Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Bongiovanni issue in appeal

CARSON CITY -- A defense lawyer urged the Nevada Supreme Court to overturn the conviction and death penalty of Michael Rippo because of the conduct of former District Judge Gerard Bongiovanni during the trial.

Shortly after the Rippo trial started, newspaper stories revealed Bongiovanni was under investigation by a federal grand jury for allegedly taking bribes. After the trial ended, he was indicted on the bribery charges. His trial is pending.

David Schieck, representing Rippo, told the high court Tuesday that newspaper stories created an "appearance of impropriety" on the part of Bongiovanni, who was accused of taking bribes to go soft on criminal suspects. He said Bongiovanni could not respond publicly to the allegation.

"What better way to show he's tough on crime than to rule against Rippo ... to show he does not give breaks to criminals?" posed Schieck.

DA denies judge unfair

But Chief Deputy District Attorney John Lukens told the court the defense cannot cite a single instance where the judge was unfair to Rippo. In fact, Lukens said the judge erroneously excluded him and co-prosecutor Teresa Lowry from handling the case because they had been involved in a police search.

Lukens said that was a mistake on the part of Bongiovanni but it was against the prosecution. He added it was the jury, not Bongiovanni, who decided the guilt and set the death penalty. There was no relation between the allegations against Bongiovanni and the Rippo murder case, he said.

Rippo, who was 26 at the time of the offense, was found guilty of the strangulation deaths of Lauri Jacobson and Denise Lizzi in a Las Vegas apartment in February 1992 during a robbery. Rippo, who was on a lifetime parole for rape at the time of the murder, knew both women and had used drugs with Jacobson the day before the killing.

Justices, who took the arguments under study and will rule later, appeared skeptical of Schieck's claim. Justice Robert Rose suggested that a judge under investigation might lean toward the defense and against the district attorney's office.

"You can run all sorts of inferences and biases," Rose said.

Rose suggested a scenario where a judge up for re-election was criticized as being soft on crime. He questioned whether every ruling by the judge in favor of the prosecution would be subject to challenge.

"You're asking us to fashion a broad rule," Rose told Schieck.

Justice Bill Maupin also developed a hypothetical case where the phone of every District Court judge in Clark County may have been tapped by federal investigators as a follow-up to the inquiry of Bongiovanni. He questioned if that meant every death-penalty case would have to be stopped and judges brought in from outside the county.

Schieck said the defense has the duty to raise the issue of appearance of impropriety.

Schieck also asked the court for a hearing to question Bongiovanni about a possible conflict of interest involving a witness. According to the newspaper reports after the indictment of Bongiovanni, the judge allegedly had ties to Vince Spano, reputedly a member of the Buffalo mob.

Credit card connection

Spano had business dealings with Denny Mason, who was a witness at the trial and a boyfriend of Jacobson. Mason had loaned Jacobson his credit card, which Rippo stole in the robbery.

Schieck said a hearing is needed to determine if the former judge knew that Spano and Mason were tied together and if the judge actually knew Mason.

Even if the court denies a hearing, Schieck asked the justices not to bar possible hearings in the future when different appeals are launched.

In all, Schieck said there are 14 instances of error committed at the trial but he focused his arguments entirely on the Bongiovanni issue.

archive