Death of lawyer at center of HOA scandal ruled a suicide

By Jackie Valley

Thursday, June 7, 2012 | 11:48 a.m.

The death of Nancy Quon, a construction-defect lawyer thought to be one of the central figures in a multimillion-dollar conspiracy involving a dozen homeowners associations in the Las Vegas Valley, has been ruled a suicide by the Clark County Coroner's Office.

The 51-year-old Henderson resident died from alcohol intoxication mixed with anti-anxiety and insomnia medication, Coroner Mike Murphy said. Alprazolam (sold as Xanax and Niravam, among others) and zolpidem (sold under the brand names Ambien, Edluar, Intermezzo and others), were the medications found in her system along with alcohol.

Quon was believed to be under investigation by the FBI for suspected involvement in the scandal, in which 27 people already have entered guilty pleas. She had lost much of her construct-defect work after an FBI raid on her office in September 2008.

In 2010, Quon survived a house fire at her home. That same year, she and her boyfriend were later arrested on drug charges.

Prosecutors said the fire was arson in a suicide plot by Quon and, after that failed, the drug incident stemmed from a second suicide attempt, in which her boyfriend would have provided her the drugs. Quon denied those assertions.

Quon was found dead March 20 in a bathtub at her Henderson condominium, 2240 Village Walk. Henderson Police at the time said they did not suspect foul play.