Online Nevada Encyclopedia

Patty Cafferata

Eben Rhodes

The first man to hold the office of Nevada state treasurer may have been the most notorious. Accused of embezzling over $100,000 from the permanent school fund and other state accounts, Ebenezer "Eben" Rhodes died a mysterious death and set off a political firestorm that preoccupied state officials for almost four years after his death. No other state officials were ever charged with wrongdoing, and the bondsmen who had vouched for Rhoades' character were relieved of any liability.

Cole-Malley Embezzlement

In perhaps the largest and best-known political and financial scandal in Nevada history—State Treasurer Ed Malley and State Controller George Cole embezzled $516,322.16 from the state treasury in the 1920s. With the assistance of a cashier of the Carson Valley Bank, the two began to divert state funds for their own benefit in 1919. With this money, they invested in Tonopah mining stocks and Signal Hill Oil Company. The oil wells came up dry, so the money was lost.

Campaign Finance

Nevada's first attempts to regulate campaign finance occurred in the 1890s with the birth of the Silver Party and state legislators who introduced the first campaign finance reform measure in 1895. Modern campaign finance law continues to develop in Nevada and now requires reports of campaign contributions and expenditures, places limits on the amount one person can contribute to a candidate or question, and regulates the time period for contributions.

Barbara Vucanovich

Congresswoman Barbara Vucanovich was elected in 1982 to represent Nevada's Second Congressional District. She retired in 1996 after seven terms, having served the second longest term of any Nevadan in the U.S. House of Representatives. (Walter Baring served ten non-consecutive terms). Vucanovich was the first woman elected to represent Nevada in Congress.

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