State senator evicted from Sparks office

SPARKS -- State Sen. Maurice Washington has been evicted from a Sparks office suite for alleged failure to pay rent, the latest in a string of legal troubles for him.

Sparks Justice of the Peace Paul Freitag last month signed eviction papers filed by Ricci Rodriguez-Elkins of the non-profit Center for Charter School Development.

Elkins had a lease for the suite and Washington, R-Sparks, subleased space from her.

In an affidavit supporting her eviction request, Elkins said Washington did not pay rent from October through December and owed the center $1,200.

After a sheriff's deputy posted the eviction order at the office building on Capurro Way, she had his furniture and other items removed last week.

"After numerous requests for him to remove his stuff, we had to go through the court process to do a formal lockout," Elkins told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Washington, a minister who was re-elected to a third term in November, declined comment.

Elkins is president of the Nevada Charter School Alliance and her center offers technical assistance to charter schools. She worked closely with Washington on legislation authorizing charter schools in 1995.

In November, Washington pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge that he failed to maintain worker compensation insurance at a charter school he once ran.

The school -- the Nevada Leadership Academy -- was fined $500 for failing to maintain the insurance coverage.

The charter school remains open pending a ruling by a district court judge on whether the Washoe County School District unlawfully revoked its charter in December.

The school operates out of Washington's Center of Hope Church, which did not have workmen's insurance when an employee was injured on the job last year and the state paid $11,246 in medical bills.

In October, his church agreed to make $500 monthly payments to reimburse the state in a district court settlement.