LAS VEGAS — For more than a decade, Robert Telles yearned to climb the social and political ladders in Las Vegas.
The HVAC technician enrolled part time at UNLV’s Boyd law school and became president of the student bar. He opened a probate firm and was elected three years later to a low-level county office as public administrator.
To some, the 46-year-old was a respected family man who fancied himself a rising star in the Democratic Party and had aspirations to become governor. He frequented Rotary Club events with his wife, Mae Ismael, and was crowned one nonprofit’s pro bono attorney of the year in 2014.
