Police officer indicted on felony charges related to theft from handicapped son
Boulder City police officer Jeffrey Grasso is facing multiple felony counts for allegedly exploiting and stealing from his handicapped son and has been placed on unpaid leave from the department.
Grasso was indicted Thursday, Jan. 11, on 14 nonviolent felonies. The indictment has two counts of exploitation of a vulnerable person, two counts of theft, four counts of burglary, five counts of forgery and one count of offering false instrument for filing or record.
His son, Giulian Grasso, was in a skateboarding accident in 2012, when he was 15, and suffered a traumatic brain injury requiring him to use a wheelchair. In 2016, Giulian was relearning to walk and was unable to use his left arm.
According to the indictment, the charges stem from Grasso’s actions from January 2014 to May 2016, during which he allegedly forged documents from the Hyperbaric Institute of Nevada to falsely withdraw more than $10,000 from charitable accounts at the Boulder Dam Credit Union that had been set up to help pay for his son’s care.
In 2016, Grasso earned $144,628.09 in salary and benefits, according to www.transparentnevada.com.
According to the Boulder City Police Department, the Henderson Police Department investigated Grasso’s alleged actions, and the Clark County district attorney’s office sought the indictment from the information gathered through that investigation. The local department was “in close contact with officials” from both groups during the investigation.
Grasso will remain on unpaid administrative leave pending the results of the court case and an internal investigation by the Boulder City Police Department. He has been with the department for approximately 15 years.
Before joining the Boulder City department, Grasso served as an officer in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Chief District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez set bail at $15,000 and ordered that Grasso turn over all of his weapons, including guns issued to him by the department.
Clark County Detention Center records show that Grasso was booked Jan. 11.
His ex-wife and Giulian’s mother, LaDonna Grasso, said she could not comment on the case.
Grasso’s next court appearance is his initial arraignment at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 24.
Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter David Ferrara contributed to this story.
Contact reporter Celia Shortt Goodyear at cgoodyear@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow her on Twitter @csgoodyear.
Grasso, Jeffrey C329127 by Boulder City Review on Scribd
