Las Vegas City Wire

A Jan. 11 physical altercation between two female members of the Las Vegan City Council has extended into a procedural dispute by a local newspaper trying to get a copy of the fight which was taped.

"Seaman claims Fiore broke her finger and then grabbed her hair and threw her to the ground in a private, second-floor hallway behind the City Council chambers," Henry Brian, a reporter for the Arizona Daily Star, tweeted along with link to a story about the incident.

The City of Las Vegas apparently deleted the film of the dispute sought by staffers of the newspaper the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Las Vegas City Councilwomen Michele Fiore and Victoria Seaman, have had a strained relationship for months that boiled over after a contentious Audit Oversight Committee hearing, according to the Review-Journal. The two women reportedly exchanged heated words when Fiore asked the Council Clerk if Seaman as chairwoman was in control of the meeting.

Seaman evidently considered the way the question was asked to be sarcastic and demeaning.

After the session, Seaman said Fiore grabbed her and threw her to the floor in the second-story hallway behind Council Chambers breaking Seaman’s finger.

Staffers of the Review-Journal asked to see a video copy tape of the exchange, but were told by city officials it had been deleted.

Jeff German, a reporter for the newspaper, said in an article on the matter that city officials were slow to act on the request and gave vague answers in response.

“At one point, city attorneys said the newspaper would have to pay the city $63,680 and wait at least 150 business days for one staffer to review all 150 surveillance cameras at City Hall,” German said. “Officials also did not inform the Review-Journal about their video deletion policy — retaining surveillance video for 60 days — until the footage likely had been deleted.”

Richard Karpel, executive director of the Nevada Press Association, expressed concern about the city’s handling of the tape request. He said city officials have a duty to assist the media and can be fined if they willfully obstruct such compliance.

“The City of Las Vegas should be very, very nervous about what happened here,” he said, the Review-Journal reported.

Defense lawyer Todd Leventhal said it appeared someone in the city was attempting to conceal what might be embarrassing but is still in the public interest.

The FBI has been investigating Fiore’s campaign and political action committee finances, intensifying a developing high-profile feud between the two councilwomen that involves bullying, threats, accusations and pending legal actions, the Review-Journal reported.

The Review-Journal originally requested the tape footage Feb. 9. On Feb. 24, the city provided footage of the seventh floor of the Council Building, but without the fight.

Newspaper staffers were told on Mar. 4 that it would take 2,000 hours for them to review all the available tapes at a cost to the Review-Journal of $63,680. They were not told the tape would be automatically deleted on Mar. 12, within a few days, according to the Review-Journal.

Both Fiore and Seaman have declined further comment pending litigation.