Local news briefs for January 17, 2000

Man arrested in sweepstakes scam

A Justice Court arraignment has been set for Feb. 11 in Las Vegas for Manuel Ortega Jr., arrested last week for allegedly trying to bilk a 70-year-old Arizona woman out of $1,850.

Deputy Attorney General Jo Ann Gibbs said Ortega, 39, is charged with unregistered telemarketing and attempting to obtain money under false pretenses. He was released on his own recognizance after his arrest last Tuesday.

Gibbs said Friday that the elderly woman was called at her home in Sun City, Ariz., by a man who identified himself as vice president of State Farm Insurance. The woman was told she won $20,000 in a cash sweepstakes and was instructed to send $1,850 by a Western Union order to be eligible for the prize.

When Ortega tried to pick up the money at a Smith's supermarket in Las Vegas, he was arrested.

Gibbs said Ortega had no prior criminal record.

Las Vegas man enters guilty plea

A Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty to using his father's name in an attempt to collect insurance money.

Edward Gary Gray, 43, made his plea Friday, admitting he used his father's name, Robert Dean Cottam, to file a false personal injury claim with State Farm Insurance.

The claim was for an auto accident in Sedona, Ariz., that the Nevada attorney general's Insurance Fraud Unit investigated and discovered never happened, investigators said.

Gray is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 22 and faces up to four years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

Haul those fish out before shutdown

The Clark County Department of Parks and Recreation has announced that it will temporarily close the Sunset Park Lake for cleaning and to patch a leak.

The closure will go into effect on Thursday, but until then the state Department of Wildlife is asking that people use the lake for fishing.

The department will relocate the fish living in the 9.5-acre lake to a fishing pond at Floyd Lamb State Park, and the more that are caught the fewer that will have to be moved.

The $719,000 project calls for the lake to be emptied, cleaned and repaired, and the work is not expected to be completed until this summer.

Higher use lands state extra money

The continued rise in seat belt usage by Nevadans has netted the state's office of traffic safety a $687,000 grant.

Seat belt usage has risen from 70 percent in 1997 to 79.2 percent in 1999, Highway Safety Coordinator Joanne Keller said.

The grant can be used for any traffic related safety program. In the past the office of traffic safety has used it for bicycle, pedestrian and senior citizen safety education.

Temporary hours become permanent

Three Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety offices will make what were temporary hours of operation permanent.

The Flamingo, Carey and Sahara offices will now be permanently open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, officials said.

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