Dr. Frank Kardasz (Ed.D)

09/30/06, The Associated Press, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Reno, Nevada - A Nevada judge was extorted for money after having sex in his Reno hotel room with a drug user and former legal client, a Fallon newspaper reported.

Reno police confirmed that District Judge Wayne Pederson of Yerington reported that his wallet had been stolen in July by Irene Bailey after the two had sex, the Lahontan Valley News and Fallon Eagle Standard reported. Afterward, Pederson reported receiving phone calls from Bailey and unidentified men, threatening to report that the judge had raped her unless he gave them money. Other calls threatened harm to the woman, according to police reports.

Pederson was in Reno attending courses at the National Judicial College at the time.

The judge said he has known Bailey's family for years and called the situation embarrassing. He also said he was unaware Bailey was using drugs. "I think she's a mixed-up gal,'' Pederson said. "I asked her if she was involved in any drugs and she said no.

"It's an embarrassing situation and I wish it hadn't happened. We started out with a dinner and ended up with something else.'' According to the police report, Pederson met Bailey, 35, on July 10 for dinner, and she ended up staying the night in his hotel room.

The next evening, Pederson, 53, picked up Bailey at an apartment, and the two went out for dinner and drinks before going to Pederson's room at the Silver Legacy for sex, the report states.

While Pederson showered, Bailey took his wallet and left, the report states.

The judge told investigators he received several phone calls that night demanding money.

"A male voice asked Pederson if he was running for judge. Pederson answered yes. The male then told Pederson he needed to give him his credit card PIN number. The man told Pederson if he did not give his PIN number, the caller and Bailey would report to police Pederson raped Bailey,'' the police report states.

Bailey called later, telling Pederson someone was going to hurt her if he did not pay $500. Pederson offered to pay to get back his credit cards, a concealed weapons permit, his pilot license and other property in his wallet, according to the police report.

The judge eventually bought his wallet back for $400, the report said.

On July 12, one man tried to cash one of Pederson's checks at a Reno bank, the report said. That suspect provided information that led to others involved in the extortion plot.

In one report, an officer said Pederson did not want to pursue the case against Bailey. "Additionally, he was worried about unfavorable public perception and that his opponent in the judgeship race may use the case unfavorably,'' the report said.

Pederson was appointed in April to the 3rd Judicial District Court bench by Gov. Kenny Guinn. He is running in the November election to retain the seat, and is opposed by Lyon County District Attorney Leon Aberasturi.

Bailey told investigators Pederson was her lawyer in Lyon County, where she spent six months in jail on a drug-related theft conviction. After being released from jail in February, she returned to her drug habit, the police report said.

Bailey told police she ran into some drug acquaintances to whom she owed money in the restroom at the Silver Legacy while on her date with Pederson. They threatened to damage Pederson's name unless Bailey paid a $400 drug debt, the police report said.

"Bailey said that she was scared, didn't know what to do, and didn't want to tell Pederson,'' the report said.

Instead, she stole the judge's wallet and checkbook while he was taking shower.
 
Retrieved October 9, 2006 from http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Sep-30-Sat-2006/news/9958289.html 

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Lahontan Valley News and Fallon Eagle Standard

10/04/06, Fallon, Nevada.

Editorial: Judges' misconduct erodes public confidence in courts

How many dirty judges must one small town endure?

That is the question amid revelations that District Court Judge Wayne Pederson was the victim of extortion this summer after having sex in his Reno hotel room with a known drug user while attending courses at the National Judicial College.

We use the term "victim" loosely only because that is the official tagline given to Pederson in the incident reports filed by Reno police dispatched to investigate the judge's claim that his lover, Irene Bailey, stole his wallet while he was showering and used it to pay off a drug debt.

If Pederson is a victim, he is a victim of his own stupidity and appalling poor judgment. He's lucky that all he lost was $400 to the low-lives who held his wallet for ransom and sold it back to him a credit card and piece of I.D. at a time. He's lucky that when he decided to take matters into his own hands he didn't get rolled by the inhabitants of Reno's dark underbelly.

It's hard to think of Pederson as a "victim" knowing that he had sex with a woman he represented on theft charges before he was appointed to the bench last spring, a woman he knew had twice been ordered by the court to enroll in a drug rehabilitation program and twice ran away without completing her treatment. For a sitting judge to take a woman with this history of substance abuse out for drinks, followed by sex, suggests a wanton disregard for her health and well being. He, of all people, should understand the precarious nature of Bailey's health, and he chose instead to sacrifice her to his own selfish desires. He knew exactly what he was doing at the time, knew it was wrong, and did it anyway.

This sordid affair wasn't merely a mistake on the judge's part, or as Pederson put it, an embarrassment. It is a colossal lapse of judgment by a man who has been entrusted by the public to do just the opposite - make good judgments. He is, after all, a judge.

Also troubling is Pederson's decision not to cooperate fully with the police by pressing charges against Bailey, which compromised their ability to prosecute the other parties in the case. Pederson asked that Bailey not be charged, rationalizing that she had had already suffered enough embarrassment. Does this mean the next time a person accused of theft appears in Judge Pederson's court he will let them off if they can convince him they're sufficiently embarrassed?

For the citizens of Churchill County, who have a right to expect ethical representation on the bench, this might not come as such a heavy blow if it were not on the heels of another severe breach of public trust on the part of Justice of the Peace Dan Ward, who earlier this year admitted to 107 ethics violations before he was suspended by the Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission. Between them, these two men have made a mockery of the judicial system in Churchill County and given the public good reason to doubt its honesty and integrity. If you can't trust your judges, for heaven's sake, whom can you trust?

Fortunately, voters still decide who gets the privilege of presiding over Nevada's courts. They took care of Judge Ward in the August primary by turning thumbs down on his re-election bid. With the general election less than a month away, the day of reckoning for Judge Pederson is imminent.

Retrieved October 9, 2006 from http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/2006110040032