When Conover Kennard wrote about Fiore’s conviction on all seven counts of her federal fraud case (each of which could lead to 20 years in prison), we learned that Fiore spent the money donors thought would go to the memorial on “rent, plastic surgery, and her daughter’s wedding.” She was a “major client” at the plastic surgeon's facility, Kennard noted.
As Ed Scarce commented when Fiore was indicted, “Next to stealing from charities for widows and orphans, stealing from a charity designed to honour fallen police officers has to be pretty high on the list of repugnant crimes of this type.”
Not if you’re a member of MAGA World! Defrauding charities is almost a badge of honor for that crowd. Just ask Steve Bannon, pardoned after defrauding donors to a charity to build the border wall. Heck, defrauding charities is a Trump family tradition! Eric Trump found a way to make a tidy sum from his kids-cancer charity and his felonious father, Donald Trump, was forced to shut down his scammy foundation altogether.
So, as shocking as it is, it’s not a huge surprise that Trump pardoned Fiore.
From The Nevada Independent:
The pardon comes just six days after a federal judge denied Fiore’s requests for an acquittal and new trial. Fiore had argued the evidence against her was insufficient and that she was denied the right to a fair trial, but Judge Jennifer Dorsey was unconvinced.
Notably, it also comes shortly after Trump named Sigal Chattah as the Interim U.S. Attorney for Nevada, which is the state’s top federal law enforcement officer, whose office is in charge of trying cases such as Fiore’s. Chattah, who also serves as the state’s Republican National Committeewoman, is friends with Fiore.
Also not surprising is that Cliven Bundy-pal Fiore seems like the kind of person only a fellow fraudster could cheer for. The Independent reports that she resigned her position as the Las Vegas City Council’s mayor pro tempore after she allegedly said, “‘If there’s a job opening and my white ass is more qualified than somebody’s black ass, then my white ass should get the job,’ though Fiore denied that being the reason for her resignation.” She was also sued by a colleague for allegedly creating a hostile workplace and physically attacking her, according to The Independent.
Nevertheless, Fiore was appointed as a justice of the peace before being suspended after her indictment. The Independent said she plans to return to that job next week.
