Trustee in Debt to Casinos, Officials Say : Gambling: Tom Ely, who is running for county supervisor, denies incurring the debts. But authorities say Nevada officials have compiled a list.

Ventura Community College District Trustee Tom Ely has incurred about $40,000 in gambling debts at more than half a dozen Nevada casinos, law enforcement sources have told The Times.

Ely, 54, who is running for the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, owes the money to some of the best known casinos and hotels in Las Vegas, including the Aladdin, the Dunes and the Sands, the law enforcement sources said.

The Times learned that Nevada officials have compiled a list of alleged Ely gambling debts that includes $9,000 to the Aladdin, $5,000 to the Dunes, $3,500 to the Sands, $4,700 to Maxim’s and $2,000 to Bally’s.

When asked about those amounts, Las Vegas police Detective Ned Brodeur on Wednesday confirmed that there is such a list. But he declined to go into specifics.

“That’s true,” Brodeur said. “You’ve done your homework.”

The latest disclosures of alleged gambling debts by Ely followed a report last week that he owed $3,000 to the Edgewater Hotel and Casino of Laughlin, Nev., and a subsequent revelation that he is being sued by another casino, the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, over $8,000 in alleged debts.

Brodeur said Wednesday that only one of the casinos, the Edgewater, has filed any complaint with the police. He added that the complaint was dropped this week after the debt was settled.

Most casinos allow indebted gamblers a grace period before seeking police intervention, Brodeur said, although the debts would be listed with the State Gaming Control Board of Nevada during periodic casino audits.

Ely denied Wednesday that he had incurred the gambling debts, adding that his attorney has advised him not to comment because “there’s all kinds of legal action coming.”

Ely said he will remain in the supervisorial race to represent the 4th District, which includes Simi Valley, Moorpark, Somis and the Santa Rosa Valley.

“Nobody has anywhere near the experience I do,” said Ely, who has been an elected community college trustee, a job that pays $400 a month, since 1979.

The state Gaming Control Board of Nevada refused Wednesday to comment on Ely’s alleged indebtedness. None of the casinos would comment publicly either, citing policies guaranteeing confidentiality for clients.

Brodeur said the Edgewater Hotel and Casino’s complaint against Ely was for $3,000 in gambling debts that Ely had incurred last June.

On Sunday, Ely told The Times that he had settled his debts with the Edgewater in June “in cash.”

But Brodeur said the casino notified him Wednesday that Ely had sent the $3,000 by express mail over the weekend after learning that a warrant for his arrest would be issued unless he immediately settled the debt.

“There are a million stories in the Naked City, and this is just one of them,” Brodeur said.

Ely also told The Times on Sunday that he did not have a gambling problem and had not visited Laughlin, Nev., since June, when he and his wife, Ingrid, played blackjack and the slot machines at the Edgewater.

Brodeur disputed that account Wednesday, saying Ely had incurred the bulk of the debts in Las Vegas after visiting Laughlin in June.

The lawsuit filed against Ely by the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino on Feb. 20 also refers to a later Nevada gambling debt incurred by Ely in July, charging that he signed five “markers” for $8,000, to be drawn on his account at Simi Valley Bank.

The suit alleges that when the casino attempted to collect the debt, it found that Ely’s account at the bank had been closed. A source at the bank told The Times that Ely’s account was closed by the bank because it was overdrawn.

Trustees on the five-member Ventura Community College Board said Wednesday that they are concerned that the gambling allegations against Ely will damage the board’s reputation. Two trustees said Wednesday that Ely should consider resigning or face possible impeachment proceedings or a recall.

“There seems to be a problem with Tom’s credibility, and that disturbs me,” Trustee Greg Cole said. “I have some grave problems with this--public office is a public trust.”

College Trustee President Greg Kampf said he is concerned about the impact that the gambling allegations may have on the college board.

“It’s certainly not a positive thing for the board,” he said. “It’s not going to add to the district’s reputation.”

A flamboyant figure who often appears at board meetings festooned in gold rings and chains, Ely is a former board president who refers to himself as “Dr. Ely” in official correspondence.

Ely has a law degree from Ventura College of Law but has not passed the state bar exam, according to the California State Bar Assn.

Former trustees contacted by The Times recalled that Ely once shocked the board by revealing that he carried a handgun in his briefcase. Ely said Wednesday that he had a permit to carry a concealed weapon to protect himself in case his car broke down on a dark country road.

Ely has run for public office before. In 1986, he lost a bid to become mayor of Simi Valley.