Nevada Official Named in 2-Year FBI Probe

A Lincoln County, Nev., commissioner and a reputed East Coast mob figure were among dozens of people charged in a two-year undercover FBI investigation that began as a probe of the sale of phony watches, authorities said Wednesday.

The commissioner, Robert McCroskey, was arrested Wednesday and charged with conspiracy and helping sell property stolen from Nellis Air Force Base, Assistant U.S. Atty. James W. Erbeck said.

Reputed Pennsylvania mob leader Anthony Frank (The Guv) Guarnieri was also charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy and sales of a controlled substance.

Erbeck said as many as 75 people could eventually be charged with various offenses in the case, which began in Las Vegas and eventually included groups in Los Angeles, New York, Cleveland, Miami and Chicago.

Erbeck said about $3.5 million in stolen property and cash was also recovered in the operation, which began as an undercover probe of the sale of fake name-brand watches.

Some of the stolen property recovered included heavy-duty equipment taken from Nellis Air Force Base by a group that included at least one former serviceman and a worker at the base.

Erbeck said McCroskey was allegedly involved in that group. He was found in possession of a $60,000 generator and a military front-loader, Erbeck said.