Jailed Murder Suspect Still Drawing $130K Public Salary

Robert Telles is a jailed murder suspect in Las Vegas. But he is also still the Clark County public administrator and thus is still drawing his $130,000 salary, reports 8NewsNow. It also appears the 45-year-old will continue making that money until January, when his elected successor takes over. (Telles lost the June primary and is not a candidate for re-election.) The public official is accused of fatally stabbing a renowned local investigative journalist, Jeff German, earlier this month. German had written a critical expose of Telle's office—and of Telle's personal conduct—for the Las Vegas Review-Journal in May and was working on another.

“For now, he’s still an elected officer and he’ll get paid while he’s in jail,” Democratic Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom tells 8NewsNow. The only way that would not be the case is if a recall vote happens or if Telles resigns. “We can take the scope of work away from him, but as far as him having the title and getting the salary, it is that way, because the voters picked him,” says Segerblom. Investigators say Telles, wearing a large straw hat in an apparent attempt at disguise, stabbed the 69-year-old German outside the journalist's home. The Los Angeles Times details the men's history with one another, with Telles railing against German's critical stories on social media before the killing. (More Las Vegas stories.)