By msnbc.com staff
Two lawyers linked to a homeowner association scandal that has rocked Las Vegas have been found dead in less than a week.
The body of prominent attorney David Amesbury, who was named in a fraud investigation, was found Sunday hanging in a northern California shed just five days after Nancy Quon, a construction-defect lawyer, was found dead in her Henderson, Nev., bathtub, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
While an autopsy will take time to complete, Nevada County Chief Deputy Coroner Paul Schmidt told the Associated Press he didn’t suspect foul play in Amesbury's death.
Las Vegas media characterized Quon, 51, as a major player in the investigation. Officials are awaiting toxicology tests to determine Quon’s cause of death. As in Amesbury’s case, investigators do not suspect foul play.
David Amesbury, 57, had taken a plea deal in October in a federal investigation where defendants have admitted steering legal and construction contracts to favored firms. Ten people agreed to cooperate with federal investigators probing kickbacks and rigging of homeowner association board elections, the AP reported.
Two others also have died, according to the Review-Journal.
Christopher Van Cleef, a retired police officer, shot himself in September 2008 when his name surfaced in connection to the probe. An ex-homeowners association board member, identified as Robbi Castro, died of a drug overdose in 2010, the Review-Journal reported.
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