Background checks failed to catch RSCVA ex-CEO DeLone’s history of harassment suits

Excerpted from Reno Gazette Journal by Jason Hidalgo

Background checks on Phil DeLone, then a candidate for CEO of the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, failed to catch two lawsuits alleging workplace harassment in two states, a Reno Gazette Journal investigation found.

The lawsuits, which are public documents available through a court records search, were missed even as a member of the RSCVA board of directors repeatedly emphasized the need for “proper due diligence” in vetting the job candidates at the time.

Documents obtained by the Reno Gazette Journal through a public records request also show that the RSCVA and the search firm it hired debated over who was responsible for conducting DeLone’s criminal background check. The RSCVA ended up doing the criminal background check through another party.

The past lawsuits against DeLone — one in Reno and one in Tucson, Arizona — gained added significance in light of new misconduct allegations against the former tourism boss at the RSCVA. DeLone was still under investigation over the allegations when he offered his resignation in February.

The Reno Gazette Journal broke the story about the investigation on Jan. 28, which it confirmed through an earlier public records request.

It is the third documented complaint against DeLone involving workplace misconduct. It also means that DeLone has been the subject of complaints in at least three of the last four companies he has worked for.
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