The last order of business for Nye County Commissioner Peter Liakopoulos at the adjournment of last Wednesday's Nye County Commission meeting was to perform a jail inspection.

The next day, it was Liakopoulos himself getting booked into the Nye County jail for bribery, less than 48 hours after he voted against raising the sales tax that would have funded more sheriff's deputies and firefighters.

Sheriff Tony DeMeo admitted the criminal investigation has become highly political.

But he defended the arrest of the commissioner for allegedly offering to vote for the sales tax increase if the Pahrump Town Board gave his organization the lease to the veteran's memorial and gave his wife the job as curator.

"Let's not make this some kind of political jihad. It's not going to do the public any good," DeMeo said.

He said Pahrump town board member Laurayne Murray passed a lie detector test, taken voluntarily, in which she denied being part of any conspiracy with Liakopoulos. DeMeo said it was proven through the investigation that Murray wasn't in any kind of a conspiracy to further a criminal act and is not a suspect in the case.

"She did nothing wrong. She came forward as a witness," DeMeo said. He added that Liakopoulos refused to take a lie detector test.

Murray's statement to the press after the sales tax vote Tuesday morning, that Liakopoulos agreed to the offer, which was corroborated by an independent witness who is not affiliated with town or county government, led to the arrest, the sheriff said.

DeMeo said the sheriff's department already had started an investigation into the bribery allegations by the time of the vote.

"The allegation that he had attempted before the vote to curry favor on behalf of his wife, to get involved with the veteran's memorial, we're investigating some reasons why that was important. That would allow Liakopoulos access to grant funding," DeMeo said. "We're still getting information what tangible reward that would've gotten for his wife. At that point Laurayne Murray came forward, her statement was pretty much evidence. We had corroborating evidence outside her statement."

When it came to bribery, DeMeo said it didn't matter whether giving a vote might have a negative effect on his department.

"It didn't make any difference what the vote was, whether it was for what type of cat litter they buy for the animal shelter," DeMeo said. "The bribery was an attempt to persuade a vote, and that vote was an important part of our political activity."

DeMeo added that the arrest necessarily had a political component. "A lot of people within the Republican party are trying to throw me and the sheriff's department under the bus," he said.

The commissioner was arrested next door to the jail at a Christmas potluck dinner in the Nye County Government Center Thursday afternoon. DeMeo said he promptly sent out press releases to the press because he began getting phone calls right away about the incident.

A television station in Las Vegas massacred the pronunciation of the commissioner's name while another television station in Reno contacted this newspaper to find out the correct way to pronounce it.

Liakopoulos said he couldn't comment on the advice of his attorney, Tom Pitaro. His attorney would be available for comment after Christmas, Liakopoulos said.

Former Nye County Republican Party Chairman John Timmerman, a Liakopoulos supporter, said in a written statement, "This appears to have something to do with his no vote on a tax increase benefitting the fire department and the sheriff's office.

"Peter Liakopoulos kept his promise to not raise taxes to the voters in his district. I find the timing of his arrest interesting, since the accuser (Laurayne Murray) is married to the firemen's union president and it was within 48 hours of the vote. I guess his stance on tax increases has appeared to upset the wrong people."