miley. The judge, according to the complaint, referred to Mexicans as “wetbacks” and called out “Where is my lazy Mexican bailiff?”