What Gilbert didn’t tell CSN about his past

By Jeff German, Charlotte Hsu

Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008 | 2 a.m.

The College of Southern Nevada’s just-indicted construction chief was convicted of embezzlement 17 years ago, according to documents obtained by the Sun.

In November 1991, William “Bob” Gilbert, CSN’s associate vice president of management facilities, pleaded guilty to stealing money from a California Indian tribe, records show.

A federal judge sentenced Gilbert to three months behind bars, placed him on three years’ probation and ordered him to pay back $18,705 to the Chemehuevi Indians in Havasu Lake, Calif., records show.

Gilbert’s lawyer, John Momot, acknowledged the conviction, recalling that Gilbert had spent time at a federal halfway house in Las Vegas, but Momot declined to discuss the case.

CSN spokeswoman K.C. Brekken said college administrators were unaware of the conviction when they hired Gilbert in December 1997.

Gilbert, she said, was not asked whether he had any criminal convictions. Administrators didn’t start inquiring about convictions during the hiring process until 2001, she said.

The college does not hire people for child-care and public safety positions with convictions, but it has no policy on hiring people with convictions for the majority of positions, she said.

On Friday afternoon, Brekken could not say whether CSN officials were concerned about Gilbert’s embezzlement case because the president of the college, Michael Richards, had gone home sick, she said.

Gilbert’s Las Vegas indictment on theft and misconduct charges, however, drew a swift reaction Friday from university system Chancellor Jim Rogers, who called it a blow to CSN’s reputation.

“It’s very disappointing and it’s very distressing,” Rogers said. “If he did those things, he did them contrary to the interests of the public, and contrary to the interests of CSN, and contrary to the interests of the whole higher education system.”

The 49-year-old Gilbert was charged with stealing the services of college employees under his supervision, along with building materials and equipment, during construction of a sprawling Mount Charleston home, which Chief Deputy Attorney General Conrad Hafen said was “built on the backs of Nevada taxpayers.”

Several companies that had CSN contracts also worked on the 4,26-acre estate, which includes an 8,200-square-foot main house, a 2,500-square-foot guesthouse, a lighted full basketball court, stables, a carport and several storage units.

The Clark County assessor lists the taxable value of the property, at 9045 Barr Ave., as $1.32 million.

For much of 2006 and 2007, two of Gilbert’s employees were directed to spend their days helping him work on his mountain property, the 34-count indictment said.

In all, Gilbert was charged with 13 counts of felony theft and four counts of misconduct by a public officer in the alleged scheme, which the indictment said occurred between January 2002 and February of this year.

Momot said his client planned to fight the charges.

“He’s not guilty,” Momot said. “The evidence will show the state is not correct. We’re going to litigate this case to the fullest.”

Gilbert has been summoned to be arraigned on the charges in District Court at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 8.

The two employees who worked on Gilbert’s home — Matthew Goins, a 56-year-old facility manager, and George Casal, a 59-year-old construction inspector — were each charged in the indictment with two counts of obtaining money under false pretenses. They allegedly worked on Gilbert’s home while on the college’s time. Goins was also indicted on three counts of being a principal to the crime of theft for picking up building materials charged to the college from local businesses and taking them to Gilbert’s Mount Charleston estate.

Thad Skinner, a 64-year-old construction manager for the college, was charged in the indictment with 10 counts of being a principal to the crime of theft. Between January and June 2007, the indictment alleged, Skinner picked up materials on the college’s account at Home Depot and brought them to Gilbert’s property.

The materials obtained illegally by Gilbert in the scheme included lumber, pallets of cinder blocks, door handles and door locks, the indictment alleged. A forklift, a manlift, a paint sprayer and a chain hoist were among the machinery identified in the indictment that was allegedly used at the college’s expense.

Hafen said Friday the attorney general’s office has obtained arrest warrants for Skinner and Goins, and Casal is being summoned to court to answer the charges with Gilbert on Oct. 8. The investigation, Hafen said, is continuing.

Brekken said CSN administrators won’t make a decision on whether all four defendants will remain with the college until they have a chance to meet with them and discuss the allegations.

Gilbert had returned to his $147,204-a-year associate vice president’s job July 1 following a year of paid leave.

Sun reporter Christina Littlefield was the first to report on the allegations against Gilbert, in March 2007.

Rogers said the allegations swirling around Gilbert have been “a troubling issue to us for a long time.”

In Sun stories before the indictment, however, Rogers and top CSN officials had defended Gilbert.

At most, they were quoted as saying, Gilbert used bad judgment in hiring college contractors to work on his ranch because of the perception he was getting a sweetheart deal.

“Everyone I talked to says he knows construction, knows how to deal with the Public Works Board, knows how to talk to everybody involved,” Rogers previously said. “I never had one person say, ‘Watch him because he’s stealing from you.’ ”

Rogers even used Gilbert as a consultant on construction projects for the statewide Health Sciences System.

Jeff German is the Sun’s senior investigative reporter.