Plea hearings are rarely interesting. Generally you know what the defendant is going to plea ahead of time, so there are no surprises. The defendant then enters his plea, the judge sets the date for the first day of the trial and we all wait for the next step. No drama there. That was not the case with the plea hearing for the alleged Bellagio robber, though.

Today in the Clark County (Nevada) District Court, Anthony Carleo pleaded not guilty. That was expected. The man is accused of robbing the Bellagio casino at gunpoint in December of last year, stealing approximately $1.4 million in chips. Carleo was arrested when trying to sell those chips to an undercover cop. None of that was surprising or interesting, but what happened next is.

The judge presiding over the case, District Judge Michelle Leavitt, informed lawyers on both sides of potential conflicts. It seems that she has a connection to both the defendant and the crime scene. Carleo’s father, George Assad is a municipal court judge in the state of Nevada. Therefore, he is a colleague of Leavitt’s. Not only that, but he is up for re-election this year and Leavitt and her family has publicly supported his campaign.

Judge Leavitt also has a connection to the Bellagio casino. Her brother is employed by them as a craps dealer, though he was not working there the night of the robbery. Judge Leavitt said that she has not spoken to her brother about the incident.

After disclosing both connections to counsel for the defense and the prosecution, neither side raised an objection. William Terry, the defense attorney for Carleo, said that there is no name on the witness list that gives them any concerns about Leavitt’s connection to the Bellagio. He also said that “most people in the judiciary know Judge Assad. So we have no issue with that.”

Christopher Laurent, the Chief Deputy District Attorney, said that the state is not concerned about the issues, either. If either party objected, Leavitt would likely be recused from the case and replaced with a different judge. However, since no one objected to the issues she disclosed, she will preside over the case.

Judge Leavitt set the court date for January 10, 2012. Until that time, Carleo will be remanded to Clark County Detention Center on $1 million bail. His attorney indicated that he plans to request that the bail be lowered.

Tags: Bellagio heist, gambling crime

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