Nye County District 5 Commissioner Peter Liakpoulos had a turbulent two years in office that began soon after he was sworn in Dec. 19, 2006.

Liakopoulos defeated Pat Garlough by 13 votes in the Aug. 15 Republican primary. He then captured the victory with 959 votes in the November general election, 36.5 percent of the vote, while two challengers split the remainder: Dan Schinhofen running as a non-partisan won 31.9 percent of the vote and Democrat Jan Bearss had 31.6 percent.

Liakopoulos unsuccessfully requested commissioners to delay a vote on promoting Ron Williams to county manager from December until a meeting after he took office in January.

The issue of the veterans memorial soon took center stage.

Liakopoulos reached an agreement with sponsors of the Wall of Heroes in January 2007, to keep photos of servicemen displayed at Wal-Mart but allow families to also display them at the planned veterans memorial at the Chief Tecopa Cemetery.

A complaint was filed by Steve Johnson, a business partner of Schinhofen's, with the Nevada Ethics Board on March 30 alleging a conflict of interest over two votes Liakopoulos took that were seen as favorable to his television shows on KPVM-TV.

One was a Feb. 20 vote allowing Dr. Pejman Bady, an advertiser on one of his shows, to shorten his hours of operation at Pahrump Medical Center from 14 hours daily to 12 hours. Another was a March 20 vote to add 680 feet of Higley Road, which leads to the TV station, to the annual chip-seal list.

Liakopoulos was exonerated by the ethics board June 13 in a 6-1 vote. June 22, Harley Kulkin refiled ethics charges, claiming Liakopoulos bypassed normal procedures for chip-sealing, which was also dismissed by a two-member ethics panel Aug. 8.

In May 2007, Liakopoulos asked for more security at commission meetings, after a bumping incident involving a gun-toting Sam Jones, jokingly referred to later as "belly battery." Jones filed battery charges against Liakopoulos, which were later dismissed.

That came the same month commissioner Butch Borasky pushed an agenda item through for the county to provide brand-new 2007 Chevy Silverado pickups for Liakopoulos and himself.

Commissioners June 20, 2007, passed a Pahrump zoning map, one of the most important votes of his two-year term. Liakopoulos urged a committee of business people be appointed to sift through a remaining 1,241 properties that were problem areas for Hogle Ireland consultants.

On the last day of the state legislative session, June 4, a half-cent Nye County sales tax increase, which passed by 17 votes in November 2006, was passed as an amendment to a state assembly bill. On Aug. 22, Liakopoulos requested a two-month delay in consideration of the county commission vote to ratify the increase, to judge the sentiment of his constituents in District 5, where the measure passed by 38 votes.

A petition to recall Liakopoulos was filed Oct. 3, 2007, by Elliott Brainard, Jeanette Smith and Sam Stroffer-Rains, giving them 90 days to collect 670 valid signatures. Recall proponents pointed to his ethics problems and allegations against his organization, Supporting Soldiers in Need (SSI).

Oct. 22, 2007, Liakopoulos held a press conference to announce the renovation of an abandoned house on a cliff on West Bell Vista Avenue into a shelter for homeless veterans. The home was on 20 acres donated by Fely Quitevis of Precious Properties. The project has not yet materialized.

In October 2007, commissioners scheduled a public hearing for Dec. 16, on the half-cent sales tax vote. During that meeting, Liakopoulos voted with Commissioners Joni Eastley and Roberta "Midge" Carver to reject the half-cent sales tax increase, which would have provided additional revenue for the Nye County sheriff's department and county fire departments.

Three days later, Liakopoulos was arrested for bribery for allegedly offering to vote for the half-cent sales tax increase if the Pahrump Town Board voted to appoint his wife, Jenny Liakopoulos, as curator of the veterans museum The town board voted not to hire his wife. Liakopoulos was released on his own recognizance.

This past Jan. 2, recall organizers turned in 772 signatures on the recall petitions, but the Nevada deputy secretary of state for elections two weeks later ruled there weren't enough valid signatures for a recall election based on a sample of 500 signatures.

In early May 2008, Liakopoulos said he wanted Williams terminated as county manager when his contract expired May 30. Commissioners had earlier voted not to renew his contract. But that motion to terminate Williams May 30, was supported only by Commissioner Gary Hollis and went down to defeat 3-2.

That same month, Pahrump Regional Planning Commission Chairman Mark Kimball, in a prepared statement, blasted Liakopoulos for his remarks at a May 9, county commission meeting, when he claimed the Nye County Planning Department and RPC were at fault for blocking economic development.

May 21, Liakopoulos asked for an audit of contracts awarded to county hydrologist Tom Buqo and his wife, and environmental consultant Mary Ellen Giampaoli, that was rejected by fellow commissioners. Williams told Liakopoulos to file a request under the Nevada Open Records Act for the information.

Buqo, who had been given a $430,000 turn-key contract to start up the Nye County water district, responded angrily to the audit request during a July 1, county commission meeting.

June 4, the Nevada Attorney General's office filed two felony charges against Liakopoulos for asking for a bribe, along with misdemeanor charges of offering a reward for an appointment and grafting by a public officer.

June 17, Liakopoulos and Hollis again teamed up to vote against even holding a public hearing on a proposal to create a general improvement district, after a $386,946 study by Bureau Veritas consultants esetimated the most expansive buildout of the flood control measures in Pahrump Valley would cost $315 million.

June 20, Liakopoulos entered a plea of not guilty to the criminal charges in Pahrump Justice Court.

Visiting Justice of the Peace Steven Dahl on Sept. 19 found probable cause to bind Liakopoulos over for trial in district court on one felony count and two misdemeanor counts.

Dahl tossed a felony count for attempting to persuade former Town Manager Dave Richards to lobby the town board to appoint his wife as museum curator, instead deciding the phone calls from Liakopoulos to Pahrump Town Board Chairman Laurayne Murray were sufficient.

While Liakopoulos' attorney, Joe Sciscento, argued such deal making was common in politics, Dahl said that may be true if his wife wasn't benefitting from the position, even if it was unpaid.

Nov. 17, Liakopoulos was granted a public defender to represent him by 5th District Court Judge Robert Lane. Public defender Jason Earnest was instructed to set a date for a jury trial this spring, expected to last a few days. Brian Kunzi, representing the Nevada attorney general's office, said prosecutor Conrad Hafen could schedule time for the trial in April 2009.

Finally, on Monday, Hollis read a resignation letter submitted by Liakopoulos, effective Dec. 31, during public comment over a special county commission conference call.