Investigative reporter Jeff German, 69, who worked for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was found dead outside his home over Labor Day weekend.
German was found dead weeks after Nevada Clark County Public Administrator, Democrat Robert Telles, failed to win re-election after German published several negative exposes about him. One of those reports included a video of Telles exiting a vehicle with his alleged mistress, staffer Roberta Lee-Kennett who was seen adjusting her skirt.
On September 8, 2022, law enforcement officials confirmed that the Democrat official was arrested on suspicion of murdering the reporter. The arrest took place with much drama after a short standoff with the local SWAT team.
The stunning development came a day after Las Vegas police asked for the public’s help in identifying a suspect in the case. An early morning search of Telles’ home on Wednesday provided the first indication that the Friday killing might be related to German’s work exposing public wrongdoing. The investigative reporter was pursuing a potential follow-up story about Telles in the weeks before he was killed. [Emphasis added]
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German spent months reporting on the turmoil surrounding Telles’ oversight of the public administrator’s office. [Emphasis added]
The 45-year-old Democrat lost his re-election bid in the primary after German’s findings were published. German also had recently filed public records requests for emails and text messages between Telles and three other county officials: Assistant Public Administrator Rita Reid, estate coordinator Roberta Lee-Kennett and consultant Michael Murphy. Lee-Kennett was identified in previous stories as a subordinate staffer allegedly involved in an “inappropriate relationship” with Telles.
Colleagues said that German was one of the last true investigative reporters and one of the most trusted journalists in the area.
A REPORTER’S LEGACY: Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German was one of Nevada’s most accomplished and trusted journalists.
A brief look at his legacy.#RJNow pic.twitter.com/ZBL58g6426
— James Schaeffer (@jamesmschaeffer) September 6, 2022
